This is just tip of the iceberg!
In July, 2023, I was asked to prepare a very brief presentation for the University of Greenwich’s School of Human Sciences, on the topic of “Inclusive Assessment in Higher Education”, for the Sharing Good Practice day. Of course, I couldn’t just ‘pluck something off the shelf’, I had to make sure that my presentation was not only ‘spot on’, theoretically, but truly ‘practicing what I preach’, especially making the resources digitally creative and aesthetically relevant, too! The result is this 20 minutes Prezi video.
The main video presentation
Within the presentation, I emphasised the need for celebrating diversity, promoting equity, and enabling, empowering, achieving inclusion. These three outcomes would mean we need to “unleash learning from the straight-jacket of identical assessments for all” (me, in this presentation).
“If our students can’t best demonstrate their learning in the ways we assess…“
One of my favourite quotes from Griffith and Burns (2014), in Teaching Backwards, is when they say something along the lines of “If your students can’t learn the way you teach, you need to learn to teach the way they learn”. The challenge for us all, now that we realise inclusive assessments matter, is realising we have both the opportunity and imperative for a complete assessment re-think. As Prof Sally Brown, NTF, (2020) highlighted, Covid has taught us this great thing, in HE, i.e. to seize the day and take this unique opportunity as a chance for developing not just inclusive and authentic assessments, but truly compassionate ones, too!
References and further resources
The level 6 & & “Promoting Sexual Health” Adobe Express assignments, I referred to in the presentation: https://express.adobe.com/page/v3bBVVmXeoeRv/
AdvanceHE (2018) Embedding equality, diversity and inclusion in the curriculum A programme standard, York, AdvanceHE, cited at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2019-09/Assessing%20EDI%20in%20the%20Curriculum%20-%20Programme%20Standard.pdf cited on 160/06/2023
Brown, S. (2020) Compassionate Assessment post-Covid19: improving assessment ling-term,A seminar for QAA Scotland, cited at: https://sally-brown.net/2020/09/24/quality-question-resolution-and-qaa-scotland/ cited on 01/07/2023
Brown, S. and Race, P. (2013) Chapter 5: Using effective assessment to promote learning, in: Hunt, L. and Chalmers, D. (2013) University Teaching in Focus: a learning-centred approach, London, Routledge, pp. 74-91; cited at: https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/_/Wzaz9JwRelcC?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA74&dq=Phil+race+on+authentic+assessment cited on 02/07/2023
Evans, D.T. (2022) Chapter 1: “The trouble with normal …” Covid-19’s legacy and the multipotentiality for co-creating teaching, learning and assessing, Digital Connection in Health and Social Work: perspectives from Covid-19, pp 11 – 22; St Albans, Herts. Critical Publishing Ltd
Evans, D.T. (2021) Boosting TEL Capabilities: AdvanceHE “Torch Bearer’s” Elevator Pitch, Adobe Express Resource, cited at https://express.adobe.com/page/2xaKUsgTCAq6S/ cited on 06/07/2023
Evans, D.T. (2021) Cultivating Creative Digital Literacy across TL&A for health and social care education, cited at https://express.adobe.com/page/Cy5awg2L1ab2f/ cited on 06/07/2023
Evans, D.T. (2020) “Don’t just think outside the box …”: exploring e-learning ~ologies in light of Covid-19, Adobe Express Resource, cited at https://express.adobe.com/page/HJXwxytPOXUYH/ cited on 06/07/2023
Grewal, M. (2021) There are so many reasons why EDI is not the answer, Times Higher Education, cited at: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/campus/there-are-so-many-reasons-why-edi-not-answer cited on 01/07/2023
Griffith, A. and Burns, M. (1014) Teaching Backwards, Carmarthen, Wales; Osiris Educational / Crown House Publishing
Hanson, K. (2022) University Students’ Rating of Social Identification and Expectations of Achievement in Higher Education, University of Greenwich, PhD Thesis, School of Human Sciences (Psychology) (unpublished)
Jones, C. (2023) Beyond Highly Skilled – what the other Graduate Outcomes Survey questions tell us about graduate success, HEPI Blog, Higher Education Policy Institute, cited at: https://www.hepi.ac.uk/2023/07/05/beyond-highly-skilled-what-the-other-gos-questions-tell-us-about-graduate-success/ cited on 05/07/2023
Soken-Huberty (2023) Inequity vs. Inequality: An explainer, Human Rights Careers, cited at: https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/inequity-vs-inequality-an-explainer/#:~:text=Let’s%20say%20two%20people%20have,inequity%2C%20there’s%20an%20unequal%20outcome cited on 30/06/2023
UoG (n.d.) The Greenwich Graduate Initiative (including Greenwich Graduate Attributes link), University of Greenwich
Sharing Learning Outside the Classroom 