During the coming months, ADD will be running two masterclasses for staff to attend.

The first will be hosted by Corony Edwards who will talk about ‘Measuring Learning Gain in Higher Education’ on the 28th March. Sally Brown will host the second and discuss ‘Assessment to Support Retention’ on the 26th April. All staff are welcome to attend the masterclasses however, room capacity means that places are limited. Make sure you book early by emailing add@yorksj.ac.uk to avoid disappointment!

Measuring Learning Gain in Higher Education with Corony Edwards

28 March
9.00am – 10.00pm
DG126

What exactly is meant by learning gain in the context of HE? How might it be measured, using what sort of data, and why the current interest anyway? This interactive session provides an overview of current developments in, and drivers for, learning gain measurement in UK HE, including the Teaching Excellence Framework, and invites you to consider the implications of these for your work.

Corony worked as a lecturer/senior lecturer in Applied English Linguistics for 13 years before moving to the strategic leadership role of Director of Educational Development at the University of Birmingham, and more recently, Head of Education Quality and Enhancement at the University of Exeter, which she left in 2015 to set up as an independent consultant.  Corony, who is a Principal Fellow of the HEA, has significant experience of institutional quality enhancement and assurance activities, and has initiated and directed numerous enhancement and change projects to improve the staff and student experience of teaching and learning, including assessment reviews, online student feedback, recognising and rewarding teaching, personal tutoring approaches and collaborative strategy development. She is an experienced facilitator and a qualified coach and mentor (CMI).

 Assessment to Support Retention with Sally Brown

26 April
9.00am – 12.00pm
SK128

Effective and fit-for-purpose assessment can make a significant difference to the extent which students engage with programmes and are therefore likely to remain committed to them.  Conversely, poor assessment practice can be the trigger that causes wavering students to decide that it is time to leave.

In this workshop, we will explore the five key factors that need to be taken into account when designing effective assessment which fosters student engagement and learning: purpose (why?), ‘focus (what?) methodologies & approaches (how?), agency (who?) and timing (when?).

By the end of the workshop, participants will have had opportunities to

• consider how a concerted and holistic approach to assessment can help to constructively align assessment tasks to learning outcomes and programme delivery,
• students value the process rather than just focusing on the resultant marks
• identify some actions that could be taken to enhance assessment practice.