Ian Turner from the University of Derby in the UK spoke at the Alternative Assessment Institute 2022 on an assessment game they developed. The University of Derby went through what seems to be a major change in their view of assessments a couple of years ago. Turner shared a quote from Brown et al 1997 that I liked: “Assessment defines what students regard as important, how they spend their time and how they come to see themselves as students and then as graduates… if you want to change student learning then change the methods of assessment.” Turner mentioned that colleagues were resistant to change, and their motivation was to promote fairness, constructive alignment and validity, to increase skills development, to create outcome based assessment, to provide flexibility, and to encourage staff and student motivation/enthusiasm. They wanted to “move away from outcomes and make assessments part of the learning process,” said Turner. The game they created was delivered face-to-face and was used as an ice-breaker and to challenge colleagues and aspects of their practice. Turner deals three modes of assessment: three cards: abstract, scrapbook, and role play. Each card has text describing the activity. Each player is dealt three cards. Turner created a deck of cards with sixty-five modes of assessment! Wow! People are then asked to order their assessment modes from most likely to use to least likely to use in their programs. Turner then removes the top card: the one instructors are most familiar with. Next, Turner draws one card from a deck of common ideas or skills you would like to evaluate, such as employability skills. Turner challenges players to think about how they could use their remaining cards to address those skills. Three pairs come together to discuss for a collective discussion. The six assessment mode cards are: theory of, practical techniques in, current trends in, employability skills in, placement in, and scholarly activity in. Turner typically plays one or two rounds with players. The game comes with a facilitator’s guide and a player’s guide. Turner suggested that facilitators consider their audience and remove assessment modes the audience is familiar with already. Turner shared the link to the game that can be found on the web. I wonder if we can do this in breakout rooms and online with a random card number generator? I think this would be useful to start discussions as part of an HHMI IE or DELTA Fellows session. Turner answered several questions and talked that they are interested in gamification and assessment. Turner did mention they have only played the game at their institution and haven’t evaluated it in other cultures or countries. It would be fun to adapt to an online format and include reflections or group contributions. Turner recommends pairing people out and considering the audience to swap out cards.
