FE and Skills Coalition Meeting – Rethinking assessment and feedback with technology

Discussions at FE and Skills Coalition Meeting, 20th October

Discussions at FE and Skills Coalition Meeting, 20th October

We were delighted to welcome 50 representatives from further education, skills and adult learning providers to the Jisc hosted FE and Skills Coalition meeting held on 20 October in London. This was the second meeting of this group which has been established to support providers with working towards the recommendations of FELTAG. The group plays an essential role in facilitating the sharing of best practice on how providers are using technology to enhance teaching, learning and assessment. The group has representatives from the coalition partners including ETF, AELP, ALT, Ufi and the Institute for Learning and Work.

The focus of this Jisc hosted meeting was to discuss how technology can enhance assessment and feedback practices and processes. An area previously highlighted as one of the challenges providers face. The meeting also provided us with the opportunity of consulting on new resources to support providers make the best use of technology-enhanced assessment and feedback. You can view the Storify of the Tweets from the meeting here.

After an initial introduction to work Jisc is conducting to support learners’ digital experiences from Sarah Knight, who chaired the meeting, we had an overview of Jisc activities for supporting FE and Skills with assessment and feedback from Lisa Gray, Senior co-design manager. You can view Lisa’s slides here and view the Periscope recording here.

You may also like to view the following resources to support you with your practice:
» New guide for FE and skills, with accompanying case studies
» Report from the FE and skills e-assessment survey
» Joint statement by key stakeholders
» Accompanying blog post

Participants provided valuable feedback on the Jisc Draft Benchmarking Tool for FE and Skills on Technology Enhanced Assessment. This benchmarking tool is the latest in a series of resources Jisc has produced to help learning providers improve their learner experience and enhance their assessment and feedback practice. It is aimed specifically at learning providers in the FE and skills sector. You can view the draft tool and guidance here. Based on the feedback we received at this meeting, we are working on a revised version for release in early 2017.

Jayne Holt, Assistant Principal, Learning Services, Walsall College, presented her college’s innovative work on online assessment and the student journey. You can view Jayne’s slides here and access the Periscope recording here. The case study outlining their approach to electronic management of assessment can be accessed here.

Rachel Challen, e-Learning Manager at Loughborough College, presented on how technology is integral in supporting the delivery of learning and assessment at Loughborough College. You can view Rachel’s slides here and the link to the Periscope recoding here. You can read a case study of Badges mean progress in English GCSE from Loughborough College here.

Through discussions participants highlighted the current challenges they face with using technology to support assessment and feedback, and in particular the new apprenticeship model. Issues such as culture change, integration of systems and supporting staff in developing appropriate curriculum design skills to support the development of new curricula and formative assessment activities, were discussed.

Apprenticeships is a growth area in FE and Skills and through the area review process providers have been challenged to increase their delivery of apprenticeships. With a government target of 3m starts by 2020 and a history of just over 2.2m apprenticeship starts over the five academic years from 2009/10 to 2013/14 this represents a huge increase. Only through the effective use of technology, can this target be delivered. So Jisc is undertaking some exploratory work to inform the development and delivery of the new apprenticeship qualifications, focused on supporting decision making around the most effective use of technology.

The focus is on articulating an ‘ideal state’ where technology is used to best effect to maximise the benefits technology can offer, both in terms of cost-efficiencies and learning enhancements. The audience for this work is those involved in the development and delivery of the new apprenticeship standards. We will be working with the Institute for Apprenticeships, AELP, FE colleges, skills providers, employers and awarding organisations to take this forward.

If you would like to join a working group to feed into the development of this project, please contact Lisa Gray.

We would like to thank all who participated in this meeting and we look forward to further meetings in 2017 – dates to be announced.

2 thoughts on “FE and Skills Coalition Meeting – Rethinking assessment and feedback with technology

  1. Randeep Sami

    This is brilliant Sarah. I’m am really sorry I couldn’t make it but your blog is very informative its reassuring to know that so many colleges are sharing ideas to common problems with implementing ILT.

    Reply

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