Enhancement and Innovation in 'Wise Assessment': A Community of Practice Project

Abstract

The project is exploring new ways of facilitating dialogues across the University of Hong Kong (HKU) about ‘wise assessment’, surfacing and sharing insights from teachers and students on what effective assessment practices are and how those practices facilitate students’ learning. ‘Wise assessment’ practices are those that enhance student learning, are well-attuned to subject and professional requirements, and make effective use of available resources. Through this conversational approach, teachers who have adopted innovative assessment practices are able to share their achievements and seek feedback from peers while teachers who are interested in exploring more can learn from their colleagues and leverage the available resources in the university. Communities of Practice are therefore cultivated with the theme of ‘wise assessment’. Over the current semester, four ‘join-the-conversation’ events are held, each focusing on a different theme of assessment and feedback. Twelve briefing (i.e., synopsis of the insights from teachers and students accompanied by case examples locally and internationally) have been compiled, centring four major themes: assessment in the common core curriculum; assessing experiential learning; understanding standards; and high-impact feedback. This ongoing ‘wise assessment’ project is attracting more teachers both within HKU and worldwide.