Re-engineering Assessment Practices

in Scottish Higher Education [REAP]

Gillian RobertsREAP project co-ordinator in CBS

Scottish Funding Council (SFC) - a 2 year Project

•£6m for HE/FE – competitive bidding•E-learning transformational projects•Embedding and substitution •New approaches to teaching/ learning •Measurable benefits to institution/sector•Partnerships with other HEIs/FEIs

Rationale for the REAP proposal

•Assessment – key driver of student learning•Assessment is a major cost in HE: economies of scale limited•Assessment influences a wide range of organisational, pedagogical and business processes in HE

Partners and roles

•Strathclyde University: across 5 faculties with large 1st year classes (Mechanical Engineering, Marketing, Pharmacy, Psychology, Primary Education)•Glasgow Caledonian Business School (one faculty: Finance, Management, Marketing, HR, ) •Glasgow University (developing electronic voting technologies)

•Allows synergies and comparisons across disciplines /faculty/institution.

Aims of REAP Project

•Re-engineer assessment practices in 3 HE institutions using supportive technologies.•Enhanced approaches - self, peer, tutor, to enhance motivation & learner self-regulation•Integrate technologies – online tests, simulations, e-voting, e-portfolios, VLEs, admin systems and online-offline interactions •Focus is on large classes - esp.1st year •Improve learning quality & show efficiencies•Embed new processes in institution

REAP Projects and participants in CBS in 2005-06

1. Managerial Finance – Ken Waddell & Stuart McChlery2. Marketing Fundamentals – Sheena MacArthur3. Economics, Markets & Enterprise – Douglas Chalmers & Alan

Radford4. Understanding Management – Kate Lennon & Lynn Black5. Organisations & their Environment – Andy Sharp &

douglas Chalmers6. Consumer Buyer Behaviour – Anne Warren7. Perspectives on People at Work – Pauline Munro8. Business Research Methods – Dorothy Macfarlane9. Strategic Management – Alec Wersun & Susan Ogden

* Presentations at the GCU Learning and Teaching Showcase event on 25.5.06 are in bold

Key research underpinning The REAP project

Twigg C (2005) Course redesign improves learning and reduces costhttp://www.highereducation.org/reports/pa_core/core.pdf

•Nicol, D. & Milligan, C. (2006), Rethinking technology-supported assessment in relation to the seven principles of good feedback practice. In C. Bryan and K. Clegg, Innovations in Assessment, Routledge.

•Gibbs & Simpson (2003) FAST project: Evaluation Tools for investigating the impact of assessment on student learning