Sheona Thomson | Strategic Lead, Assessment and Academic Integrity at Queensland University of Technology
In this video (part 1 of 2), Sheona Thomson from Queensland University of Technology (QUT) discusses her dual roles as Strategic Lead, Assessment and Academic Integrity, and Senior Lecturer in Architecture within the Faculty of Engineering, and how she overlays integrity thinking with the assessment design cycle at QUT.
Helping inform the piloting of new technologies to facilitate assessment outcomes, Sheona describes the all-hands-on-deck approach to remote teaching at QUT owing to COVID-19 pandemic. She explores the use of technology to accommodate the diversity of teacher and student needs, meet accreditation benchmarks, and the deployment of decision-making pathways in adapting assessment formats to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds.
Maintaining the belief that academic integrity is everybody’s responsibility, Sheona harnesses her research background into how educator beliefs and perspectives impact academic integrity in the classroom. Discussing assessment security at QUT in the absence of a proctoring solution, she makes the case for linking academic integrity to professional integrity, and the opportunities for authentic assessment. Additionally, she shares strategies for nurturing a culture of integrity, and credits robust feedback strategy during the first year transition as critical for student motivation and understanding.
Reflecting on QUT’s redesigned exams for a wholly online setting, Sheona contemplates the future of assessment. Questioning the necessity of high-stakes exams has been a watershed moment that she anticipates will carry forward, and she considers how that can be adapted for hybrid learning modalities moving forward.
Watch Part 2 →