Transformative Education Book Club – Learning that Matters: Chapter 6

Written by Karine Hamm

Once a month, Nathan Hall (Educational Technology and Pedagogy Coordinator) hosts a book club to discuss and apply the content of the book: Learning that matters – a field guide to course design for transformative education by Zehnder, Metzker, Kleine and Alby. The book explores the idea that meaningful learning experiences don’t just happen-they have to be intentionally designed. These well-designed, innovative courses can have a lasting impact on student learning. Since you may not have the time to read the book this semester, or to join the group of inquisitive faculty for book club, I want to present a thing or two that you can try in your course, to design a more inclusive and meaningful learning experience.

In Chapter 6, the authors reflect on the importance of connecting the assessments to course design. I challenge you to reflect on why assessments matter in your courses. Assessment matters to our institution (and our students) because course assessments are tied to grades and grades are used to evaluate and “sort” students. The authors define “assessment” as a tool used to make learning visible so as to inform your decision-making when assigning grades. Thoughtfully designed assessments can do more that determine grades, they have the potential to foster learning. The authors argue that for learning to be equitable and transformative, a significant number of assessments need to be designed to be connected and formative. Let’s define these words.

Connected assignments align with student learning outcomes and are designed to be transparent, holistic and affirming. You can imagine standardized tests as unconnected because the multiple-choice format is far removed from the learning experiences of the student. To create connected assignments, start by aligning them to the learning outcomes. If a learning outcome is to “compare and contrast”, a multiple-choice test would be a poorly aligned assessment because it would not allow students to compare and contrast. Second, design the assessment to be transparent for the students. Ensure that the students clearly understand the expectations, purpose and criteria for success associated with an assignment. Provide a marking rubric and perhaps a sample assignment from a previous student (with their permissions of course). Third, design the assessments to be holistic. Providing students with opportunities to express their learning in multiple ways helps reinforce learning for all students. Holistic connected assessments focus on more than just cognitive domains, they also include skills and dispositions. Remember the discussion on portable learning outcomes from a previous post? Lastly, you should aim to design assessments that are affirming to the learner. Instead of ending our relevant and authentic activities with a paper or a test, taking off points for errors and miscalculations, consider taking into account how you have ensured that students can show their learning. You can ask yourself “Have I ensured that students can demonstrate meeting the learning outcomes in multiple ways with plenty of room for improvement, feedback and support.”

Feedback is an important piece around connected assessment. It fosters learning by helping students modify their behaviour or actions. Formative assessments are great for this. You can provide feedback in anticipation of the ‘final’ assessment. Providing feedback is crucial for learning but it can sometimes make us feel overwhelmed. Especially in writing intensive courses. Although some feedback must come from you, here are other sources of feedback that can be great:

1. Peers – but keep in mind that you will need to teach students how to give quality feedback.
2. Self– the use of self-reflections can be powerful.
3. Tech/Low-Tech –  use of flashcards, online quizzes or apps, can provide feedback on what students know and don’t know yet.

A truly connected approach to assessment is to co-design the assessment and evaluation strategy with your students. Consider inviting students into the conversations and ask they how they would like to demonstrate that they have achieved the learning outcomes. Consider providing feedback instead of grades early in the semester. Provide options for the ways students can demonstrate their learning and ask students to be involved in the development of the marking rubric.

This Chapter contained so much information and tips of developing an assessment plan, with a focus on connected assessments. Consider picking up the book and joining the book club for further discussion.