The SPRInTA Project: engaging students in formative assessment: strategies and outcomes

The SPRInTA Project, (Student Portal Resources for Innovative Targeted Assessments), is a two-year project at the University of Essex funded through the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) as part of Phase 5 of the Fund for the Development of Teaching and Learning (FDTL). The aim of the project is to provide a solution to sector wide concerns that increasing student numbers and unfavourable staff to student ratio’s are adversely affecting the support available to students on assessment and the provision of effective feedback. The project aims to address this issue by developing tutorial guidance and formative assessments for undergraduate Sports Science Students. These resources are being made available via the University’s institutional student portal, enabling targeted support for assessment. This short paper will provide a brief overview of the SPRInTA Project detailing progress to date. Particular detail will be given to patterns of student uptake including strategies and recommendations for optimising student engagement in online formative assessment.