It’s time to reflect and review this part of the course.

We are asked:

1. Consider how the feedback that has been provided so far in this programme lends itself to a particular kind of assessment.
2. Consider how a misalignment with feedback and assessment might impact transactional distance.
3. How would you assess what we have done in this module so far?
4. What types of feedback would I need to provide in my own course to support the type of assessment that is expected in my discipline?
    

So, can I answer?

1. I think the feedback on this program has been timely, low-pressure and informal. That would seem to lend itself to small, frequent, informal, low-key, non-compulsory assessments.
    
2. If the tone and expectation setting of assessment and feedback didn’t match, it would drive students away. For example, either a seemingly very low key, informal assessment that was followed by an onslaught of harshly judgemental criticism, or a strictly defined and substantial assessment task that was followed by vague, brief, non specific and casual seeming feedback, would definitely be quite demoralising.
    
3. I’m not sure what this question is asking: do I think it was a good module, or what would be a good way to tell what we have learned from it. So firstly, I think this whole course has been incredibly interesting and I wish I could do the MSc in Digital Education because it sounds fantastic. But it’s more likely I’m meant to think of a way to assess knowledge gained through study of this module, in which case, inventing an assessment task sounds like the most obvious choice!
    
4. That first thing that comes to mind is that ‘feedforward’ assessments would be most useful for the practical aspects of scientific courses. I also think peer review would be an authentic assessment practice for scientific work. Another idea, which I suggested in the course discussion was that I think it would be interesting if some of our Environmental Science / Ecology students could do an Open Educational Resource (OER) as a group project relating to local environmental or sustainability issues and interacting with relevant local groups and officials. I think this would also be an authentic and relevant activity, with plenty of opportunities for timely and actionable feedback.
    

(Photo by David from Pexels)

A review of the assessment module / Annabel Treshansky’s "An Edinburgh Model for Online Teaching" blog by blogadmin is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0