“Timothy, success is nothing to fear.”
Cartoon by Edward Koren.February 9, 1987
Introduction:
As an associate lecturer at Chelsea College, assessment plays a big role in my teaching practice. While structure of assessment can offer students valuable feedback and guidance, I have also encountered quite a few challenges in balancing this sense of standardisation with the inherently exploratory and process-oriented approach of creative disciplines. This case study explores strategies to make assessments more inclusive, reflective, and supportive; ultimately fostering student independence and empowerment.
Evaluation/Goal
Assessments often prioritises clear-cut notions of success and failure, risking silencing the diversity of voices within the classroom and reinforcing power dynamics (see hooks, 1995). For international students in particular, who may have different cultural expectations of critique, assessments can be daunting.
Other concerns raised in our PGCE discussions revolved around the impact of rising student numbers on the quality of feedback, and the language of finality around summative assessments. While I work with a small cohort of just 14 students, some colleagues managing classes of 100 or more students struggle to provide individualised feedback. This notion of generalisation relates also to the risk of over-assessment, where students become so focused on meeting criteria that they lose sight of their personal, creative voice.
Plan of Action and Context
Formative Assessments:
- Frequent, low-stakes formative assessments help students develop self-evaluation skills and can reduce anxiety around grading.
- Encouraging students to assess their own and each other’s work fosters both agency and accountability within the classroom (see Race, 2001)
- I try to remember to remind my students about the learning outcomes. Emphasising areas of enquiry, knowledge, process, and communication (along with realisation) ensures that students understand the holistic and reflective nature of assessment.
- Establishing clear ground rules for language used in crits can also create spaces that foster both safety and risk taking (see Arao, & Clemens, 2013).
- During our class discussions, Chuck Lowry told us about her course’s “feedback menu” model. Introducing options for students to choose how they receive feedback: silent critiques, one-on-one discussions, or alternative formats like “gossip circles”, and “crit sandwich” can help students feel a sense of agency within assessment settings.
- Harris (2022), also writes about the importance of silence in crit sessions, allowing introverted learners more time to process and respond to feedback.
Summative Assessments:
- Going forward, I will try and avoid language that implies a sense of finality in summative assessments. Brooks (2008) highlights the risk of students perceiving low grades as definitive failures rather than learning opportunities.
- During our workshop, Linda Aloysius mentioned a model for long term reflection. Encouraging students to revisit past work to enable them to recognise their progress over time. This helps reinforce the idea that learning is a continuous process rather than a series of isolated assessments.
- We also discussed how engaging technical staff in assessments could provide students with additional practical insights, helping to reinforce the value of process over product.
- And finally, I have seen first hand how parity meetings are really important in ensuring that students are being assessed equally. These open discussions are really important in ensuring transparency and fairness around subjective and objective standards.
While integrating these strategies will help create more dynamic and supportive relationships within the classroom, it’s also important to remember that assessment does not exist in isolation from broader educational and social inequalities. During our session on Inclusive Practice we discussed how factors such as financial constraints, access to resources, and personal circumstances can all influence how students engage with assessments. Addressing these inequalities requires broader institutional support, ensuring that assessment is not only inclusive in method but also in its recognition of diverse learning conditions.
References
Arao, B., & Clemens, K. (2013). From Safe Spaces to Brave Spaces: The Art of Effective Facilitation.
Brooks, K. (2008). ‘Could do Better?’: Students’ Critique of Written Feedback.
Harris, K. (2022). Embracing the Silence: Introverted Learning and the Online Classroom. Spark: UAL Creative Teaching and Learning Journal, Vol 5(Issue 1), pp. 101–104.
hooks, b. (1995). Art on My Mind: Visual Politics. New Press.
Koren, E. (1987). Available at: https://www.newyorker.com/gallery/ed-koren-in-the-new-yorker.
Race, P. (2001). A Briefing on Self, Peer, and Group Assessment. LTSN Generic Centre, Assessment Series No.9.