ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how a BA Education course team has adopted a humanist ethos and relational pedagogy in an effort to mitigate against the impact of the stresses and disappointments that assessments and feedback can cause. It notes how incidences of poor mental health are rising amongst the student population and outlines how this ethos and subsequent research has led to research-informed changes to practice and the design of, and feedback given to, assessments. Key changes discussed are the use of the key 5 indicators of academic buoyancy, relational and affirmative pedagogy, variety of assessment modes and flexibility of assessment focus and response. It provides a student witness statement and argues that the changes made and the approach taken help to empower students, by providing them with a wide range of skills and also the ability to critique and to deal with stress. It is argued that this is transformative and will enable them to better cope with not only the course itself, but also their future and place them in a strong position for employment.
