Staff-Student Partnership For Assessment Change and Evaluation Disability Studies Conference: Putting Theory into Practice, Lancaster University, July 2004 Critically Responding to Current Practice through the Adoption of Inclusive

1
Staff-Student Partnership For
Assessment Change and EvaluationDisability
Studies Conference Putting Theory into
Practice, Lancaster University, July 2004
Critically Responding to Current Practice
through the Adoption of Inclusive Methods of
Assessment
Melanie Parker, University of Plymouth
2
SPACE Project

• The aims of this paper are
• To critically review the current practice in HE
  of providing special examination arrangements for
  students with disabilities
• To consider inclusive forms of assessment as an
  alternative

3
SPACE Project

• The session will
• Introduce SPACE
• Look at current practice
• Look at delivering inclusive education through
  alternative forms of assessment
• Contextualize the debate
• Identify the challenges facing inclusive
  assessment

4
SPACE Project

• HEFCE Strand 2 Project
• Continuation of the HEFCE SWANDS Project
• Collaboration across 8 HEIs
• Academics
• Disability Officers
• Educational Developers
• Students

5
SPACE Project

• Action Research Methodology
• Disability research should be about research
  with rather than for or on disabled people.
  Goodley, D (1999, p.6)
• Surveyed and interviewed over 100 first year
  students with disabilities regarding
• Experience of current assessment methods
• Effectiveness of any special examination
  arrangements
• Feedback about any alternative assessment methods
  they may have had

6
Contextualize the Assessment Experience

• Legislation - DDA Part 4, Compliance in Post 16
  Education
• anticipatory action
• reasonable adjustments
• Special Arrangements
• Equity
• Limitations
• Oversights
• Participation in education continues to be
  focused on fitting people into what is already
  available (Stuart, 2002, p.22)
• Medical Model of Disability

7
Student voice

• Special Examination Arrangements
• Although the computer has made it easier for me
  to answer questions as I find handwriting at
  speed very difficult. I still feel I am
  struggling to give my answers in the time given.

8
Student voice

• Examinations
• Exams are dependent upon how well I am on that
  particular day.
• massive time pressure of an exam and pain
  caused by sitting for long periods

9
Student voice

• In-class assessments
• Sometimes I have had difficult periods where
  assessments overlapped and I could not meet the
  deadlines. I subsequently handed in substandard
  work.
• I find it takes me a long time to complete
  practical sessions and tests due to my reading
  speed. I feel very anxious and pressurised by
  time and staff and partly my colleagues. This
  does not help me concentrate or understand

10
Facilitating Inclusive Education

• I think alternative assessments are a good idea
  however to other students it may seem unfair.
• If the assessment system is changed I believe
  all students should partake in order not to
  alienate those with learning difficulties
• Government agenda of 50 population participation
  in HE by 2010
• Diversity is upon us and we will be changed by
  it (Christine King, ILTHE Conference, 2004)

11
Facilitating Inclusive Education

• Post-modernism
• postmodern ideas can contribute an enormous
  amount to the development of inclusive societies
  (Corker Shakespeare, 2002)
• From capitalism to consumerism
• Representation
• Identity
• Social model of disability

12
Student voice

• Students Preferred Methods of Assessment
• Continuous assessment
• Multiple choice testing
• Oral examinations
• Coursework with discussion elements
• Portfolios
• Essay assignments
• Computer-based assessments and exercises

13
SPACE Inclusive Education

• Putting together case studies of inclusive
  practice
• Oral presentation (Health and Social Care)
• Video rather than written dissertation
  (Illustration)
• Oral assessment rather than traditional exam
  (Civil Engineering
• Oral report rather than written report
  (Humanities)
• Design report rather than essay (Art and Design)
• Portfolio (Education, Science Engineering)
• Providing students with a choice of assessment
  (Construction Education)

14
SPACE Inclusive EducationAlternative
Assessment Toolkit

• Case studies
• Tested examples of alternative assessment methods
• Critical review
• Institutional/departmental/individual procedures
  to support the process of assessment change
• Evaluation tools
• Resource Issues

15
The Challenges facing SPACE and Inclusive
Assessment

• Cultural Shift/Transformation
• the change process is not about assimilation
  but transformation (Barton, 2003)
• Discipline/strategic planning
• Assessing core learning outcomes
• Informed staff
• Resources and time
• Professional Bodies
• Existing strategies
• Plagiarism

16
SPACE Project

• Thank you for listening and sharing your
  thoughts and ideas.
• For more information please contact us
• mcparker_at_plymouth.ac.uk
• www.space.ac.uk
• 01752 232284

17
SPACE Project

• References
• Barton, L. (2003) Inclusive Education and
  Teacher Education A Basis for Hope or a
  Discourse of Delusion Professorial Lecture,
  Institute of Education, University of London
• Corker, M. Shakespeare, T. Disability/Postmode
  rnity, Continuum, London
• Crowther, J., Martin, I., Shaw, M. (2000)
  Turning the Discourse in Thompson, J.
  Stretching the Academy, NIACE, Leicester

18
SPACE Project

• References
• Goodley, D. (1999) Disablity Research and the
  Researcher Template Reflections on Grounded
  Subjectivity in Ethnographic Research,
  Qualitative Inquiry 5 (1) 24-26
• Stuart, M. (2002) Collaborating for Change?,
  NIACE, Leicester