Module Leadership and Assessment

Module Leadership and Assessment

Cameron Giles

Whilst module leadership has historically been uncommon among more junior early career academics (Wright 2016, p.216), this is evolving. Although it is somewhat trite to point out the rapid evolution of the Higher Education landscape, one aspect of this evolution is that the responsibilities of module leadership are not reserved for more established, or full-time, staff to the extent that they once were. Long has it been acknowledged that module leaders ‘tend to learn the process “on the job”’ (Blackmore et al 2007, p.3) and that certainly rings true in my case. A year into my first lectureship I was asked to take on the leadership of a module; whilst I was familiar with the general subject (Tort), I hadn’t previously taught on the module (or even the course) in question. My experience in teaching Tort was primarily at undergraduate level but this module happened to be postgraduate, which added to my nervousness about taking it on. Nevertheless, I was keen to take it on – which was helpful as I suspect I would have been expected to do so in any event!

Module leadership is important in its own right and can involve ‘co-ordinating small teams, designing teaching and learning and assessment strategies’ (Rowley 1997, p.80). However, increasingly, module leaders may be expected not only to stay on top of the delivery of their own teaching on the module, supporting the teaching delivered by colleagues and the overall development of the module, but also to contribute to strategy at a course level on issues such as student engagement, attainment data and awarding gaps, and curriculum design.

Starting Out as a Module Leader

It is quite common to speak of “inheriting” a module, as if it is a family heirloom or childhood home. The idea that modules “belong” to their module leader is not always helpful, it can make it difficult to let go of what is “yours” or acerbate disappointment when a module cannot run for whatever reason, but I personally do like the idea in this context. Taking on, or “inheriting”, a module which a colleague has previously developed and led does mean becoming responsible for something with an established history. That does not restrict or fetter your ability to develop or redevelop the module; it does, however, provide important data which should inform your decisions when doing so.

Depending on whether you have taught on the module previously, you may need to refer to the module specification or other recorded information when you take on a module. This can be a good place to start even if you are an established member of the module teaching team; there may well be aspects which the previous module leader addressed themselves without your involvement. Conversations with the prior module leader are, of course, helpful to gain insight into how they’ve delivered the module, nevertheless, the module specification acts as the definitive record. There may be some opportunity to make minor amendments to the specification ahead of delivery—enabling you to consider whether you want to continue with some of the existing arrangements, such as the core texts—but, in many instances, changes may need to wait until after the end of the current academic year. Although do not rush to make too many changes too quickly.

Although it will depend on the specifics of your institution, module leaders are often responsible for delivering large-group teaching and may be expected to deliver some (or all) of the small-group teaching as well. As well as the usual preparation for teaching, there’s a reasonably amount of mundanity which goes along with module leadership. Regular VLE or email announcements reminding students of key tasks and deadlines, release of materials, and keeping an eye on attendance and engagement. These are all what I’d call five-minute jobs but when there’s several of them in a daily basis it can quickly disrupt your afternoon. It can be helpful to build these sorts of tasks into other aspects of your schedule, consolidating all module level appointments into one slot, or running a drop in, rather than attending to them piecemeal.

Leadership of module varies significantly depending on the size and complexity involved. If you are teaching a large cohort, you may find that you’re teaching alongside several colleagues, some of whom may be more experienced academics, who you’ll need to liaise with and support with the provision of materials. It can be helpful to schedule regular meetings throughout the teaching term—often 10 minutes a week will be sufficient—to ensure that you’re on the same page as one another (particularly when you’re all delivering parallel versions of the same session). Leading a module where you also deliver all of the module can be a different, sometimes more isolating, challenge: it can be helpful to find a colleague in a similar position, even if covering an entirely different subject, to act as a critical friend through formal or informal peer observation and discussion, in these circumstances.

Working with Course Leadership

Conversations with the course leadership team will be a regular occurrence throughout the delivery of a module—if not already, make them one—and can be particularly helpful if, like Kelly (2015), you’re taking on a module without being able to speak to your predecessor. The course leadership will likely be responsible for coordinating work with student reps and you might be asked to participate in forums or boards of staff and students to discuss broader issues such as students’ access to resources, engagement and cross-module issues. Depending on the arrangement at your institution, there may already be student reps specific to your module, but if not it can be helpful to think about how to gain the student perspective on your module, rather than purely a course level view.

As a module leader, you will likely be expected to review and re-develop your module on a regular basis in response to feedback from students, colleagues and external examiners. If you have the opportunity to, you may find it helpful to engage these groups at an early stage of thinking about potential changes so that you’re able to take their feedback on board and make them allies when you propose these changes as part of your institution’s internal processes for module revalidation. You may also be approached by course leadership undertaking similar processes as part of programme development and re-validation, which offers an opportunity to engage in a wider conversation about teaching within your School or Department. Module leadership can help to develop skills which can later be applied to course leadership positions (Whitehead 2016).

Like many students, I find that assessment issues come round quicker than you expect. Whilst writing assessments can be a challenge it can also be quite fulfilling writing an assessment that’s going to enable students to demonstrate what they’ve been explored during the module. If possible, aim to have a draft assessment prepared before the beginning of the module. If you are leading a module team you will be able to scrutinise the assessment internally—if you are the only academic for the module, there may be an assigned second marker or you might need to approach a colleague with relevant subject knowledge—after which external scrutiny should take place with the external examiner for your module and/or course. It is also key to get all assessment dates in your own calendar, to ensure you remain free to release instructions, send reminds for deadline, and deal with students’ occasional last minute panicked email.

Depending on your institution’s policies and the requirements set out in your module’s specification, you may have a framework which your assessment is required to follow. It is important to know what is a fixed factor and what you are expected to design and adapt. You may, for example, be required to set a coursework which has previously always taken the form of a draft letter of advice but which you are able to vary to other written outputs provided the assessment remains a coursework with a specific word limit. Once you are clear on the overall format of the assessment, your choices about the specific assessment you are going to set should align with factors such as the formative opportunities you will be able to provide during delivery of the module (Gravett 2020, p.155).

Assessment and feedback can be a rewarding aspect of module leadership, giving you an opportunity to explore how students have engaged with the subject. It can also provide a catalyst for discussion with other colleagues who teach on the module; as you moderate and/or second mark assessments you may find that it provokes ideas for how the module can be developed next time round. Of course, marking and providing feedback can also be a time-intensive task and can result in challenging conversations with students who are either disappointed with their result or who haven’t read the feedback! Making feedback and feedforward an ongoing process throughout the module, with formative opportunities, can help with this – signalling to students that feedback is as much a tool for their ongoing development as it is an explanation for the specific result they have received.

Where Next?

Module leadership is often a rewarding experience but is not without challenges. As one of the key points of contact for students, you will encounter students who require support for a variety of reasons relating to Wellbeing and Pastoral Care.

Module leadership can often be the first step towards other course Administrative Roles which you might be asked to take on within your department.

Where After?

When (re-)developing modules, be on the lookout for opportunities for your teaching to support and be supported by other aspects of your work, including research. I’ve found developing materials for modules I lead a key way to support my research.

Many institutions have formal or informal support and training available for module leaders. Consider exploring opportunities for peer observation or training materials available through your institution. Advance HE also have a range of great resources.

Sources:

Blackmore, P et al, ‘Investigating the capabilities of course and module leaders in departments’ (Centre for the Study of Higher Education 2007)

Gravett, K, ‘Developing students’ feedback literacies’ in Patrick Baughan (ed) On Your Marks: Learner-focused Feedback Practices and Feedback Literacy (Advance HE 2020)

Kelly, G, ‘The role of serendipity in legal education: a living curriculum perspective’ (2015) 39(3) The Law Teacher 353

McArdle, D, ‘Devising New Modules’ in Chris Ashford and Jessica Guth (eds) The Legal Academics Handbook (Palgrave 2016)

Rowley, J, ‘Academic leaders: made or born?’ (1997) 29(3) Industrial and Commercial Training 78

Whitehead, D, ‘From Module Leadership to Course Leadership’ in Chris Ashford and Jessica Guth (eds) The Legal Academics Handbook (Palgrave 2016)

Wright, T, ‘Whatever happened to the F word in higher education?’ (2016) 25(2) Journal of Gender Studies 215

Module Leadership and Assessment

Starting Out as a Module Leader

Working with Course Leadership