Here is the text of an article I wrote for the University of Dayton, Ryan C. Harris Learning Teaching Center Newsletter for Spring 2014 (see http://www.udayton.edu/ltc/_resources/documents/newsletter/ltcnews_s14.pdf)
Since its inception, higher education has employed methods to ascertain whether students had learned the prescribed course materials. With such a fundamental role, it can therefore be both exciting and daunting to realize that learning assessment is changing quickly today. Here are some trends that faculty should be considering:
- Assessment is increasingly seen as a critical and natural part of learning. It should not be considered as merely an endpoint of a course, but should be seen as part of a continual cycle of information processing by the human brain. In other words, assessment should not be limited to high-stakes mid- and end-of-term exams, papers or reports. It needs to occur frequently throughout the semester using low-stakes methods to provide feedback along the way. Learning assessments should therefore be used for both formative and summative purposes.
- There is a rich and growing diversity of assessment methods. Examples include visual concept maps, short in-class writing assignments, clickers, inquiry- and problem-based assignments. A diversity of methods allows students to explore the same concept through different “lenses” and to engage students using modalities and approaches that they may prefer. Simple methods that do not take long to grade should be used to ensure feedback is returned quickly to keep students on-track.
- Online assessments are a perfect complement to face-to-face courses. Although many faculty think of online quizzes and assignments serving the needs of distance learning courses, they are increasingly used for face-to-face courses. At UD we have noted a growth in the numbers of quizzes and assignments being collected within Isidore due to greater usage in all types of courses. Rubrics (scoring guides that clearly documents evaluation criterion) are available within Isidore on request.
- Flipped classes will grow the use of assessment in the classroom. Inverted or “flipped classes” typically moves the delivery of course content online. Such classes then free up the time in the classroom for applying what is learnt and invariably uses a rich set of assessment methods. For many faculty using this approach, it is not uncommon to completely rethink how to engage students through assessments.
- Long-term authentic assessment of student learning calls for the use of portfolios. Academic programs are built with an expectation that knowledge, skills and an appreciation for the discipline is developed across a sequence of courses and through co-curricular activities. Individual course grades rarely capture a holistic or developmental view of these experiences. Portfolios are seen as one of the most powerful ways to more comprehensively capture the entire learning experience and to provide opportunities to foster student reflection.
- Learning assessment data is increasingly used for program evaluation. Whether for a major or for cross-disciplinary programs such as the Common Academic Program, there is an increasing importance placed on how program effectiveness is judged by student learning outcomes. It makes sense when designing assessments for a particular class that the resulting graded work will be in a format that can be used to document teaching effectiveness and course alignment with program goals. An increasing number of faculty will discover that effective assessment plans will be designed through close collaboration with peers and that careful attention should be placed on the design and use of student learning outcome statements.
Well-crafted learning assessments have never been a more important part of higher education. Faculty are increasingly called to create assessment plans that serve many roles, not only to guide and grade students but to evaluate programs. Additional reasons for rethinking assessment will come in the near future with the advent of wearable computing devices such as “smart” watches and eyeglasses. Take advantage of the services and resources of the Ryan C. Harris Learning Teaching Center to discover more about learning assessment. For example:
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