Supporting postgraduate students’ engagement: an Activity Theory analysis of the impact of a co-designed assessment

Collaborative design (co-design) of assessments between teachers and students has been shown to enhance student engagement. This study investigates how students in a postgraduate project management programme at an Irish university participated in the co-design of a module assessment and engaged in the co-designed assessment, exploring how the dynamics of shared leadership, authentic assessment, and student engagement and partnership shaped their learning experience. Using Activity Theory and the related notion of expansive learning, and drawing on interview and survey data, the study analyses the module leader and students’ co-design of assessment and students’ engagement in the co-designed assessment. It reveals how the co-design process enabled participants to address systemic contradictions in earlier assessment approaches and suggests ways in which contradictions in the co-designed approach may be overcome. The findings highlight the importance of relationship-building in group environments and the value of co-design, using a variety of technologies, in establishing trust and developing effective and authentic assessments. They also indicate that different group formation approaches can impact the quality of peer interactions and the depth of student learning.