Co-Designing a Digital Decision-Support Tool for Informed Assessment Choice: A Design Thinking and Collective Intelligence Approach

About this initiative

This project aims to design and validate a scalable, evidence-based digital decision-support tool enabling students to make informed and strategic choices about assessment modalities, aligned with their skills, learning needs, and career aspirations. The tool will embed a structured process supporting informed and ethical AI use, contributing to digital and critical thinking competencies.

This project is a collaborative effort between students, lecturers, and the Psychology tech team, combining pedagogical, experiential, and technical expertise to design a robust, user-centred solution.

Deliverables:

1. A design framework and requirements specification informed by design thinking and collective intelligence (CI), incorporating both student and lecturer perspectives on assessment choice.
2. A validated digital decision-support tool prototype, including an intelligent, student-facing platform that captures reflective inputs (e.g., skills,  confidence, career aspirations) and generates tailored recommendations on suitable assessment modalities through a structured decision engine.
3. A complementary lecturer-facing interface/dashboard that provides aggregated insights into student profiles, preferences, and perceived barriers, supporting lecturers in designing, adapting, and implementing inclusive assessment choices.
4. Interactive features that facilitate dialogue between student and lecturer perspectives, enabling more transparent, equitable, and informed assessment design.
5. An evaluation report and dissemination outputs, including guidance for staff on integrating the tool into teaching practice.

Expected Outcomes for Students:

1. Increased agency, confidence in assessment decision-making, self-regulated learning, and reflective capacity.
2. Improved alignment between assessment choices and career-relevant skills.
3. Increased perception of fairness, inclusion, and relevance in assessment.

Students will move from passive recipients of assessment to active decision-makers, engaging in structured reflection on their strengths, gaps, and developmental goals.

The project is expected to demonstrate measurable improvements in:

1. Quality of assessment choices (justification and alignment)
2. Student engagement and satisfaction
3. Uptake of diverse assessment formats
4. Perceived authenticity of learning