Reinventing the Wheel? The Role of Technology in Teaching Psychology - The Role of Patchwork Text Assessment (PTA) in Teaching and Assessing Undergraduate Psychology

Innovative assessment methods aim to improve the quality of student learning by making assessment something which is done with and by learners, rather than something that is done ‘to’ them (Harris & Bell, 1990). Patchwork Text Assessment (PTA) provides a good example of this innovative approach to assessment. In PTA students are required to build up a portfolio of short pieces of work (patches) across a module or course. Feedback is given on these formative pieces as they are produced, and the student is encouraged to modify their wok in response to comments form peers and teachers. In this way a collaborative learning community develops which enriches the learning process. The final piece of work produced at the end of the module for summative assessment is a composite text which includes the students patches, ‘stitched’ together by a reflective, unifying commentary which allows students to produce a personal synthesis of their learning progression across the module. One contemporary example of such media is PebblePad, an online system which places control of the ePortfolio firmly in the hands of the learner, whilst still allowing for authentic and reliable assessment by the teacher, thereby providing a unique interface for student assessment. This presentation will demonstrate the way in which the use of PebblePAD for PTA has been able to enhance the learning experiences of psychology undergraduates at the University of Worcester, facilitating the process of self-reflection and allowing the student to make explicit the nature of their learning ‘journey’.