Case Studies and Resources
This section details case studies and resources based on the six Programme Assessment and Feedback principles underpinning the UCD Framework for Programme Assessment and Feedback Strategies. These may provide some helpful information when implementing changes to your programme.
Articulated: The programme outcomes and the programme assessment and feedback strategy are clearly articulated to the students and other stakeholders.
Aligned: The module teaching, learning, assessment, feedback approaches are aligned and are mapped to the programme outcomes
| Title | Description |
UCD/National | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
|
O’Brien O. (2017b) Case Study E: Mapping the Bachelor of Business Studies Programme in Singapore: Large Programme Scale Does Not Always Prevent Assessment Mapping and Change (pg.67-70), National Forum: Dublin |
This case study explores the mapping of the UCD Bachelor of Business Studies programme in Singapore. The value of this case study is in its explanation of the application of a mapping exercise to a programme with a large student cohort and multiple pathways and its extension of the institutional approach used in UCD. The case study describes how an assessment matrix was used to provide a succinct insight into the scale, timing, variety and scope of assessments across the programme. | UCD | Business |
|
O’Leary, C. & Harvey, J (2017) Case Study G: Real-Time Programme Mapping Through an Extended Assessment Calendar (pg.74-75), National Forum: Dublin |
This case study describes the development of a prototype tool at DIT, using Google Docs, which invited programme team members to submit their assessment data using a Google Form, through which they are prompted to supply not just the date and description of each assessment, but also the mapping of the assessment to the programme learning outcomes and graduate attributes. | National | All |
|
Cooney, C, Short, A (2017) Case Study F: Zoom in to PASS - Mapping Assessment in a Business Programme (pg.71-73), National Forum: Dublin |
This case study, based in Dundalk IT, describes the use of the Programme Assessment Schedule for Students (PASS), an online calendar-based mapping tool designed to capture the types and timings of assessments across modules in each year of a programme. The end result is an overall coherent assessment calendar distributed to each student. | National | Business |
|
Galvin A (2017) Case Study A: An Institutional Approach to Programme Mapping (pg.28-31) National Forum: Dublin |
This UCD case study describes a strategic institutional mapping exercise conducted across UCD in 206-2018. The output from the process - the curriculum map - comprised a series of summary tables, which provided a visual representation, using simple scoring and a colour-coded pattern, of the degree to which programme outcomes appeared to be addressed and assessed. | UCD | All |
|
Brunton et al (2017) Case Study I: Developing a Systematic Programme-Focused Assessment and Feedback Strategy (pg.78-80), National Forum: Dublin |
This case study describes the development and introduction of a programme-focused assessment and feedback strategy to the Humanities Programmes in Open Education at DCU. The aim of this initiative was to design a systematic programme-focused assessment and feedback approach which ensured that students had a reasonable opportunity to meet all the programme learning outcomes. | National | Humanities |
Space: Consideration is given to the time and space for assessment and feedback approaches, including reducing staff and student assessment load, space for more complex learning.
| Title | Description |
UCD/National | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Larger modules to enhance engagement and reduce assessment load in UCD History (Rouse, 2019) | A case study of how a faculty came together to move from 5 to 10 credit modules in History (3rd Year). This increased student engagement in their learning and reduced assessment load. | UCD | Arts and Humanities |
| Creating a Week’s Space across the Curriculum for Engagement (Vallely et al, 2019) | A new case study of how a whole programme (UCD Social Science) developed a lecture-free week 8, to give students some breathing space, allow them to catch up and reengage with some supports | UCD | Social Science |
| Authentic Assessment in Business Education - the Integrated Case Study (A Capstone project) (McGreevy et al, 2019) (also Integrated) | This IADT case study outlines a final year business Capstone Project which is applied across several modules. This approach reduces the assessment load for final year students as well as providing them with the opportunity to problem solve in a real-world context. | National | All |
| A Faculty-led model of Integrated Assessment: Collaboratively prepared themes exams (Roche 2017c) (also Integrated) | A case study of how a faculty came together to develop an examination that integrates a range of subject within a stage (the TCD Scholarship exam) | National | All |
Integrated: Integrated and coherent assessment and feedback approaches are designed vertically and horizontally into the programme.
| Title | Description |
UCD/National | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authentic Assessment in Business Education - the Integrated Case Study (A Capstone project) (McGreevy et al, 2019) (also Space) | This IADT case study outlines a final year business Capstone Project which is applied across several modules. This approach reduces the assessment load for final year students as well as providing them with the opportunity to problem solve in a real-world context. | National | All |
| A Faculty-led model of Integrated Assessment: Collaboratively prepared themes exams (Roche 2017c) (also Space) | A case study of how a faculty came together to develop an examination that integrates a range of subjects within a stage (the TCD Scholarship exam) | National | All |
|
Definition of Horizontal & Vertical Approach to Assessment (National Forum, 2017a) |
An overview of the terminology of vertical and horizontal approaches to assessment, including concepts such as capstone, progressive assessment, |
National |
All |
|
Feedback Strategies to Enhance Student Learning (UCD T&L, 2019) (also Variety) |
A UCD resource which describes the different types of feedback that are used throughout a programme, generated by staff and also those developed by students, such as self and peer review. | UCD | All |
|
Assessment Rubrics across a programme (UCD T&L, 2018) (also Variety) |
This resource sets out the different types (analytic and holistic) and purposes of rubrics. It also suggests how the different types could be used as students progress through the programme. |
UCD |
All |
| A Framework for Assessment Group work: Development and Implementation of an Institutional Wide Approach (DKIT 2017) (also Variety) | An institutional approach (DKIT) to the development of group work skills, with some suggested questions and approaches used for different stages. | National | All |
|
Integrating Critical Thinking Vertically and Horizontally (Orna O’Brien, 2017) |
A UCD case study on how critical thinking is integrated vertically throughout a programme |
UCD |
Business |
| An Alternative Certification Examination (ACE) for Procedural Skills (Morris, 2017) | A TCD final year approach to developing a more integrative authentic approach to assessing procedural skill in medical students | National | Medicine |
|
Cross Disciplinary Collaboration to Integrate Learning; Street Law (Cullen & Heverin, 2017) |
This case study describes an approach taken in LYIT to develop some integration of the key concepts in Street Law. |
National |
Law |
| A Practitioners’ Guide to Enquiry and Problem-based Learning. Dublin: UCD Teaching and Learning (Barrett & Cashman, 2010) | This resource sets out some resources and case studies on enquiry and problem based learning | UCD | All |
|
Group Work Approaches in the Programme (UCD T&L, 2013) (also Variety) |
This UCD resource sets out different approaches to group work and how this could be developed across a programme |
UCD |
All |
Varied: A variety of assessment and feedback methods are used across the programme, in particular authentic, empowering and engaging approaches
| Title | Description |
UCD/National |
Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Feedback Strategies to Enhance Student Learning (UCD T&L, 2019) (also Integrated) |
A UCD resource which describes the different types of feedback that are used throughout a programme, generated by staff and also those developed by students, such as self and peer review. | UCD | All |
|
Assessment Rubrics across a programme (UCD T&L, 2018) (also Integrated) |
This resource sets out the different types (analytic and holistic) and purposes of rubrics. It also suggests how the different types could be used as students progress through the programme. | UCD | All |
|
A Framework for Assessment Group work: Development and Implementation of an Institutional Wide Approach (DKIT 2017) (also Integrated) |
An institutional approach (DKIT) to the development of group work skills, with some suggested questions and approaches used for different stages. | National | All |
|
Practitioner’s Guide to Choice of Assessment (O’Neill 2015) |
A comprehensive resource of 11 UCD case studies that introduced choice of assessment in their modules |
UCD |
All |
| Group Work Approaches in the Programme (UCD T&L, 2013) (also Integrated) | This UCD resource sets out different approaches to group work and how this could be developed across a programme | UCD | All |
Reliable: Procedures are in place to ensure the reliability of the programme assessment and feedback approaches, including consistency, academic integrity and comparability in grading.
| Title | Description |
UCD/International | Discipline |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Herbert, I. A. John Joyce & Trevor Hassall (2014) The Potential for a Community of Practice to Improve Inter-marker Reliability, Accounting Education |
In this paper, the concept of a Community of Practice (CoP) is employed as an analytical lens through which the notion of a markers' standardisation meeting that focuses on maintaining alignment between the curriculum, the marking scheme and the scoring of student scripts can be critically examined. CoP has both descriptive and prescriptive potential in terms of aiding the development of markers of professional accounting examinations. | International | Professional Accounting |
|
Bloxham, Sue Peter Boyd & Susan Orr (2011) Mark my words: the role of assessment criteria in UK higher education grading practices, |
This article seeks to illuminate the gap between UK policy and practice in relation to the use of criteria for allocating grades. It critiques criterion-referenced grading from three perspectives. Twelve lecturers from two universities were asked to ‘think aloud’ as they graded two written assignments. The study found that assessors made holistic rather than analytical judgments. | International | All |
| Assessment Rubrics across a programme (UCD T&L, 2018) (also Variety, & Integrative) | The resource sets out the different types (analytic and holistic) and purposes of rubrics. It also suggests how the different types could be used as students progress through the programme. | UCD | All |