Underpinned by a pedagogy that prioritises active, peer learning opportunities, this assessment requires students to facilitate in-class activities during weekly workshops and is designed to encourage a collegiate class culture and foster interaction between peers as well as students and teachers. Each week different students are assigned one of several roles related to the organisation and/or facilitation of a number of practical class activities. This assessment is ideally worth only a small portion of the overall course grade (e.g. 5%) and is designed to measure and encourage student participation and engagement. For this reason, it is well suited to first year courses where students are becoming familiar with tertiary level interactive learning. This technique has been successfully implemented in the discipline of Community Development (CD), where it serves the dual purpose of measuring and encouraging student engagement, and providing authentic assessment by mirroring basic activities and tasks required as a CD practitioner. As these tasks are low weighted and practical, less emphasis should be placed on theoretical rigor or strict assessment rubrics, but rather, the experiential process of engaging in facilitation. This technique is predominantly oriented towards an assessment for learning, rather than assessment of learning.
Details
- CLASS SIZE
- 20-40
- CLASS LEVEL
- First year, Second year, Third year, Post-graduate
- ASSESSMENT SECURITY
- High security
- TIME REQUIREMENTS
- Low time
- GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES
- In-depth knowledge in the field(s) studied, Effective communication skills, Ethical and social understanding
- CONDITIONS
- Identity verified, Sequence
- FEATURES
- Authentic
- TAGS
- collaborative learning, practical exam, peer-led learning, facilitation
Advantages
This assessment helps to create an active learning environment and leads to high levels of student creativity, enjoyment, and engagement. Within the context of Community Development, this assessment technique teaches important professional skills such as facilitation and community engagement. Suitable to any course where staff want to increase levels of student engagement and/or a class culture of collegiality, or that emphasise skills in facilitation and leadership.
Challenges
Students may struggle to recognise the relevance or application of this assessment beyond the classroom - be sure to draw explicit links between this assessment and the professional skills it is seeking to develop.
Tips for implementation
Coordinators should encourage students to use creative methods to facilitate classroom activities, but be prepared to moderate discussions as necessary to maintain a positive learning environment.
How it supports academic integrity
There is almost no possibility for student misconduct as assessment is based on observed unique, in-class activities. Additionally, the low weighting of this assessment may also act as a deterrent to misconduct by dis-incentivising students to outsource this task.
Dr Lynda Shevellar
l.shevellar@uq.edu.au
Dr Lynda Shevellar joined The University of Queensland in 2009. Based in the School of Social Science, Lynda won an early career award for teaching excellence in 2011, a University of Queensland Award for Teaching Excellence in 2019 and an Australian Award for University Teaching (AAUT) Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2019). She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, the Principal Practitioner - Sense of Belonging (Institute for Teaching and Learning Innovation), and is currently the School Director of Teaching and Learning for the School of Social Science. Lynda has previously held roles in government and the community sector, and is influenced by thirty years of experience in community development, the disability sector, mental health, education, and psychology.
Lynda's research explores three closely aligned agendas: understanding the experience of people who live with heightened vulnerability; developing the awareness, agency and capacity of community to respond to social disadvantage; and aligning community development theory and education to inform practice in working alongside people who live with heightened vulnerability. Her most recent projects have explored the role of day-centres in the lives of people who are homeless, tenancy security for people with severe and persistent mental health issues, the potential of cooperatives in employment of people with disabilities, and radicalising community development through popular education. She is currently engaged in a project to explore ethical tensions in the provision of mental health support.
Lynda coordinates the courses SOSC2288/7288: Community Development - Local and International Practice; and SOCY1070: Inequality, Society and the Self. She also teaches into SOSC3201: Research Planning and Design and SOSC3202: Project. Find out more