Assessments highlights my strategies for designing fair, authentic, and meaningful evaluation tools that support learning outcomes and foster student growth.
Assessments
Assessments highlights my strategies for designing fair, authentic, and meaningful evaluation tools that support learning outcomes and foster student growth.
Philosophical Alignment
My principles for assessment rely heavily on access, authenticity, and engagement.
Access – I strive to include student choice in all matters of assessment so that student feel part of their learning journey.
Authenticity – I make explicit statements on curriculum alignment so that learners know what, how, and why they are being assessed at all times.
Engagement – I lean into creative endeavors that foster collaboration and the creation of new knowledge. As such, I also avoid low-stake assessments such as test/exams by re-framing those activities as formative ungraded evaluations to support the learning process.
Examples of Practice
Environmental Citizenship - Capstone Project
Description
In a previous version of this course, there were a few learning outcomes that required students to explain concepts and apply them to real world scenarios. This general education course was meant to be introductory and enable students to create a baseline of knowledge so they may become more active citizens within their communities.
I therefore created a capstone assessment that required students to research a local organization that had a “green” initiative and create a formal presentation for the class on its eco-contributions. The process was multifaceted that required students to conduct research, engage in community outreach, and summarize these findings using key concepts from the course.
What worked?
The preliminary list of learning activities and formative assessments helped students prepare for the information interviews with external partners. This enabled them to practice interview questions, review data collection strategies, and exchange notes in scrum-like sessions every week.
What didn’t work?
The online course enabled students from multipe communities to participate but there was a natural overlap in some topics. Although the capstone began as an independent project, I transitioned it into a group project using some simply group dynamic principles in week 3 of the 14 week course.
How would I continue to use this practice?
The introduction of generative Ai tools would help shape this assessment by opening secondary topics on the use of Ai tools and environmental concerns.
Co-Constructing Rubrics
Description
My rubrics represent an authentic approach to learning by pairing assessment instructions with clear learning expectations. With that said, my alignment with constructivist ideologies tends to challenge prescriptive criteria in most rubrics. I have therefore found myself relying heavily on single-point rubrics instead of the more traditional holistic and analytical models.
What worked?
Extending the use of single-point rubrics outside of self-assessment permits me to create space for learners to co-construct some of the objectives with me during the learning process. I have used this approach with both learners and educators with great success.
What didn’t work?
Engaging in an assessment that contains a single-point rubric is not ideal for new learners that have yet to take ownership on their learning. I recall one experience in a Sociology course where I rushed too quickly into an assessment where students felt lost and lacked focus. The challenge was not theirs but rather my own as I had failed to reframe the responsibility in identifying exceptional criteria within a given assessment. This was corrected in the second session where I took more time to discuss my teaching philosophy and integrated this language into how I select/create assessments.
How would I continue to use this practice?
My work in recent years has predominantly been within academic development so having experienced educators as learners is a perfect instance where one could consider using single-point rubrics. These offer a great deal of opportunity for reflection in the learning process. Most recently, I created a single point rubric for an assessment in a course CEP101 that included a micro-teach activity (available upon request). I combined this activity with a co-construction activity where educators collaboratively worked together to identity shared performance criteria that could be translated into the rubric prior to the learning activity.
