Connecting Curriculum Design to Careers: The role of innovative authentic assessments that include interactive orals

Wednesday 3 July: Conference day one, 2:30pm – 3:00pm parallel session

Venue

Room 11 – 303-B11 Sem

Presenter

Dr Sangita De
Griffith University, Australia
sangita.de@griffith.edu.au

Background

An Australian research on postgraduate student experience[1] report showed that employability needs of postgraduates (PG) do not receive emphasis as universities employability efforts are mostly geared towards the undergraduate cohort (Kinash et al., 2016). Further, the report underscored the urgent need to embed employability skills in the postgraduate curriculum. Considering the aforementioned evidence, this presentation will deliberate on the redesign of a business postgraduate course curriculum to incorporate an employability-oriented model. Specifically, the initiative redesigned three practice-based summative assessments guided by research questions such as

how could the course curriculum/assessments be aligned with ‘real world’ job requirements?,

how can employability be embedded into the teaching and learning course activities? and

how can the PG students be introduced to the significance of developing the essential competencies that will help them transition into their profession?

This showcase will provide evidence in the design of authentic assessments constructively aligned to promote employability skills, academic integrity and, the students’ evaluation outcomes. The discussion will elaborate on the Assessment Evaluation survey administered to the students, offering insights into the students’ satisfaction with the assessments redesign and their perceptions regarding the assessment relevance to the real-world.

Particular reflections will be presented on the third assessment proposed: the interactive oral (IO). In higher education, research suggested that oral communication skill is positively linked to students’ academic achievement and can improve their future work opportunities (Crosling & Ward, 2000). However, well-designed IOs not only have the potential to offer a comprehensive assessment method that allows students to apply and develop their skills and knowledge, but also help to minimise cheating and misconduct behaviours (Pearce & Lee, 2009).

Showcasing this initiative will further the understanding of the critical linkage between student satisfaction and germane pedagogical strategies underlying evidence-based design of authentic assessments. Through reflection on the academic’s personal insights, this purposeful discussion hopes to encourage educators to embrace some mitigated risks in course designs and assessment innovations looking to embed employability, promoting practice-based learning for the students.

References

Crosling, G., & Ward, I. (2000). Transition to university: The role of oral communication in the undergraduate curriculum. Journal of institutional research, 9(1), 69-77.
Kinash, S., Crane, L., Judd, M. M., & Knight, C. (2016). Discrepant stakeholder perspectives on graduate employability strategies. Higher education research & development, 35(5), 951-967.
Pearce, G., & Lee, G. (2009). Viva voce (oral examination) as an assessment method: Insights from marketing students. Journal of marketing education, 31(2), 120-130.

[1] http://cdn.postgraduatestudentexperience.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/21111244/PGSE-Case-Study-3.pdf

Presentation topic

Academics – Changing Academic Practice