An examination of the impact of COVID-19 on assessment practices in higher education

Autor: Mottiar, Ziene, Byrne, Greg, Gorham, Geraldine, Robinson, Emma
Zdroj: European Journal of Higher Education; January 2024, Vol. 14 Issue: 1 p101-121, 21p
Abstrakt: ABSTRACTThe COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a rapid pivot to online learning across many higher education institutions globally. This paper investigates to what extent assessment strategies changed as a result of this pivot. It explores the case of Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin) in Ireland and finds that 95% of respondents altered their assessment practices in some way. Beyond identifying changing practice, the paper also develops a TARC (Typology of Assessment Responses to COVID-19) model which shows four categories of responses. Reactorsare those academics who simply moved their assessments online. Adaptive Respondersmodified assessments slightly for the online environment. While Opportunistsare those who used the opportunity of the pandemic to implement strategies they had been considering, the Committed Innovatorsengage in innovation in teaching and assessment strategies on an ongoing basis and, thus, they continued to do what they always did. The key factors that were considered in the decision-making about how to alter assessment strategies were pedagogical, practical considerations and the availability of support.
Databáze: Supplemental Index