Marking Observations

Observations in Nimbu are designed to assess student competency through direct evidence — whether from practical demonstrations, uploaded documentation, or trainer-completed checklists. Unlike assessments, observations are never auto-marked; every question requires Trainer input before a final result can be set.

This article walks you through the complete observation marking workflow, from opening a submission to finalising the outcome for an individual student or an entire class.

What's Covered in This Article

This article provides a complete guide to marking observations in Nimbu.

• Observation Marking Workflow: The end-to-end process from opening a submission to finalising a result.
• Marking Checklist Items: How to evaluate and record criteria-based checklist questions.
• Marking Short Answer Responses: Reviewing and grading written student responses.
• Reviewing Uploaded Evidence: Opening and assessing files submitted by students.
• Setting the Observed Date: Recording when the observation took place.
• Apply-to-Class Feature: How to mark a single set of checklist results across multiple students at once.
• Setting the Observation Final Result: How to review the summary and submit the final outcome.

Before You Begin

To mark observations, you must be a Trainer with the Mark Students permission enabled.

Observations contain two distinct question types by role, it is important to understand which apply before you begin:

• Student Questions (Checklist, Short Answer, Online Submission): completed by the student and submitted for your review.
• Trainer Questions: completed by you directly, without student input. These are available to mark as soon as the class is active, regardless of whether the student has submitted anything.

An observation that contains only Trainer Questions is a Trainer Observation. These appear in your marking queue immediately upon class activation and do not require the student to submit work first. Resubmission features do not apply to Trainer Observations.

If an observation has Trainer Activation Required enabled, you must activate it for the student before they can access and submit their work. See Trainer Activation for more detail.

Step-by-Step Observation Marking Workflow

Step 1: Open the Marking Dashboard

1. From the left-hand navigation sidebar, click Marking.
2. Choose the appropriate tab based on how you want to work:
   • Practical/ Observation For Class: mark one observation across multiple students in a single session.
   • Practical/ Observation For Student: mark observations for a specific individual student.
3. Locate the observation you want to mark. Use the search bar to filter by observation name, student name, unit code, or class name.
4. Click the row to open the submission.

Step 2: Mark Checklist Items

Checklist questions are used to verify whether a student has met specific competency criteria during a practical task or observation session. These may appear as Student Questions (completed by the student) or Trainer Questions (completed by you based on your direct observation).

To mark a checklist item:

1. Review each criterion listed in the checklist.
2. For each item, select the appropriate result:
   • S (Satisfactory): the criterion has been met.
   • NS (Not Satisfactory): the criterion has not been met.
3. Optionally, add written feedback on individual items to explain your assessment decision.
4. Work through all checklist items before proceeding to the next question type.

Trainer Questions note: Checklist items that are Trainer Questions are for you to complete based on your direct observation of the student. They are not visible to the student as tasks to answer — only the results you record are shared with them.

Step 3: Mark Short Answer Responses

Short Answer questions require the student to provide a written response. These are always Student Questions.

To mark a short answer response:

1. Read the student's written response carefully, evaluating the quality, accuracy, and completeness of their answer.
2. Select either S (Satisfactory) or NS (Not Satisfactory).
3. Optionally, add written feedback to guide the student on what was strong or where they need to improve.
4. If the response does not meet the required standard and you intend to request a resubmission, tick the Student to Resubmit checkbox to flag this question.

Step 4: Review Uploaded Evidence

Online Submission questions allow students to upload files as evidence of their practical skills or knowledge, such as photos, videos, PDF, Docx documents, or work samples.

The question screen displays the student's name alongside their uploaded file. Where multiple students are completing the same question, each student's submission appears in its own row under the Students column, with their uploaded file shown in the Answers column.

Note: If a question is flagged with "Each student has to answer this question", every enrolled student must submit their own individual response. This banner appears at the top of the question screen as a reminder.

To review uploaded evidence:

1. Click the uploaded filename (e.g., Communicate Plan.docx    ) to open and review the file.
2. Evaluate the evidence against the question criteria and the student's task instructions displayed above.
3. Under Result, select one of the two options:
   • Mark as Completed: the student has met the requirements for this question.
   • Student to Resubmit: the evidence does not meet the required standard and the student will need to resubmit.
4. Optionally, add written feedback in the text field below the result selection. Use this to provide constructive comments, suggest improvements, or leave an encouraging note for the student.
5. Proceed to the next student's row if marking by class, or move to the next question.

Step 5: Setting the Observed Date

For observations, you can record the date on which the practical observation took place. This is important for compliance and audit purposes, as it documents when the assessment evidence was gathered.

• The Observed Date field is available within the observation marking screen.
• Enter the date on which you directly observed the student, or the date the submitted evidence was created or assessed.
• This date is recorded against the student's submission and forms part of the compliance record for the unit.

Step 6: Review the Summary Screen

Once you have worked through all question screens, navigate back to the observation's summary view to review the full submission before finalising.

The summary view organises student work across three tabs:

Each student row in the Work To Be Marked tab displays:

• The student's name and an expand toggle to view question-level detail.
• A Completed count showing how many questions have been marked.
• A Resubmit count showing how many questions have been flagged for resubmission.
• Two action buttons: Request Resubmission and Final Result.

Review this view to confirm all questions are marked and the counts are accurate before proceeding to set the final result.

Step 7: Setting the Observation Final Result

The Summary screen is the final step before submitting a result. Navigate to it using the Summary dropdown at the bottom of the screen, or by clicking through from the last question.

The Summary screen displays the following for each student:

Submission Info

• No. Submission: the number of times the student has submitted this observation.
• Submission Time: the date and time of the most recent submission (e.g., 26 Feb 2026 02:23PM).
• Submission Type: indicates whether the work was submitted by the student (Student Submit) or auto-submitted by the system.

List of Questions

• An expandable section showing all Student Questions in the submission.
• Review this list and select Resubmit on any Student Questions that require the student to redo their response before you finalise.

Click the Final Result button (highlighted in red) on the student's row in the Work To Be Marked tab to expand the finalisation panel. Complete the following fields:

1. Result: select one of the two options: Not Satisfactory Completed or Satisfactory Completed
2. Date of Observation: enter or confirm the date the practical observation took place (e.g., 26/02/2026). This field is pre-filled with today's date and can be edited to reflect when the evidence was actually gathered.
3. Feedback (Optional): write a comment in the text field to provide the student with constructive feedback, suggestions for improvement, or an encouraging note.
4. Upload File (Optional): attach a file to accompany your feedback.
5. Click Submit to finalise.

• The observation status updates immediately and the student moves to the Marked Work tab.
• The student receives an in-app notification and email with their result and any feedback provided.

Option B: Request Resubmission

Click Request Resubmission on the student's row if the work does not meet the required standard and you want to give the student another opportunity.

• Resubmit New Attempt: the student must redo all Student Questions in the observation from scratch. Trainer Question responses are not affected and remain unchanged.
• Resubmit Selected Questions: the student resubmits only the specific Student Questions you have flagged. Trainer Question responses remain unchanged.

When requesting a resubmission, you can configure:

• Resubmission Time Settings: make it available immediately, lock it until a specified date and time, or require manual trainer reactivation.
• Due Time (optional): set a deadline for the resubmission.
• Feedback (optional): provide comments or attach a file to guide the student's resubmission effort.

Related Articles

• Marking Dashboard
• Observation Question Types
• Providing Feedback