Individual assignment tasks are described in unit specifications. Unit leaders are free to choose whatever type and size of assignment task they think will best allow students to demonstrate achievement of the unit learning outcomes. Assessment tasks should be selected to enable students to demonstrate their achievement of the unit learning outcomes. The University does not prescribe what kinds of tasks should be used and you have a very wide choice of possibilities.
In choosing assignment tasks, you are likely to consider:
This short (4'25") screencast summarises key issues in specifying assessment:
The ten most popular types of assignment task for undergraduates at MMU are shown in figure 1. These assignments represent about 80% of the total number of submissions at each level.
Most people will have experience of most of these tasks, either as a student or as a tutor/marker, and that can be a key factor in making a decision about the task. However, there are also around one hundred other types of assignment task in use at these levels, so you aren’t restricted to the popular ones. (click here for a full list of assignment tasks used in undergraduate courses during 2013/14).
Have a look at our guidance on a selection of these tasks to see if that helps you to make a choice. If you aren’t very confident about introducing a new type of task, then you could consider using it formatively to begin with, and then make it a summative assessment in a future year (remember, you will need to use the minor modifications process to change summative assessment tasks in a unit specification).
What Unit leaders need to do |
Specify Individual Assignment TasksThe specification of assignments is done in unit documentation, which is usually written during Programme Approval or Review. These details may only be amended outside these processes as part of a programme amendment.
|
What Programme Leaders need to do |
The programme specification requires an appendix which gives an overview of all of the assignments at each level of the programme, providing an at-a-glance summary of the types and sizes of all of the tasks. The programme leader needs to check that these are in line with the programme assessment strategy, that the level learning outcomes are all covered by the assignment tasks, and that tasks are sensibly scheduled once the programme is running. |