Enhancing learning-oriented assessment through co-teaching in higher education

Abstract

This paper explores the contributions of co-teaching to learning-oriented assessment in eight co-taught undergraduate courses, over two academic years, in the fields of Education and Translation and Interpreting; specifically, whether collaborative teaching enhances assessment design and practices while developing instructors’ and students’ assessment literacy. Evidence from reflective teacher diaries and student focus group data was triangulated, with results suggesting a positive effect of co-teaching on formative assessment, especially regarding the quantity and quality of feedback received by students. Concerning summative assessment, transparency and communication were found to be key factors in reducing student concerns over the grading process. Finally, co-teaching appears to enable a two-way street encouraging students to provide feedback to their instructors and, in the process of doing so, develop their own feedback literacy. Overall, co-teaching, when well-planned and coordinated, can facilitate learning-oriented assessment, as well as provide a fruitful space for instructors’ professional development in assessment practices.