Enabling Change for Inclusive Assessment in Quantitative Disciplines
Jun 21, 2024
Nicolas Labrosse and Jim Belk and Heri Busquier Cerdan and Wenya Cheng and Stuart Grey and Joseph Maguire and Claudia Prime and Errol Rivera and Linnea Soler and Fiona Speirits
Assessment in Higher Education (AHE) Conference 2024, Manchester, UK, 20–21 June 2024
Inclusive assessment—meaning that all students have equitable opportunities to learn through assessment and are treated equitably throughout the assessment and feedback process—features prominently in the University of Glasgow's Learning & Teaching strategy. This poster presents the work of a University working group set up to research this topic and provide informed advice, focusing on the particular challenges inclusive assessment brings to quantitative disciplines that rely on numerical data analysis, calculus, algebraic derivations, algorithms, programming, and theoretical models expressed in mathematical terms.
The working group comprises academic representatives from all disciplines concerned and student representatives, all contributing as partners. A leading expert on assessment and feedback from the Academic and Digital Development team provides guidance and support at both theoretical and practical levels.
Activities in the First Year
- New inclusive assessment workshops combining brief talks on theory with interactive hands-on sessions to encourage staff to self-reflect on assessment practice and explore alternative methods of assessment
- FAQ for academic staff covering all aspects of inclusive assessment and feedback
- Support package with 1:1 meetings with course and programme teams to review curriculum and assessment
- Exemplars of inclusive assessment focused on transferability to other disciplines
- Recruitment of student interns and partners to co-design new resources, develop and implement new assessment and feedback activities, and support literature review and sector-scoping activities
- New guidance on producing accessible examination papers and assessment briefs
Challenges
- Staff awareness and confidence: awareness of the need for inclusive assessment is on the rise, but not confidence in knowing how to implement this in disciplines that have a long history of relying on a narrow range of assessment types
- Cultural shift: traditional invigilated written exams are seen as the best assessment method in quantitative disciplines for reducing cheating opportunities
- Staff resistance to change: time-deprived staff want to see new assessment and feedback solutions that are proven to work
- Student resistance to change: the need to clearly communicate that benefits outweigh risks