The three most significant "major concepts" concerning authentic performance evaluation in STEM
Frey, Schmitt, and Allen (2012) feel that an assessment is authentic when the assessment's assignments, content, objectives, and evaluation techniques match real-world requirements. Instead of measuring students' knowledge and understanding through standardized tests, rote learning, and passive test-taking, authentic assessment stresses students' analytical skills, high-order thinking skills, and capacity to apply what they have learned to real-world issues.
Students Active Participation:
Authentic assessment ensures students' active participation in learning by developing products based on their acquired knowledge and understanding during the learning process. Students are not just passive listeners who must regurgitate data they have memorized. Instead, they complete various prescribed tasks to demonstrate their learning, such as writing journals, keeping portfolios, allowing students to design questions, and working cooperatively on a real-world problem. I can provide students with schemas to help them arrange what they have learned and still need to learn, ensuring they are actively involved in the learning process. According to Mueller (2016), authentic assessments include teaching, learning, and assessment. The student's capacity to apply the knowledge or abilities employed as a vehicle for student learning is measured by the same genuine challenge.
Learning by doing:
The 'learning by doing' technique is used in authentic assessments. Students must complete various tasks to gain experience and apply their knowledge to real-world challenges. For example, my grade 9 pupils created a 3-D metropolis using Google's Sketch-up software. The project's rubrics were distributed in advance, and the students thoroughly enjoyed themselves. According to Wilbert (2013), students respond positively to the opportunity and perform better "when they feel their work has actual worth outside of an academic exam and resembles what is done in real occupations outside of school."
Higher Order Thinking Skills:
I can use authentic assessment to help students develop higher-order thinking skills. Authentic assessment can help students develop higher-order thinking skills like critical thinking, problem-solving, decision-making, and creative thinking. Students are allowed to practice these skills by completing the authentic assessment problem. Students, for example, comprehend their knowledge and understanding of many interdisciplinary topics while designing the city. When creating a city, they considered various aspects such as population, sustainability, pollution, carbon footprint reduction, and infrastructure estimation. As a result, students learned how to use creativity, problem-solving, decision-making, and critical thinking to complete the work according to the rubrics. Performance evaluation, portfolios, and self-assessment are all examples of authentic assessment approaches, according to Callison (1998). All these methods encourage pupils to use higher-order thinking skills.
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CHALLENGES: Authentic assessments pose significant obstacles for teachers despite their many benefits for pupils. According to Indiana University (n.d.), teachers require extra time and effort to construct such assessments. Students, as well as teachers, demand more time than regular assessments. These evaluations may be scaffolded over numerous modules or a more extended period because they are task-based. Proper planning, well-crafted rubrics (which highlight the expectations rather than the limits), validity, and reliability are essential considerations. Students are more committed to studying if they understand why they are learning; however, realizing that their motivations may differ is crucial. Every student has a unique worldview and a diverse educational and economic background, influencing how they respond to open-ended questions. Teachers must be attentive and informed about their subjects to create practical, authentic assessments. They may require extensive expertise in identifying research-relevant tasks, ensuring they are appropriate to students in various settings, and matching those tasks with learning objectives and instructional materials.
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NEW INSTRUCTOR ADVICE:
·???????? To begin using authentic assessments, teachers can keep track of their students' interests and create authentic assessments based on them. Students are more engaged when they are assessed based on their interests.
·???????? To begin with, teachers might break down the activities into tiny tasks and use authentic assessments. Then, with the help of other teachers, they can create short- and long-term strategies to reach those goals using a goal-setting sheet.
·???????? Teachers might collaborate to set aside time to share their strategies and challenges during their typical planning period. Getting aid from co-workers to manage authentic chores might help save time when completing assessments.
·???????? Teachers might create a rubric with performance criteria to help them evaluate visually and consistently. The rubrics should also be in line with the goals.
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·???????? Teachers can use technology to track their pupils' progress and collect evidence of learning.
To summarize, authentic assessments are practical for implementing effective teaching strategies. Using more authentic performance evaluations in the classroom can help teachers grasp authentic assessments. New teachers might benefit from professional development courses, frequent training, and brainstorming sessions with other teachers to assist them in using authentic assessments in their classrooms.
References
Callison, D. (1998). Authentic Assessment. School library media activities monthly 14, no. 5.
Frey, B., Schmitt, V., Allen, J. (2012). Defining authentic classroom assessment. Practical
assessment, research, and evaluation, Volume 17, Number 2. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1245&context=pare
Indiana University, Bloomington. (n.d.). Authentic Assessment. Center for Innovative
Teaching and Learning (CITL). https://citl.indiana.edu/teaching-resources/assessing-student-learning/authentic-assessment/
Mueller, J. (2016). Authentic Assessment
Wilbert, M. (2013). Authentic assessment in action.