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Module and Programme Design

Step 4 - Implement

This section sets out ideas for implementing changes to your programme assessment and feedback approaches. Depending on what activities you have planned to address the ideas are set out under the Framework’s principles.

Ideas for Implementing

When considering the ideas below you may find some of the associated case studies and resources useful, as they give institutional and national examples under each of the principles.

1. Articulated and Aligned

The programme outcomes and the programme assessment and feedback strategy should be clearly articulated to the students and other stakeholders. The previous section, Articulate, gives some ideas around good practices in articulating to different stakeholders. Following your review, you may plan to rewrite your programme outcomes and do an assessment mapping exercise.

For more on how to do this see; Writing Programme Aims and Outcomes and Programme Mapping and Alignment. Some different institutional and national case studies on mapping can be found in the Articulated and Aligned section of the Case Studies and Resources, for example, there are case studies from UCD, DKIT, UL and DCU.

2. Integrated

  

Integrated and coherent assessment and feedback approaches should be designed vertically and horizontally into the programme.

  • Horizontal Integration of Assessment: These are assessment opportunities that occur during the same period of time and are linked across modules and/or within a module.
  • Vertical Integration of Assessment: These assessment opportunities build on students’ previous and current experience throughout the module, year and/or programme (National Forum, 2017).

Integration can happen at module, stage, semester/trimester or whole programme approach. The following are different examples of integration, see also some integrated examples of these in the Case Studies and Resources section.

Whole Programme Integration

  • Using assessments that systematically build on previous modules’ assessment, for example progressively challenging group-work assessments based on previous assessment in this area. (Progressive Assessment)
  • Use of a ‘capstone assessment’, usually at the end of a programme, to integrate prior learning and/or concurrent from whole or significant part of programme’s stages.

  • Using a student e-Portfolio/Portfolio to support student to integrate their unique learning opportunities from whole or significant part of programme’s stages (could be mapped to programme outcomes competencies/graduate attribute)
  • Development of a ‘spine of core module(s)’, one in each stage or semester, whose assessment draws on previous and concurrent modules in the programme

Within and across Semester/Trimester Integration

Within Semester/Trimester Integration

  • The module’s assessment integrates learning from mandatory work/community placements
  •  Collapsed and/or redesigned two or more existing modules into one module, for the purpose of facilitating more integrative learning and assessment
  • Uses an assessment that integrates learning from two (or more) existing separate modules in a semester (UCD Academic Regulations 4.4)

Across a Stage (across Semesters/Trimesters) 

  • Uses stage-long module, for purpose of a more integrative assessment (UCD Academic Regulations 3.5)

Please see UCD Academic Regulations for further details on academic regulations 4.4 and 3.5 as mentioned above.

Within Module Integration

  • Within a module, an assessment(s) is used to integrate learning across different topics, subjects, activities
  • A module has been designed to integrate learning from this module and other external learning experiences, i.e. themed module, discovery module, enquiry/problem-based learning type modules

Feedback should also be more integrated into the programme for example by:

  • Supporting feedforward (comments that clarify student’s actions for the next module or assessment task)
  • Developing students’ skills in judging their work
  • Moving from structured assessment criteria (analytical criteria) to criteria that assess more complex tasks (holistic criteria);
  • Increasing students’ involvement in feedback, i.e. students asking for specific feedback.

3. Space

Consideration should be given to the time and space for assessment and feedback approaches, including reducing staff and student assessment load, space for more complex learning. Assessment load can be reduced by careful mapping the number and weighting of assessments (Programme Mapping and Alignment).

Allowing some time and space can be achieved by, for example:

  • Creating larger modules (National Forum, 2017)  
  • Allowing some time in a week/semester to free up student workload
  • Using a live calendar of assessment hand in times
  • Developing reflective time in the timetable
  • Replacing some summative with formative assessment in the programme/stage

See space examples in the case studies and resources section.

 

4. Varied

A variety of assessment and feedback methods should be used across the programme, in particular authentic, empowering and engaging approaches. The type of assessments, as for the number of assessments, can be planned through a Programme Mapping and Alignment exercise. Consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of the key assessment types used in UCD. Too much variety can be challenging for students, so carefully plan for variety. Varied and more choice of assessments within a module are approaches that support universal design for learning approaches.

Across a programme, complex assessments, such as dissertations, are often toward the end of a programme. For these types of assessment, it might be worth considering using more holistic rubrics for feedback. Students who are new to particular tasks, often earlier in a programme, may benefit from the structure provided by analytic rubrics, but may benefit from the freedom associated with holistic rubrics at a later stage, see Designing Grading and Feedback Rubrics for more information on rubrics.

5. Reliable

Procedures should be in place to ensure the reliability of the programme assessment and feedback approaches, including consistency, academic integrity and comparability in grading. Reliability in the programme can be enhanced by: 

  • Use of assessment criteria/assessment rubrics (see UCD T&L’s Designing Grading and Feedback Rubrics) 
  • Use marking schemes (a shortlist of expectations that give structured guidance)
  • Develop a systematic approach to consistency in the programme’s grading
  • Develop a shared understanding of the standards required, such as having discussions with your team/colleagues on how to approach grading, i.e. develop a grading ‘Community of Practice’ (Herbert et al, 2014)
  • Moderate your grades whereby your marking is reviewed by another marker. See your School policy on how this is implemented
  • Consider the advice from your External Examiner
  • Ensuring that the assessment encourages the students academic integrity

See more ideas on how to grade students.

Conclusion

In addition, for other ideas on implementation, see: 

Using the UCD Framework for Programme Assessment and Feedback Strategies to engage in ongoing dialogue and incremental actions can provide students with a more coherent assessment and feedback experience, clarify their expectations and can be a more effective and efficient use of staff time. UCD Teaching & Learning can provide support to programme/stage teams by discussing, planning and implementing their programme assessment and feedback strategies.

References