{"id":2062,"date":"2021-10-19T09:28:52","date_gmt":"2021-10-19T08:28:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/?p=2062"},"modified":"2023-04-25T10:13:23","modified_gmt":"2023-04-25T09:13:23","slug":"assessment-literacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.manchester.ac.uk\/itl\/2021\/10\/19\/assessment-literacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Assessment literacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"SallySally Hickson SFHEA (<\/strong><\/span><\/span>Deputy Head of Student Operations for the School of Heath<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Sciences)\u202fhas a keen interest in curriculum design with a particular focus on assessment, and co-chairs the FBMH Assessment and Feedback Effective Practice Hub. In 2020\/21 Sally was one of the ITL\u2019s Inaugural Fellows, undertaking a project that explored the\u00a0<\/span>assessment<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>literacy of staff,\u00a0<\/span>identifying<\/span>\u00a0gaps in knowledge, exploring innovative\u00a0<\/span>practice<\/span>\u00a0and working collaboratively to encourage the transformation of assessment strategies.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

How literate are\u00a0we\u00a0about assessment? In my role I had\u00a0encountered\u00a0a\u00a0huge variety\u00a0in assessment literacy amongst colleagues. Some were at the forefront of new and innovative thinking,\u00a0transforming their assessments and\u00a0co-creating with\u00a0students;\u00a0whereas\u00a0others\u00a0were involved in setting assessment tasks with\u00a0very little\u00a0knowledge of how best to go about it,\u00a0and of the wider\u00a0role\u00a0that assessments play in the students\u2019 learning experience.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Interested to explore this further, I applied for a\u00a0Fellowship\u00a0with the Institute of Teaching and Learning\u00a0and\u00a0was thrilled to be awarded one of the inaugural\u00a0Fellowships\u00a0in 2020.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What did I set out to do?<\/b>\u00a0<\/h5>\n

The aim of my project was to explore levels of staff assessment literacy\u00a0at the University of Manchester,\u00a0and consider ways this could be improved. I wanted to see what the University was doing to support colleagues in improving their own assessment literacy, see what more we could do,\u00a0and draw on examples from other institutions and the literature.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

How did I go about it?\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/h5>\n

I undertook a widespread literature review,\u00a0and after 9 months of reading, I have to say there is\u00a0very little\u00a0in the literature on assessment literacy of staff\u00a0(whereas\u00a0there is a plethora relating to assessment literacy of students). I worked with two student interns to hold a series of student focus groups to gain their\u00a0perceptions\u00a0of staff assessment literacy.\u00a0As students are the main stakeholders in\u00a0assessments,\u00a0I wanted to explore their experiences and\u00a0perceptions\u00a0of how\u00a0well\u00a0their\u00a0lecturers\u00a0discussed assessments,\u00a0and how well-prepared\u00a0students felt as a result.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I also undertook a thorough review of the content relating to assessment,\u00a0feedback,\u00a0and\u00a0curriculum design within the New Academics Programmes across the three faculties, to ensure\u00a0that the NAP content was contemporary with current and emerging\u00a0thinking on\u00a0assessment and feedback,\u00a0and\u00a0covered\u00a0similar learning outcomes. Whilst only a small percentage of staff attend NAP courses each year, it forms the foundation for many new academics,\u00a0and\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0vital that the right messages and content\u00a0are\u00a0delivered.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The last of my planned activities was to review all University and\u00a0Faculty-level documentation, policies,\u00a0strategies\u00a0and processes\u00a0relating to assessment,\u00a0feedback,\u00a0and curriculum design. This\u00a0review highlighted\u00a0a number of\u00a0areas where more could be done to support colleagues\u00a0in the\u00a0design and delivery\u00a0of assessment,\u00a0and\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0pleased that,\u00a0as a result,\u00a0resources are becoming available\u00a0through the\u00a0ITL\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0to augment the official documentation with supportive guidance documents and resources for staff.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Impact of the pandemic\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/h5>\n

But,\u00a0by far the biggest thing that I did\u00a0as a result of\u00a0my\u00a0Fellowship\u00a0was to dive into Faculty (FBMH) and University working groups to\u00a0support the rapid shift to online assessment\u00a0as a result of\u00a0the pandemic and to highlight\u00a0the urgent need for assessment\u00a0literacy.\u00a0In some ways,\u00a0this diverted\u00a0the\u00a0original aims of the project,\u00a0to focus more on online assessment and\u00a0facilitating\u00a0the sudden need for\u00a0greater\u00a0guidance and resources for staff in this area. As a result, I was pleased to contribute to developing a fantastic set of resources and guidance for staff, and for students,\u00a0which is housed on the ITL website.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What has or will come out of my project?<\/b>\u00a0<\/h5>\n

I can answer this question from two\u00a0perspectives. Firstly, considering deliverables that are available to support the\u00a0improvement in\u00a0staff assessment literacy: check out\u00a0the ITL website<\/a>\u00a0for all the resources and guidance that have come about from my work on online assessment, such as\u00a0a resource for staff on designing and delivering effective open book assessments<\/a>. Working with colleagues from across the\u00a0University through working groups or individual conversations has enabled a great amount of good practice to be shared.\u00a0This has also led to resources we have created for students, such as the\u00a0student guidance on open book exams<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Secondly,\u00a0I have gathered a huge amount of knowledge in transforming assessments from reading, exploring\u00a0resources\u00a0and attending online conferences.\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0been able to work with colleagues to look at new ways of designing assessments to make them more suitable and innovative whilst also ensuring they are fit for purpose, valid and reliable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018Seven\u00a0Principles of Good Assessment Design\u2019<\/a>\u00a0have been distilled from all this reading and have been made available on the ITL website<\/a> and\u00a0through\u00a0NAP sessions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

What did I get out of the fellowship?<\/b>\u00a0<\/h5>\n

Assessment design is exciting! And there\u2019s always new stuff to learn and share!\u00a0I have got so much out of the\u00a0Fellowship, which has opened many doors for me.\u00a0Firstly,\u00a0the immersion into a world of colleagues,\u00a0both within the University and worldwide,\u00a0who want to change assessment and feedback practices for better student engagement and success, as well as improving the whole experience for academics. It is really an exciting world, with new and emerging examples and ideas\u00a0coming to light\u00a0every day.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Secondly,\u00a0as a result of\u00a0increased contact with colleagues from all walks of university life, I gained an increased awareness of the wide scope of things to be considered under the \u2018staff assessment literacy\u2019 umbrella. These include inclusivity, accessibility,\u00a0authenticity,\u00a0and confidence in attribution. The more\u00a0that\u00a0staff know about all these\u00a0elements, the better our assessments will be.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

So,\u00a0I started a little ball rolling,\u00a0and\u00a0it turned into a massive snowball that grew exponentially during the first stages of the pandemic.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0still growing, albeit\u00a0more slowly\u00a0now,\u00a0and it still has a long way to go.<\/p>\n

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Related<\/h1>\n

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Contact Us<\/h4>\n

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+44 (0) 161 306 6000<\/p>\n

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Find Us<\/h4>\n

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The University of Manchester
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