Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education ISSN: 1759-667X Special Issue 25: ALDinHE Conference Proceedings and Reflections October 2022 ________________________________________________________________________ 1Students’ view of hybrid assessment Patricia Perlman-Dee University of Manchester, UK Presentation abstract This lightning talk aimed to evaluate and explain the outcome of students’ opinions on a hybrid assessment. It shared with the audience take away learnings, ideas, and tips from a postgraduate formative assessment that was delivered as a group presentation. The students had the opportunity to deliver in three separate formats: complete group delivering face-to- face, hybrid group delivery, and all virtual delivery. The talk discussed the students' perception of ‘best form of delivery’, ‘fairness and equal opportunities’, and acting with professionalism, as well as final outcomes of the assessment. Community response The talk highlighted a perception gap between students and clients regarding the value of hybrid assessments, with students valuing face-to-face more while clients saw no difference between face-to-face or online. I have had similar experiences with similar projects to assess students' pitches. The value of having a blended or hybrid approach is that it opens up participation where geography is a barrier. I wonder if it would help the students to consider how that opportunity to pitch might be framed if only face-to-face or online was offered as an option. Who would be included/excluded? How does their experience pitching reflect the realities of the modern workplace? Perlman-Dee Students’ view of hybrid assessment Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 2 Author’s reflection The students' views and perceptions of hybrid delivery’s outcome are not necessarily based on reality, but on perception. This was a case study of a formative assessment; however, a similar study has also been done of a summative assessment. The outcome of the summative assessment showed no disadvantage in grades awarded based on the mode of delivery. The timing of when a hybrid presentation has taken place is essential. In the initial post-lockdown period of the Covid-19 pandemic, there was limited experience of hybrid learning. There was the option of doing solely virtual or solely face-to-face learning. However, at this stage, it seemed like students were craving human contact and technology was less of a concern for hybrid teaching: Benavidez states that ‘teacher-student interaction cannot be replaced by technology’ (2019, p.35). However, a common pitfall of hybrid course design is creating in- class activities and out-of-class experiences that are related to one another, but not explicitly connected for students in the hybrid classroom (Linder, 2017). This could make students reluctant to engage with hybrid learning. In contrast to this, the Future of learning report states that remote learners feel remote learning removes educator bias. It states that Black and Asian people feel more comfortable fully learning online, which could impact diversity and equality as well as unconscious bias (Future Learn, 2022). After the second Covid-19 lockdown, students seemed more technologically aware and had a lot more experience of virtual delivery. Confidence in a completely virtual delivery seemed higher than for hybrid and, to an extent, face-to-face learning. A definition of hybrid learning is ‘education in which the face-to-face classroom experience is combined with or replaced by an online experience’ (Dictionary.com, 2022). In this context for assessment, students are physically together, whilst clients are virtual. This type of arrangement seemed to be less preferred. Following the pandemic many workplaces have shifted to hybrid working arrangements. A study by ONS claims that hybrid working is here to stay (Office for National Statistics, 2022). A study by Beno shows that ‘hybrid workers are often more supporting, caring, rewarding, forgiving and inspiring than cubicle workers’ (2021). As hybrid arrangements don’t seem to be going anywhere soon, students should consider how their attitude and perception of hybrids can impact them when entering into the professional world. https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?oZRlP9 https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?yflC6n https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?DW6PXI https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?DW6PXI https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?82ZvVq Perlman-Dee Students’ view of hybrid assessment Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 3 Acknowledgments Thank you to all the contributors who shared their reflections and enriched our insight into this conference presentation and its impact on the audience. Special thanks go to Anne-Marie Langford from the University of Northampton. References Benavidez, T. B. (2019) ‘A review of Voices: online and hybrid classroom education’, ORTESOL Journal, 36, pp.34-36. Beno, M. (2021) ‘On-site and hybrid workplace culture of positivity and effectiveness: case study from Austria’, Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 10(5). https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2021-0142. Dictionary.com (2022) [website] Available at: www.dictionary.com (Accessed: 17 October 2022). Future Learn (2022) The future of learning report. Available at: https://www.futurelearn.com/info/thefutureoflearning (Accessed: 26 October 2022). Linder, K. E. (2017) ‘Fundamentals of hybrid teaching and learning’, New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 149, pp.11-18. https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.20222. Office for National Statistics (2022) Is hybrid working here to stay? Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandem ployeetypes/articles/ishybridworkingheretostay/2022-05-23 (Accessed: 17 October 2022). https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?I1wt2r https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?I1wt2r https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?I1wt2r https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?I1wt2r https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?I1wt2r http://www.proquest.com/docview/2544548319/abstract/80216D6E92384749PQ/1 https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?I1wt2r https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?I1wt2r https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?I1wt2r https://doi.org/10.36941/ajis-2021-0142 http://www.dictionary.com/ https://www.futurelearn.com/info/thefutureoflearning https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?I1wt2r https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?I1wt2r https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?I1wt2r https://doi.org/10.1002/tl.20222 https://www.zotero.org/google-docs/?I1wt2r https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/ishybridworkingheretostay/2022-05-23 https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/articles/ishybridworkingheretostay/2022-05-23 Perlman-Dee Students’ view of hybrid assessment Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education, Special Issue 25: October 2022 4 Author details Patricia Perlman-Dee, CFA, is a Senior Lecturer in Finance at AMBS. She has a Master’s in Finance and a PGCE and is the Employability Lead at AMBS. Patricia has extensive experience working in large financial corporations such as Citigroup, JP Morgan, Nomura and Barclays in Manchester, London, and New York. Patricia teaches a range of courses at the University of Manchester across all levels. In 2021, 2020, and 2019, Patricia was awarded the Faculty of Humanities Outstanding teaching award. She regularly presents at several educational conferences such as HERDSA, EduLearn, Chartered Association of Business Schools, and Advance HE conferences. 1Students’ view of hybrid assessment Presentation abstract Community response Author’s reflection Acknowledgments References Author details