Planning and implementing (re)design

Implementing (re)design in assessment and feedback can feel like a big task, but it doesn’t need to be. You can make small changes and pilot them, or jump right in and make big changes. The decision is yours, but the important thing is that all the changes we make improve our students’ learning experiences.

Relevant Toolkit sections:

► Enhancing assessment and feedback

► Curriculum mapping and assessment blueprinting

► Combined list of case studies

Planning changes to your assessment and feedback strategy

Remembering that any change will take time, ask yourself the following five questions:

  1. What do I want to change and why?

    This question will focus your planning and start to give you an idea about possible solutions.

  2. What do I want to my students to have the opportunity to practice/demonstrate/learn?

    This question will focus your changes on your students’ learning

  3. Who has expertise I can draw upon?

    This question helps you identify who, across the University, can help you with the (re)design.

  4. Do the changes I am considering need approval?

    This question should point you in the direction of policy and procedure if needed.

  5. How does my plan fit with the University’s essentials and principles of assessment and feedback design and with the students’ programme(s) of study?

    This question guides you to the list of points to consider in design.

Student involvement in (re)design

Our students are smart people; they are usually able to articulate what it is that doesn’t work about feedback and assessment within a course, and very often they have excellent ideas for how it can be improved too. We just need to ask! It can be as simple as a short qualitative questionnaire, or even ideas on post-it notes, or as involved as deigning assessments with your students. The route you choose to take is likely influenced by your confidence and your desire for change as well as practical considerations.

Remember the following:

  1. Listen to your students’ opinions; they have a perspective you cannot have on feedback and assessment and will likely tell you things you were not expecting or could not predict so do not dismiss their opinions/ideas.

  2. You do not have to implement everything your students suggest. This is consultation and you are asking for your students’ input. You have the final decision; just be transparent about the decisions you make.

  3. You can invite your students to be involved in the (re)design process itself. This will give them ownership of the process and so increased buy-in, allowing you to facilitate more and direct less.

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