The case for evidencing learning
As educators we agonise over how best we can assess learners. Exams only take a snapshot of what someone can remember at a particular point in time. Coursework may in fact be somebody else’s work. But do either really demonstrate what has been learned?
I’m interested in the conversations that learners have when they describe their experiences. Traditional vivas are a good way of finding out the learning behind a large dissertation. It is the questions that require answering, the answers that need questioning, that really demonstrates the value of the learning experience.
As teaching practitioners we need to question the relevance of our assessments. When was the last time you were asked to write 10,000 words about a particular project? In the IT industry this is a rare activity. So why do we ask our learners to jump through this hoop?
I like the idea of reflecting upon experience to derive learning. This process comes naturally to some people; they can sit back and ruminate, selecting their experiential memories and creating new opportunities to learn. For the rest of us, we need a little help. We need to collect evidence of our learning experiences. We need to review, contextualise and critique the experience. And finally we need to construct a learning path from which we can guide our future learning.
Portfolios are a great way of supporting our learning. The snapshot of evidence makes a statement of what we know and have learned. The process of constructing the portfolio is a learning opportunity in itself. We can selectively choose evidence for public display and promotion, and keep the personal evidence private for our own purposes.
The proliferation of digital artefacts we produce supports the rising popularity of ePortfolios. Each of the resources can be quickly linked to assemble a portfolio for a particular purpose, and the use of media means that audio and video annotations can also be appended easily. Helen Barrett has a good online resource that compares a variety of different electronic tools for portfolio generation, and I really like the Google approach to portfolio creation.
A written dissertation used to be a capstone assignment, to pull together all of the things that the learner had experienced throughout the study, applying this learning to a project. However I think that for many careers the mode of presentation is dated; for my learners, who usually find employment in the IT industry, they need to demonstrate focused written communication that is concise and informative. They need to demonstrate oral articulation, to be able to evidence their argument where necessary, whilst also demonstrating an ability to learn and take advantage of new, unforeseen developments. Portfolios are much more flexible and more personal. And if they desperately want to write a literature review, that can go in the portfolio as well!
Tags: assessment, ePortfolios