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introduction: rethinking assessment and feedback

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Abstract

There is now a rich pedagogical literature that attests to the absolute centrality of assessment and feedback in effective student learning at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. And yet – despite this consensus in the pedagogical literature over the crucial importance of assessment and feedback – they are not, it seems, fulfilling their purpose or potential for students or lecturers alike. This symposium starts from the premise that assessment and feedback matter, that they are not working at present and that we need to find ways to do them differently. The symposium brings together five original articles from contributors who all want to explore alternative ways of thinking about, and doing, assessment and/or feedback so that they work better both for our students and for us as their lecturers.

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Notes

  1. The sample consists of the top ten Departments in the UK – as ranked in the Complete University Guide – for Politics and that run single honours Bachelors degree programmes in politics or political science. The full ranking is available at: http://www.thecompleteuniversityguide.co.uk/league-tables/rankings?s=politics (accessed 31 May 2015).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science and International Studies, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, Edgbaston, UK

    nicola smith

  2. School of Politics & International Relations, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

    helen williams

Authors
  1. nicola smith
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  2. helen williams
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smith, n., williams, h. introduction: rethinking assessment and feedback. Eur Polit Sci 16, 127–134 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1057/eps.2015.100

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