Stacy,
I understand you situation. Why do you thin alternative and Authentic assessments would be interesting to use?
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Amanda,
You are right about making sure criteria is set for expectations for the student regarding subjective assessment. You want to make sure you uphold the expectations by setting criteria for students to follow.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I teach a Gen Ed research writing course. This makes authentic assessments challenging.
Students write essays for the sake of writing essays. They don't have many choices in their topics except for their research paper. I attempt to work with students to choose topics that they care about, can benefit from, or are related to their areas of study or career.
The challenge with authentic assessments in a writing course is that they are not embedded into their other studies, making their need for research writing authentic.
I believe this is also why so many students push back against their required writing courses.
I try to appeal to students' personal interests, future plans, or daily lives when choosing the research paper topic. By having students be able to benefit personally from their research, this can make the assessment authentic.
Dawn,
True, those first rubrics for any design courses are difficult. It took the Interior Design department quite a few tries at really nailing down effective and productive rubrics. We started with checklist rubrics, then moved to very vague category ones and finally have settled on a set of rubrics that have good categories and well defined items within each category. These are based on the design principles and industry needs. Students have thrived with these and the instructors do a much more even job of grading. It takes time to dial in the rubrics but when you do, they are well worth the time.
I have been using portfolios as authentic assessment for years. Many of our courses are building block projects that then get assembled into a final portfolio. In addition to assessing the students with these projects and final portfolio, we also do yearly assessment of the program using the portfolios developed within that year and evaluating them with a pre-determined rubric. This helps with accreditation and ensuring we are on track as a department with what we are delivering in relation to the outcomes we have defined.
Unfortunately, this isn't an approach that I've had the opportunity to work with. I can certainly see the value, but since I have no control over the course content, this isn't an option that have been implemented.
I have used a mixture of all three items in teaching medical students clinical skills. I find them to be highly subjective and can vary depending on the grader. Standardizing grading is of the utmost importance when using these types of assessments.
Terry,
Sounds like you are redefining "observation". You really have great strategies regarding your assessments. The variety assessments services your students well and hopefully you.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
I am an online instructor so observations are out as far as the physical aspect of observing someone. However, I do (as an art instructor) work with students to refine their work for their final graduation portfolio. I also provide both summative and formative feedback about their performance on a daily/regular basis.
As for observing them - I do observe their writing, their habits (do they post on time) and when I see patterns arise, I will follow up with emails or phone calls to see how I can better help them be successful within their course(s).
Melissa,
True, and it can be an important tool to measure growth in the student as well as their commitment to life long learning.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Melissa,
I like your attitude. It is harder because we really don't wee it working as well. We have started implementing service learning assignments and experiential learning assignments into our online courses. We want students mirroring experiences of f2f courses.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Joseph,
Do you have the students pick what goes into the portfolio? This can be an important employment package for students.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Joseph,
That is true. You want students to make the connections with new learning and real world. This is part of the constructivist theory. You want students to build on the new learning/skills.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Kimberly,
This is great thinking. You may want to have your students to choose their best work to put in the portfolio as well as have them pick the strong discussion that proves their learning.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Helena,
These are great strategies. I am so glad you mentioned group work. Yes, you can do group work in an online course.
Dr. Kelly Wilkinson
Deborah,
I love how you stated that!
Yes, it is our students' story or reflective learning experience. Career portfolios are something that they can continuously grow and develop throughout their academic and professional life.
This is really a great question to consider!
It can be a challenge within the online course learning experience to fully explore authentic assessments. However, through implementing supportive technological and creative tools it can be implemented.
I find portfolios, journal entries and videos to be useful. I find alternative and authentic assessment add more depth to the online course learning experience.
In the Business program we have a course that allows students to create a portfolio so they are able to tie in the skills with the real world.
I am in agreement as my school has the same type of students. Instructors use the real world experiences to tie in the concepts and objectives of the courses. Students like the real world practice as it helps keep a focus on the bigger picture of their training.
Authentic assessments in the manner of using portfolios is not something I would at first think we use in coding courses. My first thought regarding portfolios is they are a 'packet' of information completed over time for a student and in coding courses one thing a student can do is collect their assignments and assessments each week and build their own portfolio to review and reflect. They make excellent study guides for them.
Another tool we use in authentic assessment is in discussions. Instructors can observe the understanding a student has through adding to discussion questions. For example I add many thinking moments and coding challenges to help observe how the students are understanding the material.
Kim Christensen
