Patchwork text: A praxis oriented means of assessment in district nurse education

SummaryA patchwork text was used to assess summatively B.Sc. and M.Sc. district nurse students’ learning and how this was informed critically, during a module on a one year fulltime community programme. Assessment was embedded within an action learning process that adopted an extended epistemology so students demonstrated connections between practice, theory and their reflections. Five lecturers undertook first-person and co-operative inquiry into their experiences, including post-course reflexive discussions with 16 students and their practice mentors. Maintaining reflective diaries functioned to enhance writing as learning, with students presenting in non-linear terms, their regress, progress and self-evaluative skills. Marking was challenging for lecturers. Elements of criteria based upon portfolio assessment and qualitative research were supplemented by action research quality indicators, in terms of students explicating their choices and rationale. Summative judgements were enhanced and validated by markers engaging in critical dialogue with second markers and moderators and not through exclusive use of ever-increasingly sophisticated criteria. Crucially, assessment requires mentor verification of students’ accounts. In summary, a relational, tripartite approach to learning and assessment (students, teachers and practice mentors collective contributions) enhances quality of both learning and its assessment, including competency assessment. Errors and weaknesses are also identified, no panaceas are claimed.