Moderation, an important part of learning and teaching, is in the spotlight. Our pathways now have additional resource available to them, in the form of a Moodle course and face-to-face support from our TKK and TPA team.
What is moderation?
Abha Chitalia and Cath Delaporte, two of the team supporting academic staff with moderation through meetings, team workshops and the one-day course.
Moderation is all about the quality of our assessment: it’s a self- and peer-review process that ensures that the way teachers are testing and marking our students through assessment is fair and consistent. And it’s something that NZQA will be focusing on during their EER visit in November so it’s something we need to be doing to a high standard, across all of our pathways.
How are we supporting academic staff?
Our Te Puna Ako (TPA) and Te Korowai Kahurangi (TKK) teams have been working hard to make it easier for everyone to access information and professional learning relating to moderation. So how are TPA and TKK supporting our academic staff with their moderation practices?
- They’ve developed a Moodle course that all academic staff should take a look at.
- They’re meeting with Academic Leaders (ALs) to discuss their team’s specific moderation needs.
- Team workshops: set up by arrangement with ALs, and tailored to your team’s needs. For example, a one-hour refresher to get everyone up to speed with their moderation.
- Quality Assure Assessment course: this is a one-day course leading to an NZQA-recognised unit standard.
If you’d like to get in touch about any of these options, email moderationpd@unitec.ac.nz.
In the Moodle course, you can hear three different views from staff, explaining what moderation means to them.
Steve Marshall, Quality Partner in TKK, says: “We are improving the system, away from only focussing on compliance and towards continuous improvement…we’re asking peers and stakeholders to give us feedback on how we’re doing.”
Kylie Thompson, AL on the Graduate Diploma of Higher Education and Course Lecturer for the Bachelor of Sport says: ‘I’ve been a moderator for NZQA so have seen moderation at a national level. It’s a professional discussion rather than compliance. It’s about suggestions, so everyone brings something to the table. We’re building moderation into our professional learning.”
Arpit Joshi, lecturer for Vehicle Systems and Materials, says: “I enjoy moderation because it helps me with my teaching. What kind of questions to ask, and what an ideal assessment would look like.”
For more information, please contact moderationpd@unitec.ac.nz.