Remote online assessments within food science – does it breed student engagement?

ICT systems are commonly used within academic teaching and learning usually used as formative assessments and / or summative multiple choice examinations. Student engagement is a key driver of module development and ultimately secures student attainment within the course. The Student Employability Application Remote (SEAR) model has been developed to enhance the student experience within the food suite of programmes in Abertay. The model represents the use of remote online summative assessments which use innovative methods of assessment. The summative examination uses the application of knowledge provided by the student to write a report for a real life scenario, the student is encouraged to use a higher level of complexity to solve a problem. In addition to this problem solving, the student is tasked with a ‘treasure hunt’, where the student is asked within the two hour exam period to find three reliable sources of information for a selection of pathogenic bacteria. The student is then rewarded (if they use academic peer reviewed articles or governmental or accreditation body’s websites) and penalised (if using news articles and encyclopaedia entries) as required. The model specifically links application of knowledge in remote online summative assessments with active learning and student engagement which drives the course development and employability of the learner.