Kathy Charles, Executive Dean of Learning and Teaching, from Nottingham Trent University on the provocations panel discussion on the topic ‘Making Assessment Meaningful’. This recording is from our 2023 MiniBash community event which was hosted in Birmingham, England.
Provocations panel: making assessment meaningful features Kathy Charles, Executive Dean of Learning and Teaching at Nottingham Trent University, offering a reflective perspective on why assessment needs to move beyond the final product and make learning processes visible.
Drawing on her experience as both an educator and a learner, Kathy challenges the sector’s continued focus on end‑point assessment, particularly in the context of growing anxiety around AI‑generated work. She argues that essays, exams, and final outputs tell us very little about how students think, learn, struggle, collaborate, or change over time.
Through powerful personal examples, Kathy illustrates how learning journeys, transformation, and sense‑making are often far more memorable and meaningful to students than the artefacts they submit for grading. She highlights the value of authentic, process‑focused assessment approaches that surface development, peer learning, and changing perspectives — making learning visible to students, educators, and institutions alike.
The provocation invites educators to reconsider how assessment can better reflect real‑world practice, reduce over‑reliance on final products, and recognise the full journey of learning rather than just its destination.
This talk took place at the studio, Birmingham in June 2023.