Choreographies of Emergency Examinations in Pandemic Times

• In Event: Purpose-Driven Assessment in Higher Education

Abstract

In the paper, we explore examination practices in higher education during the pandemic of 2020. We base our analysis on cases from six countries around the world: Australia, Belgium, Chile, India, Sweden and the UK. Drawing on science- and technology studies, we use the analytical heuristic of choreography when following the movements and flows, the tensions and resistance of the ‘emergency examinations’. We see the interplay between maintenance of fixed aspects of examinations and the fluidity of improvisations aimed at meeting the threat of Covid-19, creating radically new choreographies between conventional as well as new actors and stages. Although higher education is framed as playground for digital pedagogical innovation, our result show that not all educational activities are easily replicated.

Authors

• Elin Sundström Sjödin, Mälardalen University

• Radhika Gorur, Deakin University

• Cristina Alarcón López, University of Vienna

• Mathias Decuypere, K.U. Leuven

• Joyeeta Dey, University of Melbourne

• Mary E. Hamilton, Lancaster University

• Christian Jan Lundahl, Örebro University