WORKSHOP 5: Assessment criteria that meet an internationalisation agenda

The aim of this workshop is to establish a list of keywords in English for use in the application of assessment criteria across international boundaries. Participants will be encouraged to bring existing examples of criteria used in their respective institutions for exchange with each other.

A recent review of keywords across nine institutions in the United Kingdom (UK) reveals a wide variety of terms that range from the typical to the obscure. For example, on a scale of 0-100%, words or phrases used to guide student comprehension of achievement in the 60-69% grade band include: ‘coherent’, ‘critical’, ‘sound’, ‘strong’, ‘quite flexible’, ‘orderly’, ‘notable defects’, ‘professional’, ‘testing’, ‘greater insight’, ‘inventive’, ‘creative’ and ‘very good’. These add to well-established keywords that reflect undergraduate degree achievements, typified through the use of ‘excellent’ to label a first-class degree, ‘very good’ for a second class (upper division), ‘good’ for a second class (lower division), ‘moderate’ for a third class, ‘marginal’ for a pass and ‘fail’ for a failure (Brown, 1997: 74). Increasing internationalisation agenda in the UK, increasing numbers of international students and overseas expansion mean that many more students who use English as a second language are exposed to assessment criteria that are rarely tested in global contexts. Recent research in art and design assessment pedagogy suggests that this is an issue under-researched in art and design disciplines.

Contributors to the workshop will work to establish a set of keywords that can be tested across a full range of potential grade recommendations and across international pedagogical contexts. Participants will be encouraged to bring existing examples of criteria used in their respective institutions for exchange with each other. A short introductory presentation will preface the group work, leading to recommendations for keywords that are suitable for use in art and/or design disciplines. The process will test the suitability of words, such as ‘rigorous’ and ‘outstanding’, that do not seemingly translate as well as words such as ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory’.

This builds on focus group work with academicians and students in the Netherlands in February 2012, and workshop activity recently facilitated at the 2012 conference of the Group for Learning in Art and Design (GLAD), 25 April 2012, Kingston University, UK.

Timeframe: 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Organiser

Robert George Harland , Loughborough University, United Kingdom: r.g.harland@lboro.ac.uk

Open for registration: 50