Description/Transcript of E-AFFECT Our Approach to Change

Description/Transcript of e-AFFECT Our Approach to Change

Queen’s University Belfast Duration: 5:11 minutes

Visual description Audio transcript Title page Music PROFESSOR ELLEN DOUGLAS-COWIE, PRO- ELLEN DOUGLAS-COWIE: The e-AFFECT VICE-CHANCELLOR Interview shot of ELLEN project’s aim is really to transform the DOUGLAS-COWIE with external view of experience of both staff and students in campus through window relation to assessment and feedback. And at the heart of the way that we’re going to transform that experience is, of course, technology. For example, through the ways we give feedback and through the ways we deliver formative assessment. We’re taking a phased Project plan flowchart approach to the project. In the first year we have been involved with three academic Campus map with the THREE Schools Schools in the University, who have carried identified: English, Psychology and Planning, out planning and development in relation to Architecture and Civil Engineering their PROFESSOR ELLEN DOUGLAS-COWIE activities on assessment and feedback. And Interview shot of ELLEN DOUGLAS-COWIE we’re then now going to roll out the project right across the whole University so that it’ll have a very wide impact. The line of approach that we take is one of Project plan flowchart – close up on Phase 1 Appreciative Inquiry where we’re actually 2011-2012 getting staff and students to come together to talk to each other and to make sure each understands the other’s point of view on assessment and feedback. PROFESSOR ELLEN DOUGLAS-COWIE Sometimes we find, for example, that staff Interview shot of ELLEN DOUGLAS-COWIE believe they’ve given feedback, but the students haven’t perceived it as feedback. So we need to get down to the bottom of this and work out how each party sees assessment and feedback and come together to deliver a much transformed assessment and feedback experience. Campus map – Pan from Lanyon Building to Music School of Psychology Exterior shot of entrance to School of AIDAN FEENEY: So before the Appreciative Psychology Inquiry there was a baseline where we looked at practices and processes around

DR AIDAN FEENEY DIRECTOR OF assessment in the School. Particularly EDUCATION, SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY interesting there was seeing the views of Interview shot of AIDAN FEENEY staff and students and Psychology assessment timelines we also found the timelines very useful because they told us what we were doing and when. Psychology dreams from Appreciative For the Appreciative Inquiry itself it became Inquiry workshop clear to us that what we needed was more dialogue around assessment in the School and so we’ve focussed on consistency Interview shot of AIDAN FEENEY and transparency in feedback in our action plan. Campus map – Pan from School of Music Psychology to School of Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering Exterior shot of entrance to School of Music Planning, Architecture and Civil Engineering DR JOHN MCKINLEY, SCHOOL OF JOHN MCKINLEY: Our action planning PLANNING, ARCHICTECTURE AND CIVIL addressed developments across the ENGINEERING programme threads. We asked ourselves Interview shot of JOHN MCKINLEY What do students with poor to middling performances often do? and How can we get them to [pause] reflect on what they have done? Civil Engineering Action Plan Redesigning assessment, providing additional support materials, creating opportunities for feedback and for students to act on that feedback Interview shot of JOHN MCKINLEY … all of those activities addressed the educational principles. Campus map – Pan from School of Planning, Music Architecture and Civil Engineering to School of English Exterior shot of entrance to Seamus Heaney JOAN RAHILLY: When we in Linguistics and Centre Phonetics saw DR JOAN RAHILLY and DR MALTE URBAN QuestionMark in action we immediately SCHOOL OF ENGLISH recognised its potential for training, Interview shot of JOAN RAHILLY and MALTE assessing and giving targeted feedback to URBAN students. Interview shot of JOAN RAHILLY It has re-energised our teaching– there’s no doubt about that! Interview shot of DR JOAN RAHILLY and … and once we as Medievalists realised the MALTE URBAN potential of QuestionMark Interview shot of MALTE URBAN we decided to use it for some of our exercises as well. DR EAMONN HUGHES, DIRECTOR OF EAMONN HUGHES: I found that by EDUCATION SCHOOL OF ENGLISH Close up shot of EAMONN HUGHES DR EAMONN HUGHES and DR MALTE using online submission and marking we’re URBAN SCHOOL OF ENGLISH better able to manage time during a very Interview shot of EAMONN HUGHES and heavily pressurised marking period. MALTE URBAN Interview shot of EAMONN HUGHES We can now devote more time to the provision of feedback than simply the processing of materials. That obviously helps to improve the quality of the feedback. Interview shot of EAMONN HUGHES and MALTE URBAN: …and as a marker, I can say MALTE URBAN that some of our colleagues are finding it quite difficult to begin with to read on screen. Interview shot of MALTE URBAN But I’m one of those colleagues who’ve been reading material on screen or on iPads for years for research purposes. So for me it’s quite nice to use e-marking with the same workflow that I use for research which in turn then improves the feedback quality. Exterior shot of School of Planning, Music Architecture and Civil Engineering SHANNON MCNAMEE: Sometimes when I would get an SHANNON MCNAMEE, GRADUATE assignment I wouldn’t know how to begin or ENGINEERING STUDENT I wouldn’t know how to structure my report, Interview shot of SHANNON MCNAMEE which would mean that I would procrastinate or I wouldn’t focus on the right areas. The material that I’m developing is designed to help students know how to start their report, how to structure it, what areas they should be focussing on and, most importantly, how to reference it correctly so they get the most marks out for the effort that they’re putting in. DR EAMONN HUGHES, DIRECTOR OF EAMONN HUGHES: Academics had an input EDUCATION SCHOOL OF ENGLISH into the initial project bid. The result, I Interview shot of EAMONN HUGHES think, then is an approach which respects the autonomy of the Schools while keeping us all moving in a common direction, and in turn is supported by the Central Services.

DR AIDAN FEENEY DIRECTOR OF AIDAN FEENEY: It has been challenging at EDUCATION, SCHOOL OF PSYCHOLOGY times and sometimes it’s been very hard Interview shot of AIDAN FEENEY work. We’ve had quite a number of new staff join us this year and it’s been particularly useful to involve those new staff and existing staff in our dialogue with students about the assessment and feedback exchange. Closing titles Music