An integrated assessment process using poster presentations: old wine in a new bottle?

Programme developments reflect a shifting philosophy in terms of learning and teaching, with a progression towards developing pedagogy in line with a social constructivist approach and a focus on promoting a more inclusive way of working. This has forced a critical and, more importantly, a creative re-evaluation of assessment practices, with a shift from more traditional examination format to a more divergent (Torrance & Pryor, 1998) poster-based approach promoting personalisation and choice in a novel and engaging experience for students. The assessment design is embedded within, and an integral part of, the learning and teaching encouraging students as active participants (QAA, 2008; Brooks & Brooks, 1993) in assessment as a process as well as a product. This resonated with the pluralistic approach across the programme as a whole and the design of a process using authentic tasks working with pupils (Dochy, Segers & Sluijsmans, 1999; Bloxham & Boyd, 2007), specifically enabling students to explore the relationships between their mathematical understanding and developing pupils’ mathematical thinking. In line with Sternberg and Lubart (1995), this initiative was bound by conflicting pressures which, arguably, provided the impetus needed to think creatively, a ‘blessing in disguise’ (Biggs, 2003). The development has proved to be a steep learning curve for both tutors and students. This paper will discuss these experiences with an emphasis on both the process and products of this particular approach.