Abstract
This article explores and proposes a design concept of a co-creative process that aims to support the assessment and grading of theses in design education through automated criteria evaluation. The research is based on a concept-driven design approach that theoretically anchored and empirically informed the design concept. The research was achieved by grounding the concept in theoretical resources concerning pedagogical principles and assessment, existing tools and models for examiners in assessment processes, and current design practices for assessment in higher education. The main contribution of this article, namely the concept of grading by automated criteria evaluation (GRACE), aims to provide support and structure for examiners and students to collectively advance the design, implementation, and evaluation of the concept through the co-creation and evaluation of criteria in higher education. GRACE could supplement existing assessment practices of theses in design education by focusing on both explicit criteria and the development of students' design thinking and abilities.
Highlights
In the field of higher education, assessments offer essential information in terms of establishing whether institutions and faculty are effective, and whether students are ready for employment (O’Hagan & Wigglesworth, 2015)
In the area of design education, there is an additional layer of complexity relating to how the level of creativity is assessed in theses
This research focuses on bachelor’s theses written in the design field, and the research process is guided by the following question: How can grading by automated criteria evaluation (GRACE) be conceptualized and theoretically anchored to aid examiners in co-creating assessment criteria for undergraduate theses while concurrently supporting students’ learning processes? The concept-driven design research approach put forward by Stolterman and Wiberg (2010) will be used to address this research question
Summary
In the field of higher education, assessments offer essential information in terms of establishing whether institutions and faculty are effective, and whether students are ready for employment (O’Hagan & Wigglesworth, 2015). There is a lack of research into how digital assessment tools could be designed for higher education to aid examiners in the co-creation of explicit criteria for the assessment of undergraduate theses and the creation of a mutual understanding between students and examiners in the assessment process. In the area of design education, there is an additional layer of complexity relating to how the level of creativity is assessed in theses This means that examiners might have to trust to their own experience and carry out holistic thesis assessments, as some aspects are not explicitly articulated in the relevant criteria. This research focuses on bachelor’s theses written in the design field, and the research process is guided by the following question: How can GRACE be conceptualized and theoretically anchored to aid examiners in co-creating assessment criteria for undergraduate theses while concurrently supporting students’ learning processes? The scope of this article is limited to a focus on examiners’ views and challenges when evaluating and grading undergraduate theses
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