NCSEHE Re-imagining Exams project update: May 2021
20 May 2021
It’s been a while since we last updated you on the progress of our NCSEHE project. We’re aiming to re-imagine exams to result in more inclusive assessment design, and it’s been a busy few months filled with data collection and analysis, a series of workshops, an advisory group meeting, and even a new website!
Student experiences
After a few hiccups early in our data collection – mainly linked to the unexpectedly high levels of interest in participation – we completed student interviews across Deakin and CQU in mid-December.
In total, we spoke with 40 students with disabilities (SWD) with a range of backgrounds and intersecting circumstances that impacted their exam experiences in various ways. We also received a number of self-prompted written or audio narratives from students who weren’t able to take part in an interview, but still wished to share their experiences.
We’ve now completed a first pass at thematic analysis of the interview and narrative data, after an intensive coding period involving some complicated NVivo access arrangements! While we can’t share a full analysis in this post, and students’ individual experiences were diverse, we found some common themes running through what they shared with us: relationships play a key role in shaping SWDs’ experiences of exams and other timed assessments; positive interactions with lecturers and disability support officers can help students feel secure and supported, while negative interactions can create anxiety and undermine students’ sense of inclusion.
Workshops and expert guidance
Our series of workshops across CQU and Deakin have nearly wrapped up! The workshops have brought together key stakeholders – students with disabilities, unit coordinators/chairs responsible for designing and implementing assessments, and accessibility staff who support students in accessing adjustments – in a collaborative environment to share current experiences of exams and timed assessment and discuss ways of re-imagining these assessments.
Topics explored in the workshops have included: experiences of exams and tensions relating to inclusive exam design; the roles and relationships involved in successful assessment strategies; and exam and assessment design.
As the workshop series progressed, discussions shifted to consider potential changes to exams and timed assessment in the units of participating unit coordinators/chairs. Planning is now in train to implement changes including alternative assessment formats, choice in mode of response, and improved pre-assessment scaffolding.
We also held our first meeting with our advisory group: Matt Brett (Deakin University), Professor Phillip Dawson (Deakin University), Susan Grimes (University of Newcastle), Merrin McCracken (Deakin University), Cate Rooney (CQUniversity), and Professor Denise Wood (University of the Sunshine Coast).
The group offered valuable insights into a range of practical and design considerations raised in our workshops. These included: the importance of universal design learning principles in assessment design; the challenge of staff workload when providing student support and integrating increased inclusivity in assessments, and how to combat it; and the potential offered by new and emerging technologies to support flexible and novel assessment formats.
To read more about the advisory group meeting, check out the full account.
Project website
We were excited to launch our project website in February. The website currently hosts news and information about the project, and will be expanded to include more project findings and resources later in the year. Stay tuned!
This work is supported by a NCSEHE 2020 Research Grant. The project team is: Joanna Tai, Rola Ajjawi, Margaret Bearman, Mary Dracup and Paige Mahoney (Deakin); and Jo Dargusch and Lois Harris (CQU).
