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Multimodal Assessment

Attribution

Original work: "Educators' guide to multimodal learning and Generative AI" — Tünde Varga-Atkins, Samuel Saunders, et al. (2024/25) — CC BY-NC 4.0
Adapted for UK Nursing Education by: Lincoln Gombedza, RN (LD)
Last Updated: December 2025

"Multimodal" means assessing students through means other than just text. This is often more inclusive and significantly more robust against AI plagiarism.

1. The Viva Voce (Oral Assessment)​

It is impossible for a student to use a chatbot to answer questions in a face-to-face conversation in real-time.

  • Application: Instead of a 3000-word essay on leadership, students submit a 1000-word plan and attend a 15-minute professional discussion.
  • AI Use: Students can use AI to prepare for the viva (mock interview), but the assessment itself is purely human.

2. Reflective Video Vlogs​

Nursing is a communication-heavy profession. Assessing communication skills via video is clinically relevant.

  • Task: "Record a 5-minute video reflection on a difficult communication encounter from your last placement."
  • Why it works: AI can write a script, but the student must perform it. The congruence of tone and facial expression is a human skill.

3. "Critique the AI"​

Turn the table on the technology.

  • Task: The educator generates a "Hallucinated" care plan using ChatGPT.
  • Student Task: "Identify the 3 critical safety errors in this AI-generated plan and reference the correct NICE guideline for each."
  • Assessment: Marks are given for the quality of the critique, not the generation of text.

4. Assessment of Process ("Show Your Working")​

Require students to document how they reached their conclusion.

  • Include the version history of the document.
  • Include a "Prompt Appendix": If they used AI, they must paste the prompts they used and explain how they modified the output.
Inclusivity

Multimodal assessment benefits students with dyslexia who may struggle with writing but excel at verbal articulation. However, ensure accommodations are made for students with social anxiety (e.g., allowing re-recording of videos).