Learning to Analyse, Engage and Empower: Authentic Assessment and Responsible AI Use in Management Education

Abstract

Assessment in management education must connect disciplinary knowledge with real-world practice while supporting student engagement and responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI). This paper examines a four-component assessment design in MM203, Management Practices in Responsible Organisations, at the University of New England. The design combines an individual ESG and greenwashing report on a real company; a reflective report documenting engagement with formative feedback from Studiosity and/or human sources; five fortnightly discussion forums; and a final examination with restricted access to external resources and technologies. The report requires transparent acknowledgement and critical review of AI-assisted work, while the examination is intended to verify the assurance of learning.

Drawing on authentic assessment, constructive alignment, feedback literacy and social constructivist perspectives, the paper reviews the conceptual and pedagogical foundations of the assessment design and presents results from a student-perception survey. Preliminary evidence comes from an internal student-perception survey with 18 MM203 respondents; key assessment items contain 15 valid responses. All 15 respondents rated the ESG report as moderately or very interesting. Twelve found the feedback-reflection task moderately or very engaging, while three found it not at all engaging. Forum responses highlighted relevant questions and participation incentives, alongside less frequent endorsement of peer-learning value. Open comments identified opportunities to improve task clarity, reflection requirements and forum marking guidance.

These findings suggest that perceived authenticity and engagement vary across assessment components. The paper contributes a practical assessment design case and identifies refinements for making feedback uptake, responsible AI judgement and meaningful peer interaction more visible.

Keywords: authentic assessment; feedback literacy; responsible AI; student engagement; management education.