Collaborative Evaluation Designs as an Authentic Course Assessment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3138/cjpe.69691Keywords:
assessment, post-secondary, teaching evaluationAbstract
Strategies for optimizing evaluator education involve ongoing discussions within the field of evaluation. There remains unrealized potential for authentic assessments to support and measure learning that demonstrates the integration of evaluation theory with practice. In this practice note, we advance collaborative evaluation designs as a useful authentic assessment for generating the type of applied learning evidence required within an evaluation-focused graduate course. First, we provide a brief review of educational literature, highlighting the value of authentic assessments and a description of the contexts where we effectively applied the collaborative evaluation design. Next, we offer details of the four instructional processes involved in the authentic assessment: planning, development, feedback, and measurement. Finally, we advance lessons learned from our instructional experiences and the learner benefits of the collaborative evaluation design as an authentic assessment.
References
Airasian, P. W. (2001). Classroom assessment: Concepts and applications. McGraw-Hill .
Akkerman, S. F., & Bakker, A. (2011). Boundary crossing and boundary objects. Review of Educational Research, 81(2), 132 – 169. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654311404435
Alkin, M. C., & Vo, A. T. (2017). Evaluation essentials: From A to Z (2nd ed.). Guilford.
Canadian Evaluation Society (CES). (2018). Competencies for Canadian evaluation practice. http://www.evaluationcanada.ca/txt/2_competencies_cdn_evaluation_practice.pdf
Chouinard, J. A., Boyce, A. S., Hicks, J., Jones, J., Long, J., Pitts, R., & Stockdale, M. (2017). Navigating theory and practice through evaluation fieldwork: Experiences of novice evaluation practitioners. American Journal of Evaluation, 38(4), 493 – 506. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214016667582
Darling-Hammond, L., & Snyder, J. (2000). Authentic assessment of teaching in context. Teaching and Teacher Education, 16(5–6), 523 – 545. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0742051x(00)00015-9
Divine, R., Miller, R., Wilson, J. H., & Linrud, J. (2008). Key philosophical decisions to consider when designing an internship program. Journal of Management and Marketing Research, 1(2), 1 – 8.
Duffy, T. M., & Jonassen, D. H. (1992). Constructivism: New implications for instructional technology. Constructivism and the Technology of Instruction: A Conversation, 1, 1 – 16.
Fook, C. Y., & Sidhu, G. K. (2010). Authentic assessment and pedagogical strategies in higher education. Journal of Social Sciences, 6(2), 153 – 161. https://doi.org/10.3844/jssp.2010.153.161
Fostaty Young, S., & Wilson, R. J. (2000). Assessment and learning: The ICE approach. Portage and Main Press.
Gredler, M. E., & Johnson, R. L. (2001). Lessons learned from the directed evaluation experience. American Journal of Evaluation, 22(1), 97 – 104. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1098-2140(01)00115-1
Gulikers, J. T. M., Bastiaens, T. J., Kirschner, P. A., & Kester, L. (2008). Authenticity is in the eye of the beholder: Student and teacher perceptions of assessment authenticity. Journal of Vocational Education and Training, 60(4), 401 – 412. https://doi.org/10.1080/13636820802591830
Gullickson, A. M., King, J., LaVelle, J. M., & Clinton, J. (2019). The current state of educating evaluators: A situation analysis and call to action. Evaluation and Program Planning, 75, 20 – 30. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2019.02.012
Herrington, J., & Herrington, A. (1998). Authentic assessment and multimedia: How university students respond to a model of authentic assessment. Higher Education Research & Development, 17(3), 305 – 322. https://doi.org/10.1080/0729436980170304
Hopson, R. K. (2000). How and why language matters in evaluation. New Directions for Evaluation, 86, 1 – 115.
Hurley, C., Renger, R., & Brunk, B. (2005). Learning from a challenging fieldwork evaluation experience: Perspectives of a student and an instructor. American Journal of Evaluation, 26(4), 562 – 578. https://doi.org/10.1177/1098214005281323
Jacoby, B. (1996). Service-learning in higher education: Concepts and practices. The Jossey-Bass Higher and Adult Education Series. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Kalina, C., & Powell, K. C. (2009). Cognitive and social constructivism: Developing tools for an effective classroom. Education, 130(2), 241 – 250.
Knight, P. (2012). Assessment for learning in higher education. Routledge.
Linn, R., & Miller, M. D. (2005). Measurement and evaluation in teaching. Merrill.
Maclellan, E., & Soden, R. (2004). The importance of epistemic cognition in student-centred learning. Instructional Science, 32(3), 253 – 268. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:truc.0000024213.03972.ce
Mezirow, J. (1997). Transformative learning: Theory to practice. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 1997(74), 5 – 12. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.7401
Mueller, J. (2005). The authentic assessment toolbox: Enhancing student learning through online faculty development. Journal of Online Learning and Teaching, 1(1), 1 – 7.
Patton, M. Q. (2000). Overview: Language matters. New Directions for Evaluation, 2000(86), 5 – 16. https://doi.org/10.1002/ev.1168
Poth, C. N., & Searle, M., Aquilina, A. M., Ge, J., & Elder, A. (2020). Using the CIPP model to assess the impact of a competency-based approach to evaluation education: A case study of the student experience in a Canadian graduate course. Evaluation and Program Planning, 79, Article 101789. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2020.101789
Raymond, J. E., Homer, C. S. E., Smith, R., & Gray, J. E. (2013). Learning through authentic assessment: An evaluation of a new development in the undergraduate midwifery curriculum. Nurse Education in Practice, 13(5), 471 – 476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2012.10.006
Sluijsmans, D. (2002). Student involvement in assessment: The training of peer assessment skills (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Open University of the Netherlands, Heerlen, The Netherlands .
Stein, D. (1998). Situated learning in adult education (pp. 195 – 202). ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education, Center on Education and Training for Employment, College of Education, The Ohio State University.
Trevisan, M. S. (2004). Practical training in evaluation: A review of the literature. American Journal of Evaluation, 25(2), 255 – 272. https://doi.org/10.1177/109821400402500212
Wiggins, G. P. (1993). Assessing student performance: Exploring the purpose and limits of testing. Jossey-Bass.
Wiggins, G. P. (1998). Educative assessment: Designing assessments to inform and improve student performance. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
Wilson, R. J. (1996). Assessing students in classrooms and schools. Allyn & Bacon.
Yarbrough, D. B., Shulha, L. M., Hopson, R. K., & Caruthers, F. A. (2011). Th e program evaluation standards: A guide for evaluators and evaluation users (3rd ed.). Sage.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2021 Michelle Searle, Cheryl Poth
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors contributing to The Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation agree to release their articles under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 (CC-BY-NC) license. This licence allows this work to be copied, distributed, remixed, transformed, and built upon for any purpose provided that appropriate attribution is given, a link is provided to the license, and changes made were indicated.
Authors retain copyright of their work and grant the journal right of first publication.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
