| The National Forum are hosting a webinar on the future for the assessment of learning through final (terminal) examinations.
The webinar is open to the higher education community,
It takes place from 12.30-13.30 on Thursday 6 May.
Register here
For some time, research analysing assessment in higher education has raised questions about the effectiveness and reliability of traditional final exam-based assessment. The closure of campuses in light of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 led to immediate changes in formative and summative assessment practices in higher education in Ireland, with the cancellation of on-campus exams. Alternative assessment modes, most of which were online, were developed within a matter of weeks. This represented a sudden and critical challenge across the sector, but it has also opened the opportunity for us collectively to revisit the rationale for, and purposes of, final exam-based assessment in our programmes.
This webinar will open a national conversation about the future for the assessment of learning through final examinations. It will share and debate a range of perspectives from students and staff, senior managers, and other stakeholders. It will reflect on the previous work including the work of the National Forum in this space and reconsider our key principles for assessment. It will address current pressing concerns such as academic integrity, and online proctoring of exams. The question of whether alternative forms of authentic assessment could enable us to design out issues The National Forum have identified will be discussed.
The pandemic has surfaced issues of care for students and staff and while we consider pedagogies of care, we need also to consider assessment with care: how can we address the workload and overload experienced by many students and staff in relation to exams? What might we keep and what might we lose following our experiences since 2020? How can we accommodate practical assessment and modes of assessment considered essential for accreditation by professional bodies? The webinar begins this conversation which will continue into a second event later in May.
This webinar will be chaired by Dr Áine Ní Shé, Registrar & Vice President for Academic Affairs, MTU, Cork Campus, and National Forum Board Member.
Speakers to be announced shortly. |
