Embedding Employability Framework
Assess
Students are not always able to recognise, evidence or explain the skills they develop through their studies. Whilst skills development often takes place throughout a course, students need opportunities to receive feedback, reflect on their experiences and articulate what they have learned if they are to fully understand and communicate their development.
The Assess stage builds on the work of the previous stages by helping students recognise the progress they have made and connect their learning to future contexts. Through feedback, reflection and articulation, students can develop greater confidence in describing their knowledge, skills and experiences, whilst identifying opportunities for continued growth and development.
Our approach
The Assess stage focuses on how feedback, reflection and articulation are embedded within the curriculum. This may take place through learning and teaching activities, formative or summative assessment, experiential learning, reflective exercises or discussions that encourage students to make sense of their development.
Many programmes already provide opportunities for students to receive feedback, reflect on their experiences and articulate their learning. Working with your College Employability & Skills Lead, you'll explore how these opportunities can be made more intentional and connected to transferable skills development, before considering if any additional activity may be beneficial.
Reflection plays an important role within this process. Experience alone is not always sufficient for development and it is often reflection that enables meaningful learning from experience. The University of Glasgow recommends the SEAL model of reflection to support structured reflective practice across disciplines and learning contexts. The framework helps students move beyond describing experiences and supports them to identify learning, recognise skills development and consider how they will apply that learning in the future.
The Assess stage complements the University's Learning Through Assessment approach by helping students receive feedback, reflect on their learning and articulate their knowledge, skills and development through meaningful assessment and wider learning experiences
What do you need to do?
Using one of the transferable skills identified during the Identify stage, you'll review existing opportunities for students to receive feedback, reflect on their development and articulate what they have learned. This might involve enhancing existing activities, making skills development more explicit within assessment and feedback processes, introducing meaningful assessment or introducing new opportunities where appropriate.
What resources and support are provided at this stage?
- The Assessment and Feedback Resources Hub, including more on Meaningful Assessment
- A series of template assessment rubrics for transferable skills which cover areas such as presentations, teamwork and analysis.
- The University of Glasgow recommended model of reflection and accompanying resources
- Consultation and support from your College Employability & Skills Lead
