Moving to timed remote assessments: the impact of COVID-19 on year end exams in Chemical Engineering at Imperial College London
File(s)Revised_Imperial_ChemEng_COVID19_Assessment.pdf (1.32 MB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Bhute, Vijesh
Campbell, James
Kogelbauer, Andreas
Shah, Umang
Brechtelsbauer, Clemens
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Summative year end assessments area major component of student assessment at the Department of Chemical Engineering, Imperial College London.More than 600 studentsparticipate in over40 different exams during the summer term. At the end of the spring term, the college moved to fully remote operation due to COVID-19, leaving the academic community with the challenge of delivering examinationsremotely. At the time pandemic hit the UK, teaching for allmodules in the department had been completed, the exam timetable had already been published and all exam paperspassed the mandatory external quality review. To implement time-limited remote examsas stipulated by the university, the department decided to proceed with anexisting VLE platformfor submission of answer-sheets.This study highlights stakeholder reflections from the academic and student communityduring the implementation of this approachculminating in a mock examination to gauge readiness of the infrastructure as well as the student population.Our survey found that the majority of students (>80%) managed to follow the written instructionsand readily engaged with scanning technologies and the uploading process.In the main, students did not have to adapt their learning or writing style. All stakeholdersprovided constructive suggestions at the end of the mock exam resulting in a relatively smooth transition to this new mode of examination. This study highlights challenges and reflections on making the summer year end examsremote in a very short timeframein a large and diverse Chemical Engineering department at very short notice.
Date Issued
2020-09-08
Date Acceptance
2020-07-13
Citation
Journal of Chemical Education, 2020, 97 (9), pp.2760-2767
ISSN
0021-9584
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Start Page
2760
End Page
2767
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Chemical Education
Volume
97
Issue
9
Copyright Statement
© 2020 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Subjects
03 Chemical Sciences
13 Education
Education
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2020-07-21