Developing a Continuum of Authenticity across a Programme

The purpose of taking a programme approach to assessment facilitates a programme team to have a comprehensive view of the students experience of assessment and feedback and to develop a continuum of learning experiences that scaffolds the students’ development of assessment capabilities as they progress through the programme. 

Taking a programme based approach to developing an Authentic Assessment Strategy, will

• enhance staff awareness of all elements of assessment within the programmes.
• identify synergies and overlaps across the programme.
• identify any potential gaps in the assessment.
• identify opportunities to reduce repetition and overassessment.
• address the cognitive load for students and create space for learning.
• facilitate a planned variety of assessment types that is impactful.
• provide an opportunity to pull together fragmented elements of the curriculum.
• supports students to learn iteratively across the full duration of the programme.
• ensure that all the elements of the Academic Framework can be appropriately spread across a programme than needing to be resolved in every module.

Co-creation of an agreed authentic assessment vision and strategy for the programme by the programme team should foster commitment of the programme team to this vision and strategy. 

Below are a series of prompts to assist programme teams to consider how to build this continuum of learning. 

Prompts for Programme Teams to consider Assessment across a Programme

Vision for Assessment

Considering relevant Professional / Regulatory Body Requirements, Discipline developments, TU Dublin Academic Framework and Programme learning outcomes:

• what are the key future capabilities, skills and attributes that students from your programme will need for the future?
• What is the programme trying to achieve?
• Describe the characteristics you would like your graduates to have and be able to do?

Use the Diamond Nine Workshop Task to prioritise the Professional Competencies for your programme.

Sketch out the high level requirements for Assessment for the Programme. Consider:

• What assessment types and elements of assessment will best help students develop the skills, attitudes and capabilities the above?
• What assessment types and elements of assessment best engage students in the learning process (refer to the Students Perspectives on Assessment)
• What assessments approaches empower students to take responsibility for their own learning ?
• What opportunities there are within the programme assessments that enable students apply feedback they have received ? (Links to Feedback)
• How Assessment Literacy can be developed by students in early stages of the programme ?

Use the Authentic Assessment Framework to inform the programme team’s Vision and Strategy for assessment for the programme.

• What levels of authenticity in each of the four domains (Realism, Cognitive Challenge, Reflective Practice, Feedback Processes) does your programme aspire to ? (Link to TU Dublin Authentic Assessment Framework).

Awareness of Authentic Assessment Practices

• Does the programme team have a good understanding of Authentic Assessment or do some programme team members want more information on Authentic Assessments?
• Are there potential authentic assessment champions or mentors within the programme team or in the wider programme discipline team that can share their experiences with the programme team. 
• Are there inspiring case studies within the discipline, is Training Required (Link to Exemplars)

Programme Awareness

Do you have a good understanding of the current assessments on your programme and the how they are preparing students for future roles? Yes / No

If Yes what other information do you need and where could you get that information? 

• Consider asking Module leaders to complete the radar authenticity indicators (Authenticity Radar Image)

or

• Consider using the Programme Mapping Tool (Programme Assessment Mapping Tool)

Developing a Continuum of Authentic Assessment Across a Programme

How well the current assessments on the programme match the assessment vision and strategy.  Use the Authentic Assessment Quadrants to consider how assessment can be scaffolded across the programme (link to Blank authenticity quadrant and Authentic Assessment Rubrics).  Consider which assessments:

• Match the vision and strategy well (Keep)
• Can be easily adjusted to better support the assessment vision and strategy (How to Enhance the Authenticity of Assessment)
• Need to be changed (A/Z of Assessment Types)
• How can Assessment be pulled together across the programme – what types of integrative assessment would suit this programme (Capstones. E-portfolios, Reflective Journals)

Does the programme assessment strategy need a fundamental change, have you identified a key problem that needs to be addressed (Link to Design Sprint Workshop) or contract TU Dublin's Learning Teaching and Assessment staff for further Support