To conclude the year, we tasked our team with recommending thought-provoking articles in the realm of teaching, learning, and assessment in higher education. Explore the hidden gems of 2023 and consider adding them to your reading radar. These recommendations, not presented in any particular order, come with insights from our team members who found them valuable for their fresh perspectives and transformative ideas.
Shifting feedback agency to students by having them write their own feedback
Published October 2023 in Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, by David Nicol & Lovleen Kushwah
Recommended by Claire Weir, our Business Development Manager. Claire said, “This research challenges current thinking on developing students’ feedback literacy. Whilst there are lots of ideas in making better use of educator or peer comments, the authors highlight students capacity for inner feedback. The article explores empowering students to write their own feedback, providing a fresh perspective on enhancing the learning experience. The learning benefits of active feedback methods support students’ to self-regulate their learning, help develop critical and creative thinking – all elements of the learning process I’m passionate about and believe PebblePad can support so well.”
Assessment reform for the age of artificial intelligence
Published November 2023 by the Australian Government’s agency Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) and authored by Jason M Lodge, Sarah Howard, Margaret Bearman, Phillip Dawson
Recommended by Robert Vick, Director of Business Development (APAC). Robert said, “This report by the Australian Government in collaboration with experts is not prescriptive, it’s intended to inspire higher education leaders. It identifies weaknesses in traditional assessment approaches and provides guidance on ways assessment practices can take advantage of the opportunities, and manage the risks, of AI, specifically generative AI. Platforms like PebblePad are perfect for supporting these recommended approaches.”
Measuring what learners do in feedback: The feedback literacy behavior scale
Published August 2023 in Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, by Phillip Dawson, Zi Yan, Anastasiya Lipnevich, Joanna Tai, David Boud, and Paige Mahoney
Chosen by Carole Hunter, our Customer Success Manager and Learning Consultant. Carole said, “There’s been a lot written recently about the importance of feedback literacy not only within higher education but for lifelong learning within the professions. This article offers a framework for exploring your students’ strengths and challenges when it comes to feedback literacy, to help you refine the behaviours you might focus on as a course team. PebblePad has both the flexibility and individual customisation required to scaffold and monitor the development of all these behaviours.”
ePortfolio traditions that are ready to be broken
Published October 2023 by ePortfolios Australia by Michael Sankey from Charles Darwin University
Selected by Alison Poot, our Senior Director and Head of Global Success. Alison said, “this is an interesting reflection on ePortfolios in Australian Universities. The paper explores the evolving landscape of ePortfolios, driven by user-friendly online platforms.”
City studio in Vancouver: Supporting civic engagement and service learning
Recommended by Shane Sutherland, our founder, Shane said “The CityStudio website provides an overview of an initiative that connects students, faculty and institutions with the places they live, learn and work, through projects that allow participants to develop and evidence their learning and achievement whilst contributing to their community. It always stood out to me that the SLICCs framework would be a wonderful way to help scaffold, support and surface the learning taking place through these projects.”
The capability approach, pedagogic rights, and course design: Developing autonomy and reflection through student-led, individually created courses
Published September 2023 in the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities by Rowan Murray, Centre for Open Learning, University of Edinburgh
Recommended by James Littlehales, Interim Team Leader – Customer Success UK&I. James said, “the research highlights the broader benefits of university education beyond discipline knowledge. It emphasizes the development of lifelong skills such as autonomy and critical reflection, proposing the Capability Approach as a framework for assessing individual development in student-led learning.”
Deeper pedagogies are key to cracking open the black box of experiential learning
Published June 23 in WONKE by Mark Peace, Professor of Innovation in Education at Manchester Metropolitan University, IESBL (Institute for Experiential and Skills Based Learning)
Recommended by Alison McHugh, Director of Marketing. Alison said, “This article casts light on the wonderful community of experiential learning pioneers in the UK. Much has been published on the value of experiential learning to support employability goals through practice-led, work-integrated, and authentic experiences. This article looks at examples of practice such as RISE, the co-curricular programme at Manchester Met and discusses the challenge of creating space for experiential learning practice within existing academic frameworks.”
