Abstract
Authentic assessment tasks resemble activities that are practiced in the workforce. These tasks are valued because they represent what students wish to accomplish as professionals, positively influencing their aspirations and motivations by explicitly demonstrating relevance of assessment tasks. However, given the choice available to students in completing authentic tasks and novelty of outcomes, the products of such assessment may vary in authenticity. This study aimed to develop a method of evaluating authenticity in student assessment products. Second year occupational therapy students (n=59) completed a written factsheet assignment about a disease or condition. The students’ products were evaluated for authenticity using a novel rubric developed during the study. The results demonstrate that authenticity in the product of an authentic assessment task is measurable, but varies widely across a cohort, with most products demonstrating moderate to high authenticity. However, there was no correlation between authenticity and course grade. Neither was there a correlation between the grade for this authentic task and a verbal authentic task in another course. These findings suggest that students, at this stage of their education, may not yet have progressed from writing like a professional to acting like one.
Highlights
Tertiary institutions across the globe are being encouraged to create authentic curricula to better prepare graduates for the working world (Trede, Macklin & Bridges, 2012)
Students completed a „factsheet‟ assignment, written as if for a healthcare team in a rural hospital. In this authentic assessment task, which was designed to meet the key features of authentic task design (Burton, 2011), students created an information sheet describing a disease related to the physiology in the course, how the disease impacts on occupational performance, and the role of an occupational therapist in its management
In terms of presentation subtasks, 65% of students opted to use a template; images or graphics were included by 72% of students, but only 13% displayed any sort of identification as an Occupational Therapy (OT) in their assignment
Summary
Tertiary institutions across the globe are being encouraged to create authentic curricula to better prepare graduates for the working world (Trede, Macklin & Bridges, 2012). Part of that preparation involves undergoing professional socialisation, to aid understanding of workplace cultures and learning of professional roles (Cornelissen & Van Wyk, 2007). This allows students to acquire knowledge and develop the skills associated with becoming a member of their chosen profession, and adopting its culture, norms and values (Cornelissen & Van Wyk, 2007). Boud and Falchikov (2006; 2007) define authentic assessment as something that closely resembles activities that are practiced in the workforce, separate from the artificial constructs offered in university courses. Students value authentic assessment because it is a representation of what they would like to accomplish in the workforce (Herrington & Herrington, 1998; Meyers, 2009). It has the potential to positively influence students by raising their aspirations and increasing motivation through explicitly demonstrating the relevance of curriculum activities and career alignment (Frey & Schmidt, 2007)
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