The Value of Reflective Practice and Continuing Professional Development in the Assessment Process

• Reflective practice and continuing professional development are important parts of the assessment process. After every teaching session, assessors must consider what worked well in their lessons and what they can improve on. These pieces of information can be obtained from the learners, other assessors, members of the quality assurance department, and the line manager. For example, after teaching an introductory session on integration, a complex topic in mathematics, I set up a poll to ascertain the number of students who had a poor, good, or excellent understanding of the topic. The results from the poll informed me of the need to apply other teaching strategies, such as using more practical or real-life events and slowing the pace of teaching to explain the abstract topic.

• Also, in my previous assessment, teaching observations were carried out by the quality assurance department, the line manager, and another colleague/tutor. The yearly observation by the quality assurance department was graded as low-risk, medium-risk, and high-risk, to ascertain the competence and training needs of the assessor. The yearly observations by the line manager and colleague were ungraded and meant to inform best teaching practices.

• There was a mandatory requirement to undergo 30 hours of professional development. The training was organised by the department and also left to the discretion of the assessors/tutors. During the training, I became aware of the new assessment requirement of the Awarding Body, Pearson. They require that generic, not specific, feedback be given to the students. I attended the 2020 Microsoft Education Conference to better understand how to effectively use their various improved teaching tools and learning management systems.

• These TAQA qualifications have also helped to improve my understanding and reflect on the principles and practices of assessment. Furthermore, I have undertaken pieces of training provided by the college through the SkillGate online learning platform. These are listed below:

· Being Aware of your Unconscious Bias

· Cyber Awareness and Staying Safe Online

· Data Protection and Freedom of Information: Compliance Following GDP

· Dignity at Work

· Fire Safety V2

· Managing Information Securely

· Manual Handling

· Mental Health Awareness

· Promoting British Values

· Safeguarding Adults at Risk for Wales

· Safeguarding Children and Young People in Wales

· Stress Management

· The Importance of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

· Understanding the PREVENT Strategy

· Using Social Media Responsibly

· Working Safely - An Introduction to Workplace Health and Safety (CAVC)

· Mental Health Awareness

Reference/Bibliography

• Davies, A. and Stiling, L. (2021) TAQA – training assessment and quality assurance [PowerPoint presentation]. 22 October.

• Equality and Human Rights Commission (2014) What equality law means for you as an education provider: schools. Available at: https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/sites/default/files/what_equality_law_means_for_you_as_an_education_provider_schools.pdf (Accessed: 21 December 2021).

• Fitzpatrick, C. (1999) ‘Students as evaluator in practicum: examining peer-self assessment and self-efficacy’, ACES Conference, New Orleans.

• Lanyon, L. and Hubball, H. (2008) ‘Gender considerations and innovative learning-centred assessment practices’, Transformative Dialogues: Teaching & Learning Journal, 2(1), pp. 1 – 11. Available at: https://www.kpu.ca/sites/default/files/Teaching%20and%20Learning/TD.2.1_Lanyon%26Hubball_Gender_Considerations.pdf (Accessed: 21 December 2021)

• Meadows, M. (2018) Safeguarding the confidentiality of assessment materials & managing conflicts of interest. Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/683919/Safeguarding_the_confidentiality_of_assessment_materials_and_managing_conflicts_of_interest.pdf (Accessed: 21 December 2021).

• Ofsted (2005) Race equality in education - good practice in schools and local education authorities. Available at: https://dera.ioe.ac.uk/5546/1/Race%20equality%20in%20education%20good%20practice%20in%20schools%20and%20local%20education%20authorities%20(PDF%20format).pdf (Accessed: 22 December 2021).