Summary


Policy Briefings and Pitch assessments are “authentic tasks” that offer value beyond instrumental gains, and expand student reward, motivation and welfare. The model offers “assessment for learning” around a specific issue of personal interest, while demonstrating both substantive subject knowledge and relevant process skills: of rigorous research, transparent scholarly, engaging and persuasive presentation. Students receiving appropriate marks can revise work following summative feedback; where quality thresholds are met, Briefings can be published online. This immediately valorises assessment and creates evidence for employability. Briefings can be substituted for other disciplinary relevant artefacts. Example from GSD publications.


Theory


Summative assessment is often a set by teachers and engaged with by students in an instrumental way i.e. as a means to gain and assess a degree award of a given classification. As a result engagement can also be instrumental, with only surface learning to “pass the test”, or making little long term impact on student development. “Authentic assessment” – in which the assessment task seek to create authentic value and/ or mirror tasks likely preformed as part of citizenship and livelihoods – aims to engage students in “assessment for learning”, in which learning is simultaneously expanded and demonstrated, with higher levels of affective engagement creating deeper and longer lasting learning. Such processes are argued to increase welfare by multiplying the ways in which assessment submission are valorised by the university.


Measurable Benefits


  • Students engage more intellectually in assessment, which leads to improved marks for comparison over time, and potentially signify strong learning outcomes in themselves. v
  • Students enjoy assessment, which can be noted in module feedback surveys, including in free comment sections where students might specifically record such positive experiences. Students have more success in obtaining employment as they can readily and independently evidence the ability to complete authentic tasks, such as the production of Policy Briefings and persuasive policy “pitches”. This might be reported back by alumni from application feedback and success rates.

How it Works


  1. Rework module paperwork to embed authentic learning. Specify Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) for students to engage in authentic research, analysis and communication activities, as appropriate to the discipline and subject matter of the module. This might be embedded in individual other ILOs, or be provided for in separate ILOs following the specification of subject matter. See here for one possible example, from the context in which this practice was developed.
  2. Design authentic assessment tasks and associated instructions
  3. Develop generic marking rubrics to incorporate quality characteristics relevant to the authentic tasks and assessment.
  4. Design learning opportunities that support students’ abilities to complete the authentic tasks and therefore assessments.
  5. Engage students early in the module to highlight and share innovative assessment approach, any employability focus, opportunities for publication etc. Solicit interests as a means to promote engagement.
  6. Make regular reference to the authentic assessment tasks, and show how learning activities and opportunities link to this.
  7. Administer assessment
  8. Review feedback from students, including module surveys, to identify impact on student learning experience and adjust as necessary.

Practical Example


Assessment Tasks


Assessment instructions require students to produce an authentic artefact, relevant to the discipline or subject being taught. Examples include a Policy Briefing or a Policy Pitch, which might be relevant to any social science, or potentially natural science or Humanity subject, where subject knowledge and analysis, plus rigorous and persuasive recommendations might be presented to decision makers.

Ideally the task can give students broad parameters to choose the audience. The ability to think strategically about what knowledge to share, how, according to what epistemological standards, and with what decision-makers, can be a more or less fundamental part of intended learning – depending on the specific needs.

Below are editable word documents that might provide the basis for potential development elsewhere:


Assessment Tasks

Ask students to prepare mini Briefings on a given or self-selected subject, based on specified or self-researched sources (depending on notional learning time available), e.g. one page summaries with significant use of bullets points, visual communications etc, on the week’s substantive subject.

Promote presentational confidence and skill by asking students to pitch a summary of the briefing to a partner. Allow some preparation time in class, to promote rapid planning and synthesis skills.

Facilitate students to share with a partner and analyse subject knowledge content on written briefing as well as other skills, such as scholarship and research, use of visual communication methods, statistical analysis techniques etc. Facilitate whole class discussion to build a collective understanding of positive qualities and areas students might want to develop for written briefings and spoken pitches.


Individual Perspective


Designing a module that sets authentic process learning as core parts of the curriculum has been very stimulating, and it’s rewarding to see the heightened welfare outcomes. The approach creates a natural and authentic focus on authentic assessment submissions, and readily provides structures for contact time, though which students can work actively with substantive subject knowledge and develop relevant process skills. Feedback on this assessment has bene very rewarding, and the quality of some student work has been truly moving – as some have reported interest from real world decision makers, from local mayor, to government offices and Chairs of European committees.


Additional Resources


  • The module page from which this example has been developed.
  • Full draft of an unpublished research article about authentic assessment and skills development.