Promoting critical thinking and collaborative working through assessment: combining patchwork text and online discussion boards

Within a globalised world that has ever changing social, economic, cultural and legal influences, higher education providers have a responsibility to equip graduates with the skills necessary to meet these demands. Pedagogic research shows that students’ motivation is often driven by assessment and therefore the challenge for programmes is to find an assessment method that both assesses and encourages the development of these diverse skills set. We propose that the use of patchwork text combined with online discussion boards can facilitate critical thinking and collaborative working. This paper aims to report on the educational benefits of this combination of assessment methods to promote higher level thinking, and details the nature of the collaboration and outcomes of the assessment, providing guidance for future practise.