Practitioners often criticise higher education curricula for the disconnect between theory and practice. I designed this authentic assessment (case studies, team-based assignments, report writing) to 'inoculate' my students with managerial challenges (e.g. conflict management) while connecting theory and practice to resolve these challenges in the real world of work.

This end-of-semester examination involves providing students with a court ruling on a medical case that most will not have come across until that point. Students are expected to read the case under exam conditions, and bring their learning over the course of the semester to bear on their interpretation of the salient medical and legal points raised, determining their ethical implications. This is then tested over a number of multiple choice questions delivered via Examsoft.

In-class listening comprehension test, delivered via Blackboard Quiz or Inspera: students watch a short video in French and answer questions about it. Students use their own devices to watch the video and access the test, but are supervised (either in the classroom or via Zoom) by course staff. Internal students use headphones, external students turn their microphones off, but cameras on.

Students complete two online tests across the semester as part of their progressive learning and assessment for the course. The tests are delivered through the Blackboard exam tool and are written and maintained by the course coordinator. Test questions are developed within the decision-making framework introduced in the course. Each test opens for several days and students are given two attempts at each test.

This Oral Exam format (approximately 10 minutes) tests mastery of ideas and texts while building oral presentation skills, especially rhetorical adroitness.

Students are randomly assigned 2 questions from a bank of questions that cover most of the course material. They are then asked to write their answers on the blank paper provided. Students are observed whilst writing. Each student is then questioned for 15 minutes, and this oral component is video recorded. They are first questioned about their written responses and must defend their answers (staff highlight any mistakes or gaps in their responses). They are then asked further questions about other aspects of the course.  

In this role-play students learn to position themselves in the roles of different stakeholders, develop strategies for negotiation and decision-making and need to be able to identify interests, goals and power hold by each stakeholder.

SCIE1000 covers mathematics, computer programming, communication, science and modelling. The main goal is to help students see that similar tools and approaches can be applied in a wide range of discipline areas and contexts. So my goal was mostly to develop students’ abilities and confidence in transferring knowledge from one context to another context that may initially appear to be quite distinct, but in reality the same general approaches apply. This is important in this course because we teach students from all areas of science.

In this summative e-delivered assessment students develop a case formulation in which they synthesise key aspects of a written vignette to provide a cohesive narrative of the reasons for the clinical presentation and vulnerability and strengths of the individual described in the vignette, adhering to strict character limits.

Students complete their exam papers whilst being invigilated through Zoom focus mode which allows not only a view of the student and their immediate surrounds, but also allows for the student’s screen to be shared with staff.