Introducing authentic assessments in the unit Composite Materials for Sustainability

Composite materials for sustainability’ is a new unit, worth 20 credit points, and is offered to students on undergraduate and postgraduate programmes at the University of Bristol. The unit is compulsory for PGT students taking MSc Advanced Composites and PGR students who are enrolled on the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Composite Materials. The unit is also available as an option to students in the 4th year of MEng Aerospace Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Engineering Design. Previously, a 10-credit unit called ‘Sustainable composite materials’ (SCM) was taught to the same PGR (compulsory) and PGT (optional) cohorts, with ten didactic lectures and four interactive journal club sessions. SCM was assessed through a single written assessment, where students submitted a report of maximum ten pages. Since the class size was between 15-20, SCM was taught by, and assessed by, one academic.

The following changes have been implemented in the new unit, ‘Composite materials for sustainability’:
• Individual written assessment (75% summative) is now limited to 2500 words and to be written in the style of an opinion piece
• Introduction of podcast assessment (25% summative, in pairs)
• Introduction of formative podcast assessment and multiple-choice test
• Journal club sessions run in small groups
• Unit delivery and assessment supported by Teaching Associates

In this talk we will present an overview of the changes that have been implemented in the new unit, reflecting on things that did and did not go well. The talk will focus on the authenticity of the formative and summative podcast assessments, and the engagement and feedback from students.