Student engagement and assessment: promoting student learning across all levels of Bloom's revised taxonomy

This article seeks to report on the design, delivery and assessment of a first year undergraduate module in developmental psychology, as delivered by one lecturer to a large cohort of over 400 students undertaking an initial teacher education programme in an Irish university. In designing the module, the lecturer sought to place particular emphasis on promoting high levels of student engagement, coupled with broad levels of student learning across all domains of Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy of Educational Objectives (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001). A range of formative, summative and self-assessment strategies were employed with students across the module. Based on a review of students’ online engagement, students’ in-class attendance and students’ performance across assessments, the strengths of the module are recognised. In particular, these relate to high levels of student engagement and broad levels of student learning across Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy, with notable linkage for students between psychological theories and practice. Strengths and limitations of the module are outlined, with reference to implications for practice.