Engaging our diverse students using assessment as (blended) learning: presentations, role play and a new mobile application

by Peter Chalk, Dr Yanguo Jing and Fraser Hardy

Abstract:
This presentation focuses on the use of student presentations and role play as an approach to learning and as a vehicle for a variety of forms of assessment: peer, self and tutor; and different purposes: formative and summative. The approach reflects the ideas of situated learning and assessment-as-learning. It will describe how a first year study skills module incorporates peer assessment of role play (in this case a simulated job interview) and a 'practice' group presentation (for peer and formative feedback), and the final tutor-assessed group presentation. It will include feedback from students on the module who report on their experience of these learning scenarios; and feedback from staff attending the L&T conference seminar where this presentation was first made. The presentation will also include a proposal for a new mobile application to be used for assessing role plays, presentations, vivas, interviews and performances. The mobile application is currently being developed as part of the first author's University Teaching Fellowship Project. Fraser Hardy is the programmer who will demonstrate the first prototype mobile web app. We will invite the audience to give feedback, and to join the Project Evaluation Group in order to test the app in their teaching during 2011/12, in order to improve it and evaluate it as a teaching aid.

Short Biography:
Peter Chalk and Dr Yanguo Jing are our well known colleagues at the Faculty. Fraser Hardy is a Faculty of Computing MSc Mobile Computing student being managed and paid by the Faculty's WoW (World of Work) Agency