All 2 entries tagged Molly Fowler

Assessments: Capturing Lived Experience and Shaping the Future

Reflection on Project Outputs by Molly Fowler

This WIHEA funded co-creation project aimed to capture and explore student and staff perspectives on diverse assessment. Neither group were clearly able to define a diverse assessment strategy, but interestingly their feelings about assessment and ideas of how they can be improved were very similar. Students expressed a desire for greater choice, flexibility and equitable access to assessments. Equitable access encompasses a wide range of complex personal needs including language requirements, disability, neurodiversity, caring responsibilities, and the need to work alongside studies. Staff iterated many of the same concepts but framed their ideas around pedagogical models. There was a strong emphasis on learning from assessments on both sides and a widespread longing for a culture shift to design assessments that model a fair and fulfilling education. Student co-creation was seen as a necessary tool to expedite the shift towards embedding assessments as part of the learning journey.

I am a final year student on the Health and Medical Sciences BSc programme. My role as a student cocreator in this research project was to collect and analyse data from students and staff pertaining to their beliefs around assessment. In the analysis stage of the project, I mainly focused on collating and summarising the student data. I am new to conducting primary research and I have thoroughly appreciated this experience. I enjoyed the challenge of leading interviews and focus groups and deciding when to explore a statement further or manoeuvre back to the set questions. Gaining first-hand insight into the research process has augmented my ability to understand and extract key information from research papers which will be a life-long skill – and was particularly useful when I was conducting a systematic review for my dissertation. It has been very satisfying to observe my own personal development in this way.

This project has made me aware of my privilege in assessments as a neurotypical English speaker. I have been exposed to a range of different perspectives on assessment and I hope to be better equipped to identify problems and support those around me. For example, I was surprised to learn that international students feel more disadvantaged by multiple choice exams than essays, as MCQs often require a nuanced understanding of language and grammar. Similarly, I have always taken a pragmatic approach to assessments and centred my learning around them. I had not previously considered assessments as part of the learning journey or as a learning exercise. As I move into the next phase of my own education, I will try to extend my learning beyond assessments to gain knowledge that I can use in my profession. Undertaking this project has been an enriching experience as a student and as an individual. It has shaped my approach to my assessments, and I have become more aware of the complex needs of others who are completing the same assessment. Students and staff are calling for the same changes to assessment methodology, which can only be implemented if the University takes a holistic approach to restructuring assessments with students contributing to the process.

I look forward to bringing my knowledge from this assignment into my next research project. This is the 13th blog in our diverse assessment series. Previous blogs can be found here:

Blog 1: Launch of the learning circle (Isabel Fischer & Leda Mirbahai): https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/wjett/entry/interested_in_diverse/

Blog 2: Creative projects and the ‘state of play’ in diverse assessments (Lewis Beer): https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/wjett/entry/creative_projects_and/

Blog 3: Student experience of assessments (Molly Fowler): https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/wjett/entry/a_student_perspective/

Blog 4: Assessment Strategy – one year after starting the learning circle (Isabel Fischer & Leda Mirbahai): https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/wjett/entry/one_year_on/

Blog 5: Learnings and suggestions based on implementing diverse assessments in the foundation year at Warwick (Lucy Ryland): https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/wjett/entry/learnings_suggestions_based/

Blog 6: How inclusive is your assessment strategy? (Leda Mirbahai): https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/wjett/entry/blog_6_how/

Blog 7: Democratising the feedback process (Linda Enow): https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/wjett/entry/democratising_the_feedback/

Blog 8: AI for Good: Evaluating and Shaping Opportunities of AI in Education (Isabel Fischer, Leda Mirbahai & David Buxton): https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/wjett/entry/ai_for_good/

Blog 9: On ‘Opportunities of AI in Higher Education’ by DALL.E and ChatGPT (Isabel Fischer): https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/wjett/entry/on_opportunities_of/

Blog 10: Pedagogic paradigm 4.0: bringing students, educators and AI together (Isabel Fischer): https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/pedagogic-paradigm-40-bringing-students-educators-and-ai-together

Blog 11: Ethically deploying AI in education: An update from the University of Warwick’s open community of practice (Isabel Fischer, Leda Mirbahai, Lewis Beer, David Buxton, Sam Grierson, Lee Griffin, and Neha Gupta): https://www.open.ac.uk/scholarship-and-innovation/scilab/ethically-deploying-ai-education

Blog 12: Building knowledge on the pedagogy of using generative AI in the classroom and in assessments (Isabel Fischer and Matt Lucas): https://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/wjett/entry/building_knowledge_on/

Join the Diverse Assessment Learning Circle: If you would like to join the learning circle please contact the co-leads: Leda Mirbahai, Warwick Medical School (WMS) (Leda.Mirbahai@warwick.ac.uk) and Isabel Fischer, Warwick Business School (WBS) (Isabel.Fischer@wbs.ac.uk). This LC is open to non-WIHEA members.

Abigail Ball : 19 Jun 2023 09:00 |  Tags: Assessment Molly Fowler Reflections |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem

A Student Perspective on Assessment Diversity and Strategy – Molly Fowler

Over the last two years I have completed 21 assessments of approximately 10 different types - I am a seasoned consumer of assessments. Truly diverse assessment should use a range of valid assessment types that stimulate learning and provide opportunities for learners with varied needs and capabilities.

Assessments where I have synthesised information mined without time pressure, have resulted in the deepest learning. I overcame an irrational fear of epigenetics by writing an essay on the topic. I have been wondering whether real time information acquisition and synthesis could form an equally valuable assessment modality. My recent work experience showed me the readiness of healthcare professionals at all levels to access and deploy ambulatory online information in real time on the ward and in the clinic. As far as I can see, assessment methodologies have yet to catch up with this new reality.

It is perhaps a truism to say that assessments should be a learning methodology. Assessment can be a stimulus to learn content but can also model useful skills and behaviours. I have found that assessments with low ecological validity are less enriching, and regrettably invite purely strategic learning. The best example I have is my French GCSE in which I achieved an A grade without being able to speak a word of the language. The nature of the assessment meant that I did not need to engage with the content or the objectives of the course. I was able to prevail by memorising and regurgitating chunks of text which I promptly forgot after the exam.

Of my recent exams, the methodology that strikes me as most at fault in this respect is the MCQ. This is a highly artificial assessment construct, relying crucially on recall of memorised information, in a specific and stressful environment. I accept that there may be other skills involved such as prioritising options, but this is barely possible without the memorising and recall.

Group assessments might seem to reflect real world behaviour, but I have not always found this to be the case. With no agreed hierarchy it is very difficult to distribute responsibility or manage group members who are either overly assertive or who fail to contribute. This is particularly tricky when all those involved are required to be equal contributors with equal status. Surely this is an unusual circumstance in any working environment. The contrived dynamics of group assessments can introduce an uncontrolled variable that impacts the results of even very good students.

I feel it is of critical importance that students have the opportunity to thoroughly rehearse assessment methodologies that they will face in the high-stakes final year. For example, having done two poster presentations, previously unfamiliar to me, I feel less daunted by the prospect of doing it again for my dissertation module. I now appreciate that this is a common way of disseminating information at scientific conferences so it may be an important skill for me to have in my career.

Personal lives are complex and we are all subject to sudden or dramatic change in our circumstances. Assessments by essays can more easily accommodate and mitigate unforeseen events through flexibility, but fixed assessments such as exams or in-person presentations are much more difficult to rearrange. An advantage of continuous assessment over end-of-year assessments is the feasibility of allowances for such happenings as fewer assessments would be affected. It is also true that students with a reported disability tend to do less well than students with no reported disability (Office for Students, 2022). This raises important questions around equity, and whether the available reasonable adjustments are good enough.

Properly diverse assessment could serve many purposes. Within the mix of assessments should be opportunities for different students to demonstrate their individual proficiency at their preferred method. Diverse assessment should be inclusive of students with reasonable adjustments, but they should also allow for unpredictable adverse events. Finally, where possible, assessments should engender learning and embody activities that will be useful in later life.

Office for Students (2022) Access and Participation Data Dashboard [online] Available from: https://www.officeforstudents.org.uk/data-and-analysis/access-and-participation-data-dashboard/ (Accessed 8 October 2022).

Molly is member of the Diverse Assessment Learning Circle. If you would like to join the LC please contact the co-leads: Leda Mirbahai, Warwick Medical School (WMS) (Leda.Mirbahai@warwick.ac.uk) and Isabel Fischer, Warwick Business School (WBS) (Isabel.Fischer@wbs.ac.uk)

Link to blog one : Introduction to diverse assessment learning circle

Link to blog two: Creative Projects and the ‘state of play’ in diverse assessments

Abigail Ball : 31 Oct 2022 09:28 |  Tags: Assessment Molly Fowler Student Teaching |  Comments (0) |  Close comments |  Report a problem