It will be important to consider the number of assessment pieces that would form the patchwork and consideration of the balance between formative and summative assessment is necessary. One possible model is that each patch is assessed formatively by self and / or peers and is compulsory; the summative element would then be how the individual elements are ‘stitched’, possibly through a critical, reflective and consolidating piece of writing. A further consideration is how the individual elements are identified; one approach would be that students select these themselves from a wider pool of material. In this case the reasons for the selection of the patches might offer an insight into students’ thinking. The modality of the elements would also need to be considered: written, pictorial, video, audio, presentation are all possibilities. The extent to which students have choice about the modality will need to be decided during design, however, this does not need to be consistent across the whole patchwork - for example the students may have choice about the individual elements but are required to submit a written summative reflective text to consolidate the individual elements. The curation of the individual elements needs consideration and perhaps a technological solution such as Moodle or (link to) MyPortfolio would allow the small sections to be built up over time and be available for consideration by tutors or peers. Can it be used for group assessment?

He was heavily involved in the mountain bike boom of the late 1980s as a racer, team manager and race promoter, and that led to writing for Mountain Biking UK magazine shortly after its inception. He got the gig by phoning up the editor and telling him the magazine was rubbish and he could do better. Rather than telling him to get lost, MBUK editor Tym Manley called John’s bluff and the rest is history. The metaphor of a patchwork refers to the idea that a variety of assessment pieces (patches), which individually are complete in themselves, are stitched together into something new (a patchwork). It is a type of portfolio assessment Link opens in a new window but is distinct because the patchwork as a whole, which includes a reflective, integrative, summative ‘stitching’ section, is more than the sum of the individual parts. Alternative names for this assessment approach include: on-going narrative, evidenced story or collage of incidents. This assessment approach can include formative and summative elements. It also enables pivotal / critical learning moments, either at the time or retrospectively, to be identified and consolidated.Individual patchworks might be developed for learning and assessment. However, it would also be possible for a group to work together, perhaps with each person from the group contributing a single patch and then each individual produces a unique and consolidating ‘stitching’ making use of the various group contributions.

In conclusion, reflective patches are more than just aesthetic additions to uniforms – they are vital safety features that enhance visibility and reduce the chances of accidents. We understand the importance of integrating these patches into uniforms to create a safer environment for workers and individuals alike. So, the next time you see a uniform adorned with reflective patches, remember that they play a significant role in keeping people safe, and consider the dedication of companies like Badges UK in making our world a brighter and safer place.As patchwork assessment is often grounded in practice (work-based learning, practice-based learning) an entirely AI generated text is less likely (or likely to be less convincing 'out of the box') than other text-based forms of assessment. Integrating creative, or visual methods within the patches may further minimise this. That's not to say that AI can't mimic reflective work, but the synthesis and making sense of experience, and the evaluative choices of what to include and what to exclude privilege human minds. AI may have a valuable role as coach in this sort of learning, performing the role of critical friend (or participant researcher) to help students scaffold reflective thinking, and process their experience through a dialogic interview process. Student and staff experience Benefits Constructive alignment of the learning outcomes and the assessment through the patchwork approach is possible with careful design of the assignment brief. Consideration of how marks will be awarded across the whole patchwork is important at the design stage. Different models for assessing the patchwork against the intended learning outcomes could be adopted including: While a diverse range of subjects might adopt patchwork assessments the importance of critical reflection, particularly in the final ‘stitching’ of the individual elements, means that subjects where students need to integrate their practice/experiences with theory might find patchwork assessment particularly useful (e.g. clinical placements, work-based learning, teacher training, etc.). Furthermore, the importance of pivotal learning moments in patchwork assessment means that it is a particularly useful way of capturing learning over time. It may not be appropriate for highly conceptual subjects unless there is a need to reflect on how conceptual learning is being used and applied. At first this approach was limited to short periods of learning, across a module or series of sessions, whereas more recently the method has been used across a year and even a whole programme.

Winter (2003) reporting the outcome of the Patchwork Text project, provides a neat definition of the approach: John has been writing about bikes and cycling for over 30 years since discovering that people were mug enough to pay him for it rather than expecting him to do an honest day's work. Silva-Fletcher, A., May, H., Magnier, K. and May, S. (2014). Teacher development: A patchwork text approach to enhancing critical reflection in veterinary and paraveterinary educators. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 41 (2): 146-154.The essence of a patchwork is that it consists of a variety of small sections, each of which is complete in itself, and that the overall unity of these component sections, although planned in advance, is finalised retrospectively, when they are ‘stitched together’. Thus, a ‘patchwork text’ assignment is one that is gradually assembled during the course of a phase of teaching and consists of a sequence of fairly short pieces of writing, which are designed to be as varied as possible and to cover the educational objectives of the teaching....The sequence of tasks within a Patchwork Text… is intended to build into the assessment process a recognition of learning as a gradual 'coming to know'. What can patchwork assessment assess? particular learning outcomes could be associated with individual patches, with the reflective analysis, or with the work as a whole each of the small patches could contribute to the overall assessment mark in one of the following ways: choosing the best patches (and so the best mark overall), averaging over the submitted patches or providing a mark holistically across the whole patchwork.