Complex Models and Authentic Assessment
The most authentic assessment occurs when students leave behind the four walls of their classroom and step away from the computer screen. Only then can they become the problem-solvers we need to take on issues in the real world.
Here I will give you an example of a complex model of learning and the assessment used to evaluate that learning.
In one of my education classes, I wanted my teacher candidates to be able to evaluate the safety of outdoor play spaces for young children. This is a complex problem because there is so much information to take in and evaluate. Students need to identify potential hazards in the form of broken or sharp edges on equipment, poisonous plants, standing water, fencing, traffic in the area, etc...
I decided the most authentic way to assess this skill set would be to have my learners physically go to an outdoor playspace for children with a printed copy of a safety checklist I found as an open resource through the US Department of Health and Human Services. After students examined all aspects of the site and completed the checklist, they were to make note of any items that did not pass. They then had to assess what improvements could be made to make a safe place to play.
Students had a fair amount of autonomy with this project. They chose where and when to go, alone or with a partner. While many of our learning theories intertwined in this activity, the one that best fits this assessment is "Cognitivism".
Learners had to take in a lot of sensory information from all areas of the playground and its surroundings.
Learning took place through the mental processes of attending to details, recalling knowledge of child development to envision how children would use the equipment, and finally, using their problem-solving skills to think of ways to make the environment safe.
A further step was to creatively design a universally accessible play space incorporating all elements of child development and safety.
By completion of this project, based on student's work and self-assessments, both they and I felt confident they could take these skills into a teaching assignment and perform well as "Safety Managers" of the play yard.
[Photographs]. (n.d.). Wix Free Images.
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