1. An approach to assessment for learning
The Breadcrumb Trail
An approach to assessment for learning

2. The Context: Media Production Department at Bournemouth University
1000+ students on largely vocational programmes
Wide range of ability and confidence
Very high achieving students at the top end
Significant proportion of UG coming from B-Tec
Large proportion of WP students, particularly among B- tec cohort

3. Problem 1:
‘Theory’ unpopular with production-focused students (constitutes around 30% of delivery)
Theoretical ‘canon’ in year 1 already familiar to half the cohort and alien to the other half.
Limited engagement, particularly with reading and preparation outside taught sessions.
Confident students with good ‘study habits’ succeed: their less confident peers do not.
Attainment gap increases – and this continues incrementally through the programme

4. The Theory:
‘Susan and Robert’ - John Biggs – ‘What the Student Does’ Higher Education Research & Development 18 (1), 57-75, 1999
Susan is an active learner, intrinsically motivated to engage; she has good academic habits, and is confident in her ability
Robert is passive, needs extrinsic motivators; he lacks academic skills and confidence – and will fall further behind unless these are developed.
If we can get Robert to behave more like Susan her may come to share some of her confidence and skills
He needs to be explicitly motivated to engage with sustained academic enquiry – needs to be rewarded for engaging in each stage of the process
(constructive alignment with added breadcrumbs)

5. The Practice: ‘Media Scholarship’ – Year 1, Semester 1
Focused on skills not content (high risk strategy!)
Portfolio 50% of grade: 10 weekly tasks, graded 1/3/5
Tasks uploaded to VLE group discussion board
Reviewed in seminar
Criteria: ‘sustained engagement in scholarly enquiry’.
No penalty for errors
No emotional baggage interfering with constructive feedback

6. The Outcome
Students
Less stressed about essays (secure that they had passed)
Engaged in genuine research around subjects of interest
Understood key principles of research
Essays (50% grade)
Arguments actually informed by research (not ‘tacked on’)
Range of research sources/ competence with search systems
Proper use of evidence and citation

7. And the proof of the pudding
Understanding Media (Year 1, Semester 2)
in the cohort ‘inherited’ from the new units, the team has noted
Better academic skills (research, structure, referencing etc)
Better attendance / engagement
Better understanding of what is expected
Better levels of confidence

8. Problem 2 BA Media Production – a very broad programme
Some students graduating without depth in specialism – despite many opportunities for development
Advanced Specialist Skills – Final year unit, Semester 1
Workshop model failing to deliver due to
Differing skills bases
Lack of purposeful practice
‘Dependency’ culture & fundamental limits of workshop model

9. The Theory ‘Susan’ and ‘Robert’ have different experiences of HE
Research with graduate shows that many students
Do not understand the necessity for independent learning
Lack confidence and maturity to undertake it
Find our delivery structures don’t support it
Susan has the confidence to maximise her opportunities for skills development: Robert does not.
We need to get Robert to behave like Susan and take responsibility for his own learning
(enquiry based learning with added breadcrumbs)

10. The Practice Advanced Specialist Skills – Flipped Model
Individual NLAs (Negotiated Learning Agreements)
Weekly group tutorials (skill specific)
Students present what they have learned
Peers and tutor feedback
Rinse and repeat
Weekly Grade
Criteria: articulation of what has been learned
Failures welcome / technical achievement irrelevant

11. The Outcome Initial trepidation by staff (what is my role?)
Initial scepticism by students (why aren’t you teaching me?)
Final verdict:
Staff: made proper use of the full range of our expertise
Students: we have learned more on this unit than any other: you should introduce this method earlier in the programme

12. Challenges
University Regulations (BU regs don’t allow us to grade attendance or participation)
Fetishization of grades
Keeping it simple and manageable for staff
But
Both models have been tried without the grading ‘breadcrumb’ dimension
It doesn’t work for the reluctant / less confident / less motivated learner