Assessing FOR Learning Not OF Learning: Authentic Assessments Are On the Job!

Concurrent Session 7

Brief Abstract

Should students be empowered to use what they’ve learned beyond the classroom walls? Of course! In this workshop we’ll consider what makes an authentic assessment truly authentic. You will practice applying a proven framework to design assessments that help students shine as they grapple with real-world tasks.

Presenters

Extended Abstract

“Authentic assessment engages students with problems or important questions, which have worth beyond the classroom. The tasks are replicas or analogies of the types of problems that are faced in working life. The idea is that students use knowledge to show effective and creative performances” (Wiggins and McTighe 2006).

“Authentic assessment aims to replicate the tasks and performance standards typically found in the world of work, and has been found to have a positive impact on student learning, autonomy, motivation, self-regulation and metacognition; abilities highly related to employability” (Villarroel, et al., 2017).

Should students be empowered to use what they’ve learned beyond the classroom walls? Of course! In this workshop we’ll consider what makes an authentic assessment truly authentic. You will practice applying a proven framework to design assessments that help students shine as they grapple with real-world tasks.

Authentic assessments have been in instructors’ toolkits for years. But they’ve taken on heightened prominence as educators search for ways to create novel assessments that better prepare college students to transfer all that they’ve learned to real-world contexts.

In this fast-paced hands-on workshop, you’ll take a quick but thorough dive into creating authentic assessments for your learners. We’ll begin with some rapid polling that will challenge you to gauge whether our examples make the cut.

Next, we’ll go deeper and add a lens to the process that will tease out layers of authenticity so that we can achieve the gold standard of authentic assessment. What are these layers?

  • Context: Are students confronted with an authentic problem or challenge?
  • Creation: Are students tasked to create authentic products or performances for an authentic audience?
  • Application: Are students applying knowledge and skills in ways that are authentic to the real-world context?

Together we’ll walk through a few examples so you can experience how these 3 facets can give you feedback on where your assessment might need to be enhanced.

Now it’s your turn! We’ll walk you through a process created by Wiggins and McTighe (of backwards-design fame) to craft worthy authentic assessments. With a helpful toolkit in hand, you’ll be guided to design an authentic assessment that you can use in your course.

Finally, we’ll share examples and have a final conversation about our work together.

You will leave this session equipped with a framework for designing high-quality authentic assessments that will immerse your students in real-world problem solving.