Pedagogical and Innovative Practice : Using technologies to support Assessment and Assessment Feedback in real-time

Abstract

The Pedagogical and Innovative Practice (PIP) project is funded by the Centre of Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT) at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. The project was carried out across a community of practice at the School of Computer Science, with six members of academic staff teaching in teams on a variety of subjects such as data visualisation, and strategic information and planning management. The intention was to address assessment issues highlighted by students as captured on the National Student Survey in the UK; and related to students need for more informative and timely feedback on assessment With this in mind, assessment practices comprised of learning design and activities intended to support student learning within and beyond the classroom individually and by group learning. These practices were grounded in instructive and social constructivist theories in learning, teaching and assessment practice. Their design was intended to provide learners with timely feedback on their assessment. Initial lessons learnt as presented in this paper include: planning and preparation by tutors for technology use, different academic experiences, and conceptual perspectives, student and staff engagement, use of different types of assessment methods and practice, and the different types of feedback.