Brian,
I love your assignment!!! ( Says the business instructor). I find that my freshmen are not able to work through complex, multistep assignments. We expect our employees to do this but our students can't.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I use rubrics and portfolios. The rubrics can be hard to create in visual communications because much of what I grade can be subjective (the art part of advertising/graphic design). However, if you were to ask 10 industry professionals their take on a student project most of them would be in agreement if the work is of "industry quality/exemplary". The things that define it as such are design theory and practice, color scheme in relation to rules according to the color wheel, typography rules and the ability for the piece to communicate effectively and accurately.
Authentic assessments are used in the online course that I teach weekly in terms of having students to perform real-world tasks. Students are required to develop responses to questions that require higher order thinking.
Authentic assessment is a crucial part of adult learning. As previously mentioned, the adult learner needs to see a direct correlation between the task and the learning. One way I've used authentic assessment is in a Responding to Crisis in Community Course. Here, students must select a crisis, for example an epidemic, natural disaster like a tornado or hurricane, or a mass casualty and develop a disaster plan to deal with all aspects of the disaster.
I have used portfolios in which the student documents their own learning and growth. It is one form of evaluation. While it is useful, it probably should not be the only means of evaluation.
Portfolios are also very good from accreditation perspective and they can be used for program assessment.
I can see how case studies would be very good in your field. In business, case studies are very important and used extensively. Of course, we have to always make sure that we update our cases and the world of business changes rapidly.
Yes, I can see how important this would be in healthcare. Would internship be a form of authentic assessment?
I think that authentic assessment works well with adult learners although the trick is to convince them that there is always something new to learn. Sometimes they feel that the ways they do things at work are the only ways.
The main assessment method in our online classes is authentic assessment. We assess students' performance in real life problem scenarios that they propose their solutions to.
While we have a newly deployed portfolio functionality in our online classrooms this is not used for any formal assessment at this point. However, we do use authentic assessments in our weekly individiual projects and discussion boards. We give students real life scenarios that we assess their performance in.
I have user authentic assessments in my course. One of my favorite examples is a math project consisting on the following steps:
1) Based on the students intended future occuptation, research the future salary for their location. Use this information to determine spending limits for a budget based on given ratios (i.e. If their occupation pays $5,000/month and the rent budget is 30% (I give them this percent), then their rent budget is $1,500/month).
2) Find a house they would like to own listed for sale on the internet. Work through various mortgage possibilities (10% down & 30 years, 0% down 30 years, 20% down & 10 years, etc) and determine the monthly mortgage payment including property taxes and then the total cost of purchase.
This gives the students a great real life example of how they can use math to compare different situations. They can see options that are bad, options that are not possible (i.e. exceed their previously calculated rent budget), and which are feasible. They see how math can save them a lot of money AND get an exercise in critical thinking. It is also a good example of a multi-step problem.
Best,
Brian Stout
Leigh,
You might want to try padlet.com. It is like Pinterest with more control. It is so important to learn to provide constructive feedback to their colleagues. It is not easy for them.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Jacqueline,
Isn't that what makes learning and teaching fun! It is that tie to the real world that makes them understand economics. Economics isn't easy if you don't draw those distinctions with the real world.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Jacqueline,
Project oriented assessment is such a great strategy. It allows students to use all of their skills learned now and in earlier courses to complete an assignment.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Tanya,
With all of the nervousness students have with math, creating real life problems that students have to apply math concepts. This gives students a way of thinking about using the math.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Earl,
What a powerful strategy. You want that connection between content and real life. That is a great way.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
We use portfolios, especially for visual design students. The use of the portfolio is an easy way for them, and for us, to see their progression. Getting work 'saved' and 'loaded' to the portfolio is a step which they still find difficult.
Observations are used through discussion on discussion boards. The instructor has the capability to interact with students and provide one on one feedback, both to what they express in relationship to an assignment, and to what they express to other students. This can be a positive thing for students, although many students don't fully know how to process this information and put it into action in their lives.
It helps to use the 'real world' because that is what students are very familiar with. I just completed instructing a Macroeconomics course and with so much going on with the federal government at the beginning of its recent fiscal year, the students were very engaged in the discussions. I observed that the students was keeping up with the day to day economic activities and began to understand the functions and role of the federal government from an economic viewpoint.
In a Marketing Course, a project was required in a somewhat portfolio method. As we studied each Module and different components of the marketing mix, the students would apply the different components to creating a marketing plan for a company. There were certain criteria which had to be met for each module (mix). Each assignment was graded and the instructor would include comments and suggestions. At the end of the course and for the final module, the students would submit the completed marketing plan.
