ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK - 2020/1

Module code: GCAM004

Module Overview


Assessment and Feedback are some of the most hotly debated aspects of academic practice, and often the element of their educational experience with which students are least satisfied.  However, research indicates that whilst teaching and learning have increasingly become more student-centred in nature, assessment and feedback practices have been much slower to adapt.  The module will focus on developing participants’ understanding of key concepts of assessment and feedback, and the integration of scholarship and research with assessment and feedback practices. The module will introduce participants to self-evaluative inquiry-led approaches to investigating and reflecting critically on their practice.

Module provider

Surrey Institute of Education

Module Leader

WINSTONE Naomi (Sy Inst Educ)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Overall student workload

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

Not applicable.

Module content


Indicative content includes:



  •         An Introduction to Assessment – including key concepts, challenges/dilemmas of assessment and personal models of marking, with a focus on constructive alignment.


  •         Principles of effective feedback – including the role of feedback in learning, effective practice and challenges appropriate to disciplinary / professional context.


  •         Staff and student perspectives on feedback within your disicplinary context – including the barriers and strategies advanced for addressing the differing perspectives on feedback.


  •         Innovation and change in assessment and feedback – including critiques and transformation of assessment and feedback practices.


  •         Formative feedback for summative assessment – including formative peer and tutor feedback on ideas for assignment, and self-assessment of final submission.


Assessment pattern

Assessment type Unit of assessment Weighting
Coursework 2500 WORD CRITICAL EVALUATION OF ASSESSMENT & FEEDBACK PRACTICES 100

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

Module aims

  • Critically evaluate the role of assessment and feedback in the development of academic practice appropriate to the disciplinary / professional context.

Learning outcomes

Attributes Developed
1 Engage critically with key concepts and theories of assessment and feedback in higher education KC
2 Critically reflect on assessment / feedback practices to identify development needs CP
3 Synthesise assessment / feedback theory with self-evaluative inquiry for the purpose of informing and enhancing practice PT

Attributes Developed

C - Cognitive/analytical

K - Subject knowledge

T - Transferable skills

P - Professional/Practical skills

Methods of Teaching / Learning


The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

Enable participants to critically evaluate the role of assessment and feedback in higher education with regard to the development of academic practice appropriate to their disciplinary/professional context.  This will be achieved by introducing participants to self-evaluative inquiry-led approaches to investigating and reflecting critically on their practice.

The learning and teaching methods include:

It is expected that this module will entail a total of at least 150 hours of study. This will include:



  •         Formal online interaction (10 hours)


  •         Guided study (15 hours);


  •         Independent study (125 hours). 



Formal online interaction will involve a combination of synchronous and asynchronous interactions that will emphasise participatory and active learning drawing on participants’ work-based experience.  In addition, participants will engage in activities and reflective tasks between online interactions that will introduce them to self-evaluative inquiry-led approaches to investigating and reflecting critically on their assessment and feedback practices.

The synchronous and asynchronous interactions will reflect the module content outlined above and there will be a guided study task for each topic, the results of which will be posted and discussed within an online forum:

Topic 1: Evaluate the constructive alignment of a module description / outline and suggest how it might be developed

Topic 2: Write a brief reflective piece on an example of participants’ own feedback

Topic 3: Compare the student or staff perspective of feedback of different disciplinary / professional contexts

Topic 4: Think about the challenges and opportunities represented by the use of more collaborative approaches to assessment and feedback in participants’ personal subject area

Topic 5: Prepare an outline of ideas for the summative assignment

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: GCAM004

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.