NEWS
Just published:
Cordelia Bryan and Karen Clegg (eds) 2006 Innovative Assessment in Higher Education, London: Routledge.
ISBN: 0-415-35642
see aIso:
Cordelia Bryan (ed) Assessing Group Practice, SEDA Paper 117, Birmingham: Staff and Educational Development Association
ISBN 1 902435 26 5
Wanting Help?
Cordelia Bryan is available as a Freelance Educational Consultant, contact her
By email at: cordeliavbryan@aol.com
By telephone on: 01923 262532
About Us
What are collaborative skills and how should they be assessed?
Should we assess individuals or groups on projects involving collaborative working?
Can we reward creativity that goes beyond the stated learning outcomes?
These are some of the questions that the Assessing Group Practice project set out to address. The project was funded by HEFCE's Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning (FDTL) in the period 2000 to 2004. It was undertaken by a consortium led by Central School of Sppech and Drama and including five other Higher Education institutions: University of London, Goldsmiths College; Dartington College of Arts; and the universities of Leeds, Salford and Ulster. The project aimed to ensure that assessment of collaborative activity within the performing arts can be demonstrated to be fair, robust and practicable across the sector. The identification and sharing of successful practice was seen as a key means to this end.
The specific aims were:
To identify and address the range of issues that can contribute in making the assessment of group practice problematic;
To explore students' and staff's experience of the assessment of group practice;
To identify, support and share successful practice in this area, both across the consortium and across the sector
The objectives of the project, in accordance with these aims, are summarised as three stages, roughly corresponding to the three years of the project.
1. Identification of issues
2. Trialing and development of assessment methods and materials and outreach activity
3. Refinement of materials and further dissemination of outcomes
Phase one conducted a national survey and analysis of current practice across institutions involved in the assessment of group practice in order to identify key issues and concerns and to begin to identify successful practices and scope for development and enhancement.
This initial research underpinned the second phase outreach work with a programme of targeted inter-institutional visits and/or exchanges from which case studies have been developed, from both staff and student perspectives.
Phase two entailed a series of practical regional workshops involving the active engagement of participants, including students wherever possible.
Phase three was primarily to disseminate the project's findings and to establish a strategic engagement and facilitation network through PALATINE, the Performing Arts subject centre. This enables institutions and departments, beyond project teams, to access expertise to assist with in-house staff development and training in this area of assessment. The dissemination strategy also included the usual publication of papers in academic journals and presentations and workshops at appropriate national and international conferences.
A whole range of staff across a variety of institutions contributed to the research, development and implementation of the project, in particular the following:
For Central School of Speech and Drama: Cordelia Bryan as Project Director
and Linda Cookson, Assistant Principal (Academic),The Steering Groupincluded: Jill Armstrong (LTSN Generic Centre); Paul Cowen (Leeds); Anthony Dean (Central School); Steve Dixon (Salford) Robert Gordon (Goldsmiths); John Hall (Dartington); Paul Kleiman (PALATINE), Tom Maguire (Ulster)
The Fieldworkersincluded: Ajaykumar (Goldsmiths); Tracey Crossley (Salford); Debbie Green (Central School); Tom Maguire (Ulster); Simon Persighetti (Dartington); Catriona Scott (Dartington); Rachel Taylor (Central School); and Gareth White (Goldsmiths).
Everyone involved with the project remembers especially the late Wendy Johnson, who worked alongside us tirelessly and with a great sense of fun.