Assessment innovation - sustainable, sequential testing; OSCE innovation and national examinations

My research interests focus principally around assessment and measurement, with an active portfolio of publications and conference papers. Current research focuses on the ‘personalisation’ of assessment, to support individual learner journeys. This is underpinned by work from research collaborators, focusing on the application of intelligent assessment design in campus and workplace based assessment formats, assessor behaviours, mobile technology delivered assessment and the impact of sequential testing methodologies. This has led to the delivery of over 200 high quality scholarship outputs in the last 10 years (papers, invited presentations, specialist workshops at leading education meetings, plenaries and academic consultancy). Impact from this work has been significant, influencing policy and practice nationally and internationally (e.g. the growth in sequential testing formats and research, OSCE design and particularly quality analysis).

Current research activity includes:

1) Sustainable assessment, learner behaviours and the impact of sequential and adaptive testing methodologies
2) The impact of (mobile) technology on assessment innovation and learner support (with a particular focus on transition points and deployment of adaptive assessment)
3) Performance testing of small cohorts
4) Test design and standard setting - focusing on scoring, conjunctive standards and the impact of borderline regression methodology
5) Assessor scoring, variance and the use of video components in OSCE - and the possible support of equating (NIHR funded project led by Dr Peter Yeates, Keele)
6) Implementing and evaluating national licensing tests

UK based Collaborators/Partners
I work with a multi-institutional group of colleagues across the Universities of Leeds (Professor Trudie Roberts, Dr Matthew Homer, Dr Godfrey Pell and Dr Jennifer Hallam), Liverpool (Mrs Bee Collier and Dr Viktoria Joynes) and Keele (Dr Peter Yeates) across activities 1-5

International Collaborators
I work with the International Medical University, Malaysia (Professor Vishna Nadarajah), in partnership with Dr Viktoria Joynes, focusing on Activity (2). Myself and Dr Matthew Homer (Leeds) work with an Australian consortium led by Monash University, exploring the implementation of a national licensing assessment for the Australian Nursing and Midwifery board. Work evaluating the Indonesian national licensing exam is undertake in partnership with Dr Rachmadaya Nur Hidayah (Faculty of Medicine Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia) and Professor Trudie Roberts (Leeds).