From little things big things grow: scaling‐up assessment of experiential learning

Abstract

PurposeThe new economies of the twenty‐first century require new approaches to learning and teaching from higher education (HE). Accordingly many universities have gradually scaled‐up learner‐centred approaches, including flexible delivery and technology‐enhanced learning, from the domains of enthusiasts towards the institutional level. This paper seeks to argue that these new economies and styles of learning and teaching bring similar requirements for scaling of assessment practices in HE, in particular, that it is now time for many universities to consider change initiatives to scale‐up the assessment of experiential learning to the institutional level.Design/methodology/approachThe need to scale‐up assessment of experiential learning in the Australian and international higher HE contexts is discussed and a variety of change initiatives to scale‐up assessment of experiential learning at the University of South Australia is described. These initiatives are explored in the wider context of change management in HE.FindingsAssessment of experiential learning is at a tipping point where it needs to transition from the enthusiasts towards the mainstream of academics. Support for this process is a new challenge for academic developers, educational technologists, librarians and other stakeholders, akin to other recent challenges such as mainstreaming flexible learning and technology‐enhanced learning. It is argued that for change to succeed learners and academics require local or regional evidence that experiential learning and its assessment are both beneficial and manageable.Originality/valueTaking assessment of experiential learning to the institutional level is a challenge that is reminiscent of the need to scale‐up flexible delivery and technology‐enhanced learning over the past decade. Information that can help universities to graduate large numbers of knowledge workers with appropriate graduate attributes developed through experiential learning should be beneficial to the graduates, the institutions and society at large.