The Ergative Approach: Assessment as a creative knowledge-building dialogue

The Ergative Approach: Assessment as a creative knowledge-building dialogue

Andrew Whitworth, Manchester Institute of Education

Most assessment in higher education still takes place using artefacts, such as the essay and exam, produced only at the end of a course and graded without insight into the process that lies behind the product.  This presentation introduces a different approach,  ergative assessment, from the Greek ergos meaning "work" — an approach based around observations of the work that has gone into the product as well as grading the product itself.  Through multiple points of observation and the giving of feedback, students learn to perform as knowledge-builders in academic and professional settings.  A case study of the approach will be presented, illustrating how different forms of feedback at different stages in the dialogue encouraged students towards better practice, including more scrutiny of the contributions made by generative AI.  The presentation will also discuss ways of offsetting the impact on workload and addressing restrictions imposed by university policies on assessment.  

Speaker biography

Andrew Whitworth is Reader at the Manchester Institute of Education and has been researching and teaching in the educational technology field since 2005.  In 2007 he launched, and was the first Programme Director of, the MA: Digital Technologies, Communication and Education (DTCE), which has been awarded a Blackboard Catalyst Gold Award for 'Communications Strategies', and in 2013 he was voted 'Most Innovative Lecturer' by the Manchester Students' Union. Alone, and with colleague Lee Webster, he has published numerous journal articles and book chapters drawn from prior studies of the pedagogical and assessment approach in use on the MA: DTCE, and its impact on student interactions and discourse.