Embedding an ethos of students as partners in assessment supports the strategic priorities of the university and the aims of our Education for social justice framework, in which student partnership is a vital, cross-cutting thread. Implementing this approach gives life to our commitment in our University strategy to “engage all students as partners”, to our Student success strategy, and to our Student partnership agreement.
As a key driver of learning, assessment profoundly influences the relationships between learners and teachers and is a significant area for engaging students as partners in the co-creation of learning and teaching (Bovill et al, 2021, p.5), as part of an empowering embrace of critical and relational pedagogies.
As Carol Evans (2020) highlights, the development of “strong student-lecturer partnerships” is very important “in order to build student self-regulatory capacity in assessment feedback”. A key consideration here is ownership: “How students come to co-own their programmes with lecturers and see themselves as active contributors to the assessment feedback process rather than seeing assessment as something that is done to them” (p.3). It is a vision of partnership that would include all educators involved in curriculum, teaching, and learning development: subject tutors, module and course leaders, and academic support staff.
Students as partners in assessment
As proposed by Bovill et al (2021: p.6):
“Develop assessment and feedback dialogue: This involves a commitment to transparency, conversation, and ongoing dialogic interaction where students and educators work towards a shared understanding of assessment and feedback.
Share responsibility for assessment and feedback: Students and educators need to set clear expectations and be open to negotiating students’ and educators’ roles in assessment and feedback, whilst acknowledging that this disrupts existing learner and teacher power dynamics and roles.
Create an assessment and feedback environment that fosters trust: Through dialogue, foster positive student and educator relationships and integrity in the assessment and feedback process, supporting the building of trust.
Nurture inclusive assessment and feedback processes: Adopt an assessment for a learning approach that acknowledges students are knowledge holders/ creators able to showcase and highlight their learning and ways of knowing that reflect our culturally and linguistically diverse global world.
Connect partnership in assessment and feedback with curriculum and pedagogy: Assessment and feedback act as a significant motivator for students. Partnership in assessment and feedback can be a powerful catalyst to enhance the assessment experiences of all students when embedded through co-created learning and teaching processes in the curriculum.”
Similarly, Carol Evans (2020) emphasises that “[f]eedback mechanisms need to be an integral part of curriculum design. Feedback should be part of the ongoing dialogue within taught sessions on what can and cannot be changed to enhance practice and why” (p.19).
Use the model, from bovill et al (2021, p.12 ) to “think about how assessment and feedback work can involve different groups of students and staff in different ways at different stages of assessment and feedback”.
Link to type of participation .
Develop a course-level strategy for progressively embedding partnerships in assessment and feedback across a programme, guided by the above model as applicable.
This could include
- Work with student representatives to identify opportunities and expectations for partnership dialogue across the course e.g. when introducing assignments, during assessment feedback sessions, as part of mid-term module evaluations, co-organised course committees - bearing in mind that the “student rep” role is voluntary but strongly encourages working in partnership with staff;
- Work with student representatives to plan and implement actions to encourage student participation e.g. student-led briefings about partnerships, online spaces for sharing ideas and providing updates about changes resulting from partnerships, course/subject newsletters with examples of innovations arising from partnerships, reflective tasks incorporated in the “London Met Passport” (e.g. reflection on benefits gained from participation in dialogue about assessment and feedback);
- Start modules/ classes by introducing partnership/dialogic approaches within modules to the design/review of assessment tasks; develop an understanding of assessment criteria - through discussion and/or the co-design of marking schemes (grading rubrics); enhance assessment feedback practices making space for peer review of draft work and dialogue about the feedback and the grade.
The University’s student curriculum partners scheme was introduced in 2021 to support the implementation of our education for social justice framework. Trained SCPs act as change agents in curriculum development - including learning, teaching, and assessment practices - through collaboration with course teams, offering pedagogic consultancy for subject areas different from their own, based on their lived experiences – with an emphasis on making the curriculum more inclusive and accessible. The process entails a review by allocated SCPs of course handbooks and materials followed by a report, with recommendations on enhancing inclusivity in the curriculum, and feedback to the course team.
To request SCP consultancy, please email the coordinator of the SCP Scheme: jessica.hoarau@londonmet.ac.uk
From London Met
“Student perspectives on assessment”: Social sciences student BAME and inclusive curriculum group (2021), an initiative coordinated by professor Andrew Moran and associate professor Steven Curtis: recording of presentation at Learning and Teaching Conference 2021.
Developing a digital student (#Take5 blog by Tom Burns and Sandra Sinfield): Develop student digital proficiency through creative partnerships around formative and/or summative assessment for learning, such as:
- Blogging to learn: Blogs are multimodal, semi-public, and quasi-academic spaces in which students can narrate themselves as they become academic;
- Digital Storytelling: The digital age is predicated on the notion of the student as a producer (of knowledge);
- Compiling wikipedia entries, especially of neglected topics or scholars;
- Students producing guides and resources for other students, as a form of assessment.
Multimodal exhibitions: see Abegglen, S., Burns, T. and Sinfield, S. (2016) The Power of Freedom: Setting up a Multimodal Exhibition With Undergraduate Students to Foster Their Learning and Help Them to Achieve, Journal of Peer Learning, 9: 1-9. Available at: Journal of Peer Learning.
External/published
See case studies in Bovill et al. (2021) pp.14-18.
Bourke, R, Rainier, C, and de Vries, V (2018), ‘Assessment and learning together in higher education, Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education, 1 (25): 2.
Deeley, S.J. and Bovill, C. (2017) Staff student partnership in assessment: enhancing assessment literacy through democratic practices, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 42:3, 463-477, DOI: tandfonline.com.
Martens, S.E. et al (2019) A student’s take on student–staff partnerships: experiences and preferences, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 44:6, 910-919, DOI: tandfonline.com.
Millmore, A. (2021) ‘Hand over the reins: A case study for student-staff partnership in designing module assessments’, International Journal for Students as Partners, 5 (1): 86-96.
Monsen, S., Cook, S. and Hannant, L. (2017) ‘Students as partners in negotiated assessment in a teacher education course’, Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education, 1 (21): 2.
Videos
Ní Bheoláin, R. et al (2022?) Supporting student partnership in assessment with technology. (Dublin City University). Available on: Youtube.
Frameworks
Bovill, C., Matthews,K. E. and Hinchcliffe, T. (2021) Student Partnerships in Assessment (Advance HE).
Evans, C. (2020) Enhancing Assessment Feedback Practice in Higher Education: The EAT Framework. Available at: Integrated Assessment Evans 2020.
See especially Table 1 (partnership included with key principles) and Appendix F on Developing Student Engagement in Assessment.
Healey, M. and Healey, R. (2019) Engagement through partnership: students as partners in learning and teaching in higher education (Advance HE). See models on p.6 and p.11 and guidance on developing “partnership learning communities” on p.10.
QAA Scotland (2011) A Student Engagement Framework for Scotland. See especially the sections on Students as Partners, valuing student contributions, and ensuring appropriate resources and support.