Assessment Symposium
From 03 July 2021
Live Event – Saturday, 17 July 2021
University English Centres Australia (UECA) and Southern Cross University, in collaboration with NEAS, are pleased to present the 2021 UECA Assessment Symposium, July 2021.
Full Session Details
Opening & Welcome
Dr Simon Winetroube
UECA President
Prof Thomas Roche
Pro Vice-Chancellor, Southern Cross University
Keynote: New Directions in English Language Assessment
Dr Christine Coombe
Associate Professor of General Studies, Dubai Men’s College
Abstract
The COVID 19 pandemic has already begun to change the nature of assessment in higher education. In fact, education in general and English language teaching in particular has experienced great change through the impact caused by the pandemic. In many areas worldwide, teaching was moved online at a rapid pace with little or no advanced planning. The way educational institutions globally have dealt with both online teaching and assessment issues has differed. Many assessments were simply cancelled, others rescheduled or postponed. Gulf countries for the most part moved forward and implemented an online assessment system.
As we approach the new normal in what I hope will soon be a post-COVID-19 era, there is a need to consider assessment anew in light of the emerging opportunities that have come up and the challenges we face during this time. One such challenge has been how to assess our students validly, reliably and fairly during this era. Another is how to ensure ethical online assessments and ways to mitigate or minimise issues of academic integrity. These considerations form the basis of the plenary.
Bio
Christine Coombe has a Ph.D in Foreign/Second Language Education from The Ohio State University. She is currently an Associate Professor of General Studies at Dubai Men’s College. She is the former Testing and Measurements Supervisor at UAE University and Assessment Coordinator of Zayed University. Dr Coombe serves as the editor of Language Teaching Research Quarterly (2017 to present) and as the Editor of the scopus-indexed Q1 Brief Reports section of the Asia TEFL Journal (2016 to present). Christine has lived and worked in the Gulf for the past 28 years. In this capacity, she has served as the President and Conference Chair of one of the largest TESOL affiliates in the world and is the founder and co-chair of its Testing SIG and Leadership/Management SIG.
Christine has over 50 books in various topics including:
- TESOL/ELT and is co-editor of Assessment Practices (2003, TESOL Publications);
- Applications of Task-based Learning in TESOL (2010, TESOL Publications)
- The Cambridge Guide to Second Language Assessment (2012, Cambridge University Press)
- The Role of Language Teacher Associations in Professional Development (2018, Springer)
- Professionalizing Your English Language Teaching (2020, Springer)
Expert Panel Discussion
Assessment Symposium Chair: Prof Thomas Roche
Pro Vice-Chancellor, Southern Cross University
Assessment Symposium Coordinator: Sharon Leslie
Director English Language Programs, Southern Cross University
Cara Dinneen
Associate Director, Learning & Teaching, Macquarie International College
Dr Hora Hedayati
Manager, Education Development, UNSW Global Education
Stephen Walker
Academic Manager – English Language Assessment and Pathway Programs
Will Alderton
Director of Studies (ELICOS) and Melbourne International Campus Lead, CQU English | International & Services Division
Dr Patrick Pheasant
Chief Executive Officer, NEAS
Dr Simon Winetroube
UECA President, Director Curtin English
Online Presentations
Presentation: Thom Kiddle
Presentation: Cara Dinneen
Interview: Aparna Jacob & Maria Naidoo
Interview: Dr Phuong Tran
Presentation: Diana Chojczak
Presentation: Stephen Walker
Presentation: Frida Kollberg & Jose Lara
Presentation: Becky Steven
Presentation: Dr Mark Brenchley & Dr Edmund Jones
Presentation: Tony Hickey & Marcella Robertson
Presentation: Andrew Stokes & Dr Adrian Raper
Presentation: Ruth Hellema
Interview: Aparna Jacob & Kate Randazzo
Presentation: Dr Ashish Parekh
Presentation: Dr Arizio Sweeting
