Show Me What You Know!

This event is part of the School of Education's . These seminars are free and open to the public.

Hosted by the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Curriculum (TLC)

Speaker: Dr Simon Brownhill, Senior Lecturer in Education, University of Bristol and Jules Godfrey, Graduate Teacher and PhD Candidate, University of Bristol

It is strongly argued that assessment plays a vital role in Higher Education (Elkington, 2020). Assertions that assessment can be used to motivate learners are challenged by the views of students (Falchikov, 2004) who widely consider it to be unfair, an inaccurate gauge of their ability, and a vehicle for distorting the learning process. A common concern/complaint relates to the ways in which students summatively demonstrate their learning as part of their university studies. Rawlusyk (2018, pp.2-3) suggests that these are limited to a small suite of methods – ‘unit tests, exams (mid-term, semester), and final presentations or projects’ – that are only used to determine grades rather than modifying student learning due to the timing of when these methods are undertaken. Seale et al. (2000) argue that students find a wide range of assessments motivating, especially when a mix of assessment types are available, e.g. written, oral and practical, or when learning is demonstrated through creative ‘responses’ (Winans, n.d.), e.g. graphic/visual or movement/ kinaesthetic. These alternatives to traditional summative assessment methods reinforce the need for creativity to revise and energise existing assessment practices; this is supported by Kivunja (2015) who argues that assessment needs to be reflective of ‘creativity and innovation’, a Super 4Cs Skill of the 21st Century, for assessment to have meaning and value for both those who are assessed (students) and those who assess (academics).

This seminar reports on findings from empirical research which set out to explore the perceptions of students at the University of Bristol School of Education (UoB SoE) in relation to the ways that they demonstrate summative learning as part of their university studies (what they have learned at the end of a unit) and how they could creatively do this. Funded by the UoB SoE Staff Research and Scholarship Fund (SRSF) 2021-22, students from a range of courses/programmes were asked to reflect on their experiences of using creative methods to demonstrate their summative learning, identifying creative methods and ‘creative touches’ [strategies for presentation] they would like to use in their summative assessments and why.

In the seminar, those attending will learn how creative assessment methods are perceived as positively responding to diverse learning needs by allowing students to flexibly explore what they have learned in ways which are not fully realised within current conventional formats. Despite students feeling that there is a need for creativity, such as ‘creative touches’, they argue that creativity does not fit in with current summative course structures and pressures of assessment. A number of important conclusions and recommendations will be shared in the form of ‘Key Takeaways’ for attendees to take away with them!

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

ONLINE ONLY EVENT (Please find details of how to attend at the end of your order confirmation email) University of Bristol, School of Education, 35 Berkeley Square, Bristol, United Kingdom