Progressive development of legal skills fostering staff cooperation in the assessment process

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Author: Jeffrey Barnes

La Trobe University

If a cooperative approach to setting assessment is taken in the assessment process it is likely to lead to better outcomes for student learning. Without cooperation, staff efforts are likely to be ad hoc and to lack coordination and consistency. A lack of cooperation can be a particular problem with the “development” of a skill which occurs over a number of units. If staff do not cooperate efforts can be duplicated or gaps might not be addressed. At the same time cooperation cannot easily be accomplished. There are few or no processes to foster a cooperative approach amongst staff who teach different units.

This project examines ways to foster a cooperative approach to the setting of assessment tasks involving the progressive development of a disciplinary skill. Cooperation was assisted by the setting of goals for the program in question. But the setting of goals for an organisation, while important, is not sufficient itself to ensure cooperation. The literature on fostering cooperation in organisations stresses the importance of: creating an open and safe environment for the sharing of diverse ideas about assessment; negotiating agreement; and developing and refining protocols.

The project resolved to take a number of complementary initiatives to foster cooperation. It highlighted the problem by mapping the ad hoc development of skills across a degree program. Some impediments to staff cooperation were identified and removed. Sharing of ideas about assessment replaced isolationism. Small group discussion sessions were organised and a group of interested teachers was formed. Unit learning guides were revised to take account of the work of other units. The idea of staff cooperation became a factor to be considered by School leaders in the approval of unit learning guides.