Authentic Assessment

1. Authentic Assessment Jacob K. Kelley

2. Connect • What is your name? • What is your unit? • What led you here today?

3. Preview

4. Write a single sentence that defines, explains, or captures the essence of assessment.

5. Assessment: Definition • It is challenging to develop a single, flat portrait of what assessment means. • It really only makes sense in the larger context of course design.

7. Assessment: Purposes

8. Authentic Assessment • It asks students to demonstrate competency through the completion of tasks that most mirror the real world. • There is a focus on the disciplinary context. • We are guiding students toward higher-order thinking skills. (Wiggins, 1998)

9. Sort each characteristic as either traditional or authentic. (Hint: Opposite Pairs)

12. Pros and Cons Pros Cons It may require more time to design and implement. It could require more effort to design and implement. It will probably be more difficult to grade. Solution  Rubrics! • It is more valid for assessing higher-order thinking skills. • It tends to be more interesting, which often leads to more engaged students. • It generates a discipline-relevant artifact to be used as evidence of competency. (Wiggins, 1998)

13. SOC 1650:Social ProblemsAda Haynes Students were presented a challenge to design a social awareness campaign that clearly and coherently communicates a solution to a real-world social problem of their choice by using an emerging technology. This course examines social problems through multiple sociological perspectives. It seeks to equip students to actively and critically identify, examine, and redress social problems. Students will explore the social construction of social problems and how they can engage in social action to tackle social problems.

14. Sociological Imagination Social Inequality Public Understanding Information Literacy Social Change Critical Thinking

15. SOC/SW/CJ 4900:InternshipShelley Brown Students were presented a challenge to develop digital portfolios at the completion of their internship experiences that demonstrate their professional development for use across multiple contexts. This course provides students the opportunity to be placed with and work in a public or private agency that is compatible with their interests. The internship is a crucial component of the curriculum that allows students to apply concepts, theories, and skills to real-world situations. It should as impactful and transferable as possible.

16. The internship experience alone is not enough evidence to support that transformative learning has occurred. The digital portfolio is meant to capture application of knowledge and skills in order to demonstrate professional potential in the discipline. Experiential learning, including internships, requires a reflective piece.

17. EDUP 7420:Advanced Methods IIAndrea Arce-Trigatti Students were presented a challenge to review, evaluate, and improve a collection of surveys used by the CITL in order to demonstrate competency as a practitioner of program planning and evaluation. This course equips students to effectively evaluate and employ survey design methodology appropriate for both research and practice. Students will gain real-world, hands-on experience with designing surveys by examining their own research interests and by consulting for a client in need of improved surveys.

19. QEP Grants Funding is available for course re-design that integrates authentic assessment through the Office of Creative Inquiry. www.tntech.edu/oci-qep/ The first two examples were part of courses re-designed using these funds. Resources are available to assist with submitting a proposal.

20. What does authentic assessment look like in your discipline? How might you use authentic assessment? DiscussionThink-Pair-Share