In at the Deep End - Starting to teach in Higher Education

Table of Contents

1. Welcome
2. Section 1: Learning
3. Section 2: Teaching
4. Section 3: Assessment
   1. Assessment, marking and feedback to students
   2. Summative and formative assessment
   3. Assessment matters to students
   4. The sharp end of learning and teaching
   5. Fit-for-purpose assessment is valid, reliable, transparent and authentic - and manageable!
   6. Beyond exams, essays and reports
   7. Setting questions for essays and exams
   8. Designing marking schemes
   9. Marking students' work
   10. Making the most of feedback to students
   11. Maximising learning payoff through feedback
5. References

Summative and formative assessment

'Summative' assessment is normally measured at the end of an element of learning, for example end-of-module exams or a portfolio of evidence. Students usually get the results as marks or grades, and may sometimes not get any further feedback (for example on their exam performance). At Teesside it is common practice for general comments on exams and feedback on individual coursework to be forwarded to students after summative marking deadlines. Increasingly too, those students who are required to do re-sits will receive more detailed individual feedback on first sits.

'Formative' assessment is normally used during the course of a module, and even though the marks or grades may count towards students' overall awards, the feedback they receive is intended to help them to identify weaknesses, and build on strengths, to make their next piece of assessed work better. With large classes, the time taken to give students effective formative feedback increases, and the danger is that the quality of the feedback is reduced by the pressure on assessors. It is now accepted practice at Teesside that all modules provide formative work and feedback opportunities. There is a Teesside Rough Guide entitled Formative Work and Formative Feedback which suggests effective ways of giving feedback and also provides advice on how this can be achieved efficiently when working with large numbers of students.