WHO performs the assessment?

With the move towards learner-centred teaching and learning strategies, much more of the assessment is done by the learner than may have been the case twenty years ago. This can happen in both formative and summative situations (though the latter can be challenging if objectivity and consistency of standards is to be maintained).

 

But there are more players in contemporary learning environments than just the learners and teachers (notwithstanding the view that all people can be learners and all people can be teachers, depending on one's definition of these words). Increasingly, peer assessment  and assessment by workplace supervisors are becoming part of the assessment landscape. Computer systems/programs are also now commonly used for some forms of assessment, however in most cases the programs work on instructions/information given by a teacher or 'expert', so these may be seen more as an extension of teacher-based assessment.

 

Having started my teaching career in secondary education, I began very much with traditional teacher-based assessment practices. Primarily the goal was to measure retention of information and some key skills. Today I need to assess a wider range of skills and competencies and therefore I employ quite a mix of strategies, including:

• learner-based (self-assessment quizzes, reflective journals, etc.)

• peer-based (e.g. peer supervision, peer feedback on presentations)

• workplace-based (from placement supervisors)

• teacher-based (traditional 'marking' of assignments, projects, presentation etc.)

In selecting a range of strategies, I am influenced by my own experiences of assessment as a learner - I discovered in Form 5 (Year 11), as part of an 'experimental' internally assessed physics class, that I fared much better with numerous internal assessments as opposed to the single end-of-year test that was the standard approach. Simlarly, through out my tertiary learning experiences my resuilts have always been much stronger at creation as opposed to regurgitation. 

 

 

WHAT are we assessing?

In the world of career practice and employability, a person is required to be aware of and to be able to give evidence of elements such as:

• Knowledge (information they hold)

• Skills (things they can do)

• Behaviours/Personal Attributes/Qualities (how they do what they do)

 

In education, formal assessment was traditionally about measuring knowledge and skills. However, with greater emphasis today on preparing students for workplaces, there is a growing need to assess the third area as well and these elements are often difficult to quantify, since they are largely qualitative things. Observation and feedback from practical settings such as work placements is a effective way to accomplish this assessment and partly explains the growing interest in work-based learning. Though workplaces can also be very good places in which to assess knowledge and skills. 

 

 

Work-based learning and Assessment of Prior Learning

While working at AUT, I held a role for several years in which I assisted students to find work placements for their Co-operative Education (Co-op) paper. Through working with students, lecturers and employers/workplace supervisors I developed a clear understanding of the benefits of Work Integrated Learning (WIL). Not only is it a great way for students to apply their knowledge and practice their skills, but the experience gained and feedback on behaviours/personality gives them a huge advantage when it comes to applying for jobs upon graduation.

 

Another aspect of the role mentioned above is that students with previous work experience were able to apply for what was then called Non Formal Recognition of Prior Learning (NFRPL), which is a form of Assessment of Prior Learning (APL). By providing appropriate evidence that they had gained the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the learning outcomes of the Co-op paper, students were able to gain full credit for the paper without having to complete a placement. 

I believe RPL and APL are good examples of learned-centred education, i.e. putting the needs of the student before those of the educational institution. 

 

At Otago Polytechnic, APL is, through the auspices of Capable NZ, a very strong contributor to the success of students and the institution. The very fact that I can complete the Graduate Diploma in Tertiary Education through this process reinforces this fact for me.