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New paper released: impact of AI on higher education assessment

Wednesday 6th September 2023

ALT Conference, September 6th, 2023 — PebblePad, the Learning Journey Platform, has unveiled its latest paper, “Perspectives on Redesigning Assessment Practices in an AI World”. The paper delves into the profound influence of artificial intelligence (AI) on higher education assessment strategies. This release coincides with the paper’s presentation at the ALT Conference.

Perspectives on Redesigning Assessment Practices in an AI World offers insights gathered from extensive conversations with educators, technologists and students around the globe. The paper also draws inspiration from a recent survey conducted by PebblePad in May 2023, involving 200 educators and 1500 students from the UK, Australia, and the US.

Addressing concerns raised by AI’s influence on assessment integrity, the new report features the findings from the survey carried out earlier this year. Including that over one-third of educators surveyed (36%) expressed apprehensions about plagiarism as a result of the use of tools such as ChatGPT. Furthermore, when asked about the preparedness to redesign assessment strategies in response to AI, around 27% of educators admitted feeling somewhat unprepared or not prepared at all. In response, the paper emphasises the importance of authentic assessment practices, which were recommended by 31% of respondents as a way for universities to handle AI-related challenges.

The new paper is authored by PebblePad’s Senior Consultant, Learning, Teaching and Assessment, Lisa Gray – a respected expert with over two decades of experience in educational innovation. During her tenure at Jisc, Lisa spearheaded innovation and change initiatives in areas including assessment, employability, and curriculum transformation. She is also an accomplished speaker and writer on these topics, having contributed nationally and internationally.

Lisa Gray emphasises, “While AI presents challenges, it also offers opportunities to redefine assessment and feedback practices. The paper provides practical tips on designing assessments that are meaningful, create better opportunities for learning, surface the learning process, empower students, and minimise the potential for plagiarism.

The paper concludes by highlighting the role of AI in assessments, the need for transparency, and the empowerment of educators and students to navigate this evolving terrain.

About PebblePad

PebblePad is a leading online Learning Journey Platform dedicated to helping educators deliver student-centred learning experiences and cultivate future-ready graduates. Beyond its role as a powerful eportfolio platform, PebblePad offers sophisticated tools to support a diverse range of teaching and learning processes. It addresses gaps in integrative and experiential learning & assessment that traditional Learning Management Systems and eportfolios cannot bridge. PebblePad’s unique set of feedback and assessment capabilities further enriches its feature set. The platform is successfully transforming the learning landscape at universities worldwide, including more than 30 of the top-ranked global universities.

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Bio: Gayle Brent is a Learning and Teaching Consultant (Employability) at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia. Gaye’s specialist area of interest is developing and implementing strategies to enhance staff and student understanding of employability in both curricular and extra-curricular contexts. She completed a Master of Education and Professional Studies Research to explore the potential barriers and challenges to embedding employability-based learning in higher education curriculum and is currently completing a Doctor of Philosophy exploring the impact of an extra-curricular employability program on the individual student experience.

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Gaining CPD with PebblePad

PebbleBash 2024, a biennial international PebblePad conference, to be held in Edinburgh, Scotland, in June 2024.  PebbleBash brings together PebblePad practitioners from around the globe to share practice and discuss the opportunities and challenges that the use of a learning and teaching platform like PebblePad presents.

As many of PebblePad’s customers are undertaking initiatives to reshape the curriculum, PebbleBash provides an opportunity to exchange insights, best practice and renew ideas for creating exceptional learning experiences, aligned with evolving student needs.

Attendees will benefit from the opportunity to:

  • Learn about methods from expert practitioners who have overcome similar challenges
  • Learn how PebblePad is being used to help education institutions tackle some of the key themes in the HE sector: Authentic assessment and feedback, Flexible learning design, Belonging, wellbeing and success, Employable and future-ready and Professional identity and capability
  • Learn about strategies for implementing PebblePad at scale, resources and processes for training and support, reporting and learning analytics, integrations and administration.
  • Network within the community and meet and speak with the PebblePad leadership, implementation and development teams.

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Bio: Jeff Grabill is Deputy Vice Chancellor for Student Education at the University of Leeds. Prior to joining the University of Leeds, Grabill was at Michigan State University (MSU) in the United States for nearly 20 years. He served Michigan State University as the Associate Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Technology. In that role, he was responsible for facilitating innovation in learning and educator professional development via his role as Director of the Hub for Innovation in Learning and Technology. Grabill’s research focuses on how digital writing is associated with citizenship and learning. That work has been located in community contexts, in museums, and in classrooms at both the K-12 and university levels. Grabill is also a co-founder of Drawbridge, an educational technology company.

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Talk description: I will use the themes of reflection and experiential learning, skills development and assessment (including programme level assessment and changes in assessment practice) to explore this process in more detail. This includes the link between disciplinary and institutional curriculum reform, learning from local innovations and changes, and using this to inform University level changes and support.

Bio: My current position is leading the University wide Curriculum Transformation Project. This is a major and long term initiative for the University considering all areas of the University’s undergraduate and taught postgraduate curriculum. Prior to this Jon set up and led the Institute for Academic Development (IAD) at the University of Edinburgh. The IAD provides University level support for teaching, learning and researcher development, including direct support for students and staff, and support for enhancement and innovation in curriculum development, the student and researcher experience. Jon has a PhD in petroleum geology.

Dr Melissa Highton. Assistant Principal, University of Edinburgh

Talk description: A journey through the stories told by wicca data. How a neglected research data set was used by students to overturn historic injustice and shed new light on the lives of women in Scotland.

Bio: Melissa has worked for many years in higher education at some of the UK’s finest and most ancient institutions. In each place she enjoys discovering the hidden histories and less heard voices which can be surfaced in new ways using the most up to date and open technologies. She is a champion of playful and curious approaches to engagement with audiences on campus and online, and is an invited speaker at events about dangerous women.

Disclaimers

The event agenda is correct at the time of publishing. As with all events, we may need to alter or modify aspects of the agenda.

While we take every precaution to ensure the safety and security of our events, Pebble Learning Ltd recommends you review insurance policies to ensure adequate coverage, especially in the realm of business travel.

We will be recording (audio/video) the presentations during the event. A conference photographer will also be capturing moments for our highlights reel. The video and photography will be used to share insights and market PebbleBash to the wider HE community. We do not give automatic refunds, please see the cancellation policy in the FAQs.

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