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

The sharp end of learning and teaching

Because assessment is so important to students, emotions can run high. Students can be very sensitive to the language we use when we give them feedback. It is all too easy for us, despite our best intentions, to damage their motivation in our attempts to give them constructive feedback on weaknesses in their work. This danger is exacerbated if we have large piles of work to mark and not enough time to phrase our feedback carefully.

Assessment is at the sharp end for us too, as we are likely to be under the scrutiny of external examiners.