News from CeLT
The Challenging Assessment initiative
By the time this edition comes to press, CeLT will have launched the Challenging Assessment Initiative, which will continue till September 2009.
The aim of the Challenging Assessment initiative is to
MMU is a large and diverse institution that already offers much in the way of sensitively integrated, well-aligned assessment practice. The ‘Challenging Assessment’ initiative will celebrate and spread such practice and will encourage MMU staff to reflect on and review their assessment practices.
We wish to ensure that assessment:
- is experienced by learners as an integral part of the learning experience, rather than something ‘bolted on’ at the end
- is diagnostic, particularly early in a learner’s career or experience of a topic
- is, in itself, interesting, engaging, varied and motivating
- is, where appropriate, active and collaborative rather than passive and singular
- values formative approaches to learning, giving useful and timely feedback that feels like ‘feed forward’ for the learner because it supports subsequent performance
- assesses sufficiently, but not too much, with balanced assessment load in mind
- is accessible to all learners
- makes proper and effective use of learning technologies
- values efficiency, for the learner and the academic
- completes a virtuous circle: focussed on the learner, focussed on learner success
- contributes to learners’ employability prospects
We have planned a series of events which includes keynote speakers to launch and conclude the initiative, and an extensive workshop and event programme which links to learning and teaching events within all faculties. We will publicise these events through our website, and by regular bulletins on the all staff email system. We will also publicise relevant external events, including those of the HEA subject centres. If you are planning events where assessment is a theme, then we can advertise these for you within this initiative. Equally, if there are events/workshops around assessment that you would like to see, then let us know.
Personnel changes within CeLT
There have been further changes in personnel within CeLT since the last edition of LTiA.
• Kate Kirk has left the CPD team to head up the ‘Retention and Student Success’ project while continuing to lead the Shockabsorber project.
• Michael Coleman will be the administrator for both projects.
• Carly Flanagan has replaced Michael as CPD Office Administrator, with responsibility for the MA in Academic Practice.
• Margaret Kendall has now taken on the role of CPD leader.
• Neil Ringan has been promoted to Principal Lecturer in Learning and Teaching (Learning Technologies).