Assessment, Learning & Teaching Reflections |
Tuesday 1 November
What is really important in this university in relation to assessment, learning and teaching? The ALT strategy commits us to a range of activities and to specific targets and achievements, generated from a genuine shared commitment to improving what we do to facilitate student learning and development. However, the agenda can look daunting. Do I really have to improve formative assessment, design more innovative curricula, change assessment practices, enhance student employability ….and when do I find any spare time? What does it mean in practice? How much of it is it achievable? And where is the support I need?
Over the next couple of weeks I will be focussing on different aspects of this agenda, and reflecting on the implications for hard-pressed staff who are working to implement it. We start today with the issue of fostering a supportive learning environment. Students nowadays expect universities to provide them with a pleasant, comfortable and e-enabled learning environment, facilitating remote access to learning materials, records of achievement, course information and tutorial support. How far can we match these expectations, since this is what we have declared we are aiming to achieve? What steps must we take to make this e-vision a reality?
Sally Brown, Professor of Higher Education Diversity in Learning and Teaching
s.brown@leedsmet.ac.uk
