RARPA - The staged process

This section: explains the nature of RARPA, provides background documentation on the evolution of RARPA, the evaluation of the RARPA Pilots in 2003-4 and provides a very useful PowerPoint presentation for introducing and explaining RARPA to colleagues.

The application of RARPA promotes good practice in teaching and learning, puts learners at the centre of the learning process, encourages professional development and enables effective quality assurance and quality improvement by learning providers.

The RARPA staged process consists of five elements. These are:

1. Aims: appropriate to an individual learner or groups of learners
2. Initial Assessment: to establish the learner’s starting point
3. Challenging Learning Objectives/Outcomes: Identification of appropriate objectives for the learner 
4. Formative Assessment: Recognition and recording of progress and achievement during programme
5. Summative Assessment: End of programme learner self-assessment; tutor review of overall progress and achievement.

The staged process has been designed to:

• Focus on and promote the needs and interests of learners;
• Take account of learners’ diverse and sometimes multiple purposes in learning;
• Allow for negotiation of the content and outcomes of learning programmes
• Encourage learners to reflect on and recognise their own progress and achievement, thus increasing their confidence;
• Promote and support informed learner self-assessment, peer assessment and dialogue about learning and achievement between learners and tutors/trainers;
• Enable both the achievement of planned learning objectives and learning outcomes not specified at the outset to be recognised and valued;
• Promote good practice in teaching, learning and assessment
• Enhance providers’ quality assurance and improvement practices.