Awarding digital badges: research from a first-year university course.

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Title: Awarding digital badges: research from a first-year university course.
Authors: Goulding, J.1, Sharp, H.1 heather.sharp@newcastle.edu.au, Twining, P.1
Source: Higher Education Research & Development. Apr2024, Vol. 43 Issue 3, p640-656. 17p.
Subject Terms: *Teacher education, *Academic motivation, *Student-centered learning, Courses (Horse sports), Undergraduate education
Abstract: This paper reports on a study that replaced marks with digital badges in an undergraduate Initial Teacher Education course. The aim was to examine the impact of badging on students, and on the quality of university provision. Data collection consisted of surveys and focus groups. The study found that while digital badges had considerable potential to improve the student experience in terms of engagement with feedback, motivation and reducing 'grade anxiety', delaying the awarding of marks caused significant student anxiety. The effect on university provision was more positive, and digital badges promoted constructive alignment between university-based assessment tasks and external professional standards frameworks. The student findings pointed to an underlying tension associated with implementing student-centred, outcomes-based assessment methods in contexts designed to accommodate traditional high-stakes assessment. Five recommendations for future practice were made: (1) Remove marks altogether where digital badges are used; (2) Do not substitute written feedback with digital badges; (3) Developing a badge framework is important for both students and staff; (4) Inform students about what to expect; (5) Develop a 'Badge Tree'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Higher Education Research & Development is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Awarding digital badges: research from a first-year university course.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Goulding%2C+J%2E%22">Goulding, J.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Sharp%2C+H%2E%22">Sharp, H.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> heather.sharp@newcastle.edu.au</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Twining%2C+P%2E%22">Twining, P.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Higher+Education+Research+%26+Development%22">Higher Education Research & Development</searchLink>. Apr2024, Vol. 43 Issue 3, p640-656. 17p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Teacher+education%22">Teacher education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Academic+motivation%22">Academic motivation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Student-centered+learning%22">Student-centered learning</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Courses+%28Horse+sports%29%22">Courses (Horse sports)</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Undergraduate+education%22">Undergraduate education</searchLink>
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  Data: This paper reports on a study that replaced marks with digital badges in an undergraduate Initial Teacher Education course. The aim was to examine the impact of badging on students, and on the quality of university provision. Data collection consisted of surveys and focus groups. The study found that while digital badges had considerable potential to improve the student experience in terms of engagement with feedback, motivation and reducing 'grade anxiety', delaying the awarding of marks caused significant student anxiety. The effect on university provision was more positive, and digital badges promoted constructive alignment between university-based assessment tasks and external professional standards frameworks. The student findings pointed to an underlying tension associated with implementing student-centred, outcomes-based assessment methods in contexts designed to accommodate traditional high-stakes assessment. Five recommendations for future practice were made: (1) Remove marks altogether where digital badges are used; (2) Do not substitute written feedback with digital badges; (3) Developing a badge framework is important for both students and staff; (4) Inform students about what to expect; (5) Develop a 'Badge Tree'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Higher Education Research & Development is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1080/07294360.2024.2315039
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        Type: general
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              Text: Apr2024
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