A single mark cannot reflect the range of what a student has learnt in a course, so why not supplement or replace it with digital badges to demonstrate achievements and skills?
Heather Sharp and colleagues from Uni Newcastle found good reasons to do this in an initial teacher education course but also found a big reason not to – “delaying the awarding of marks caused significant student anxiety.” Results are released in a new paper.
What they did: awarded multiple badges for each of three assessments in a course and tested awarding badges with and without marks.
There were positives: badges improved student engagement with feedback,
and negatives: no marks made students unsure about performance.
With more of the latter than the former: negative response predominated, by 53 per cent.
Badges plus works though: “where badges focus on what has been achieved, written feedback must address what remains to be done.”
the case for: digital badges, “contribute to a more comprehensive and fine-grained record of students’ achievements … that summarises the competencies that have been achieved …and the context in which they have been demonstrated.”
the case agin: “the tensions between old and new modes of assessment had a significant effect”
what was learnt: (i) if using badges on assignments drop marks altogether (ii) badges are not a substitute for written feedback (iii) a badge framework can align assessments (iv) explain to students what badges are for (v) have a map of badges so students can understand their performance.
the take out: do it right or not at all. “benefits can be eclipsed by student anxiety and dissatisfaction if the badging system is not optimally conceptualised and executed, especially given the constraints associated with traditional assessment modes.”
The authors receive the (rarely awarded) Future Campus Virtual Elephant Stamp for a paper that is well-written in plain English and will make a real-world difference.
