| Sumario: | This report describes the Teacher Fellowship program at The University of Queensland, funded by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council. This Fellowship program aimed to build the capacity of course coordinators at the university to effectively implement the university's assessment policies, especially in relation to criterion referenced assessment. Preliminary research leading to the Fellowship application indicated that UQ academics new to the role of course coordinator had few formal opportunities to prepare for this role, and that they lacked confidence in their knowledge of assessment policies and their own responsibilities. In responding to a needs identification survey, course coordinators overwhelmingly expressed a desire for "personalised help" from an "academic mentor", "coach" or "guide". This preliminary institutional research centred the Fellowship program on investigation of a model of professional mentoring that would bring together a pilot group of course coordinators to build a community of assessment practice across the university. The Fellowship program had three phases. Phase 1 (Mapping the territory) gathered survey and interview data of course coordinators', students', and senior university managers' understanding and experience of assessment practices and policies and revealed a number of mismatches between the goals and expectations of these groups. Phase 2 of the Fellowship (Building a community of assessment practice) developed and implemented a pilot professional development and mentoring program for seven pairs of course coordinators representing a range of contrasting disciplines across six faculties. Phase 3 (From implementation to institutionalisation) developed institutional strategies for embedding and sustaining good assessment practice.
|
|---|
