Author: Ada Sharpe

Ada Sharpe, Ph.D. (English and Film Studies), has worked in faculty and support staff roles in the post-secondary sector for over a decade. She has taught and researched in literary studies and writing studies and co-led a university writing centre. Ada specializes in understanding how assessment shapes the teaching and learning experience for faculty and students.

The Optional Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in Assessments 

Reading Time: 3 minutesAre you considering inviting students to use generative artificial intelligence (genAI) in completing an assessment in your course? Is knowledge of genAI required for workplace preparation in your industry? Do you want students to learn about the ethical and critical use of genAI platforms? This post walks you through some of the questions you will need to consider in integrating...

Using Assessment Analysis Features on eConestoga

Reading Time: 3 minutesRecent updates to eConestoga mean all course shells now include three assessment analysis features visible only to faculty. These features provide valuable data on students’ performance on course assessments across an academic semester. This post explores how you can use this data to reflect on assessment pain points and successes alike and respond accordingly to support students throughout the assessment...

Academic Integrity and Assessment in the Age of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)

Reading Time: 4 minutesA fair and accurate assessment provides evidence of a student’s learning under their own cognitive efforts. Concerns around academic integrity, however, can cast doubt on an assessment: Is this the student’s work? Is this the work a true representation of the student’s learning?  The growing and widespread availability of generative artificial intelligence (genAI) since fall 2022 has intensified questions around the...

Using Turnitin’s Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Detection Tool and the Process Guide for Navigating Potential Academic Offences

Reading Time: 4 minutesGenerative AI (genAI) has brought new challenges, opportunities, and questions in terms of the assessment of student work. Large Language Models (LLMs), the technology that powers ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot, respond to prompts to produce human-like text within seconds. The college continues to update its guidelines on genAI use. Students may use genAI to create assessments and submit this work as their own....

Updating Rubrics to Prevent Grade Inflation

Reading Time: 2 minutesGrade inflation is a well-known phenomenon.  Check out some thoughts and data from Harvard in Grade Inflation: What Goes Up Must Come Down. We must ensure that students receive grades that discriminate, in the best sense of the word, the degree to which they have attained the course outcomes. In a general sense, the course learning outcomes measure the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that the student has attained by a certain point in the course or cumulatively at the end of a course. Using the Grading Procedure to ensure rigour and consistency Conestoga’s Grading Procedure is designed to...

Citing Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)

Reading Time: 2 minutesIt is important to provide students with clear directions on how to cite any permitted use of generative AI (genAI) in assessments. These directions can be part of the statements you provide to students on The Optional Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) in Assessments. Below are examples you can provide to your students on assessment descriptions. Adjust the language...