Assessment Of Experiential Learning Research Articles

The impact of service learning supported by the ePortfolio on the development of professional competencies

ABSTRACT The assessment of experiential learning, such as service learning, and its outcomes, tends to take time and effort. This paper examines how service learning and traditional learning activities help university students acquire both course-specific and key competencies that would be of value in their professional careers. The results show that students consistently indicated they were better able to acquire these competencies, especially key competencies, through the service learning supported by the ePortfolio experience. Furthermore, the responses were statistically significant in 15 out of 20 competencies. The implication arising from this research is any service-learning course should provide evidence of the competencies acquired by the students; otherwise, it might be considered as volunteer service or community work by educational institutions, especially by those with little or no experience incorporating service-learning projects in their programs.

Experiential learning and the entrepreneurial university: An Irish case study

This paper explores the use and impact of experiential learning initiatives in an entrepreneurial university. Data are taken from two sources: interviews with eight academic managers and six focus groups with learners. A mix of narrative structuring and thematic analysis is used to explore the design, delivery and assessment of experiential learning. The authors apply Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory as their theoretical lens. Experiential learning evokes a mixed reaction from academic managers and students. The paper identifies three key themes (design, delivery and outcomes) which help to capture the complex mix of direct and indirect effects that experiential learning initiatives can have at both individual and institutional levels. The authors conclude that embedding experiential learning is a valuable part of the development of an entrepreneurial university.

Performance, Preference, and Perception in Experiential Learning Assessment

A pilot study was conducted to explore student preferences, performance, and perceptions of experiential learning assessment following experiential learning instruction. A learning experience, using semi-directed instruction and experiential learning methods, was given to 13 student volunteers who were then assessed using a case study, presentation, journal, and essay, representing both group and individual assessment. Student performance in terms of their understanding and their engagement was compared to student perceptions and preferences. Student performance indicated that although the journal (individual assessment) appeared to be the best venue for students to express their understanding, they were the least engaged in it. The case study and the presentation (group assessments) were most preferred overall and students also perceived these to be the best forms of assessment in a number of aspects (helpful, beneficial, engaging, challenging, etc.). It is possible that the collaborative nature of the group assessments matched the teaching style suggesting that the mode of assessment should follow a similar format to the learning experience in courses that use experiential learning methods. The essay, as a traditional form of assessment, was valued for its structure, possibly reflecting student familiarity with that type of assessment, but less so overall because it was also an individual exercise. Each assessment method used in the pilot demonstrated value, albeit in different forms and this finding speaks to assessing both authentically and using a mixture of methods. Une étude pilote a été réalisée afin d’explorer les préférences, la performance et les perceptions des étudiants concernant l’évaluation de l’apprentissage par l’expérience à la suite d’un enseignement par l’expérience. Une expérience d’apprentissage, faisant appel à un enseignement semi-dirigé et à des méthodes d’apprentissage par l’expérience, a été offerte à 13 étudiants bénévoles qui ont ensuite été évalués par le biais d’une étude de cas, d’une présentation, d’un journal et d’un essai, représentant à la fois l’évaluation de groupe et l’évaluation individuelle. La performance des étudiants en ce qui concerne leur compréhension et leur participation a été comparée à leurs perceptions et à leurs préférences. La performance des étudiants indique que bien que le journal (évaluation individuelle) semble être le meilleur moyen pour les étudiants d’exprimer leur compréhension, c’est ce qui les faisaient participer le moins. L’étude de cas et les présentations (évaluation de groupe) étaient ce que les étudiants avaient en général préféré et que les étudiants considéraient comme les meilleurs formes d’évaluation, et ce pour plusieurs raisons (utile, bénéfique, engageant, stimulant, etc.). Il est possible que la nature collaboratrice des évaluations de groupe corresponde au style d’enseignement, ce qui suggère que le moyen employé pour l’évaluation devrait suivre un format semblable à l’expérience d’apprentissage dans les cours où l’on emploie des méthodes d’enseignement par l’expérience. L’essai en tant que forme traditionnelle d’évaluation a été apprécié pour sa structure et parce qu’il pouvait refléter la familiarité des étudiants avec ce type d’évaluation, mais il a été moins apprécié en général du fait qu’il s’agissait d’un exercice individuel. Chaque méthode d’évaluation employée dans cette étude pilote a présenté une certaine valeur, bien que sous différentes formes, et ces résultats indiquent qu’il est utile d’évaluer à la fois de façon authentique et par un mélange de méthodes.

Assessment of Experiential Learning and Teaching Approaches in Undergraduate Programmes at the School of Agricultural Sciences, Makerere University, Uganda

Competent graduates are a critical input in enhancing the university’s role in agricultural transformation. How graduates play their role in contributing to development mirrors on how they trained. Low quality graduates are believed to be a product of a more subject-centered and instructive style of teaching. The Makerere University Kampala School of Agricultural Sciences (SAS) made effort to improve and enhance the competence of its lecturers to use a learner centered teaching approach in its programmes through training. This paper presents an assessment of how the training influenced the lecturers to use different teaching practices toward producing quality responsive graduates. Data was collected from 120 students and 20 lectures from the SAS using a semi-structured questionnaire. The findings show that Training lecturers in experiential learning influenced their awareness and use of experiential learning approaches in delivery of the courses they taught. Effective application of experiential learning approaches was constrained by challenges of varied understanding and appreciation of the concept among lecturers, short class periods, large class sizes and financial limitations. In effect, the traditional lecture method remained dominant. Above all, application of experiential learning approaches is not institutionalized at SAS thus limiting the attainment of critical and reflective thinking for the attainment of lifelong learning abilities among students. To strengthen application of experiential learning approaches, training of all lecturers and curriculum review to integrate experiential learning practices as part of the general teaching quality assurance measures is critical.

The Utilization of the National Qualifications Framework Level Descriptors as Criteria for Assessing Prior Experiential Learning to Access to Higher Learning Institutions of Namibia

The assessment of experiential learning is the process of identification, articulation and legitimization of learning gained from years of work experience. The aim of this paper is to explore the utilization of level descriptors as criteria for assessing the prior experiential learning of candidates who aspire to access higher education. The recognition of the prior learning (RPL) concept has been embraced in education policies around the world as a process that assesses and recognises non-formal and informal learning attained by an individual, to determine the level of competency achieved. However, the implementation of the concept by higher education institutions remains insignificant. Some reasons cited relate to the method used to assess learning in admission tests, such as the recall of subject knowledge. It is argued in this paper that the alignment of individuals’ learning evidence with the National Qualifications Framework’s level descriptors is critical as an alternative route of assessment. The assessment method based on alignment of level descriptors allows for self-exploration and deeper reflection of own learning, giving insight not only into the self but also for the benefit of the host institution. Host institutions benefit from RPL, not only by choosing qualified candidates to enter their programmes, but also by having candidates who lived the experience and have understanding of the field of study. The alignment method is perceived to be a reflective strategy of assessing experiential learning and is born out of the transformative process which encourages deep learning and portrays the quality of potential candidates. Studies have shown no significant differences between the performances of students who accessed higher learning through Grade twelve certificates and those who accessed through RPL. Therefore, when an appropriate and robust method is adopted, RPL is feasible and beneficial to all involved.

Assessing experiential learning – us, them and the others

<p align="LEFT"><span style="font-size: medium;">This paper looks at the assessment of experiential learning primarily in the context of the learning and teaching of students using ‘hands-on’, interactive and reflective methods. It will, at various points, also refer to the evaluation of programmes and modules in terms of their impact and where improvements, in pedagogic terms, can be made. </span></p><p>The ‘us’ here are the teachers/tutors who are employed to promote, support and otherwise facilitate the advancement of the students’/learners’ education. The ‘them’ is the student body on a particular course of study. The ‘others’ are those who have a vested interest in the form, content and means of measuring achievement of and in legal education – be they professional regulatory bodies, employers or the wider public.</p><p>The term ‘experiential learning’ refers in this setting to an approach to education in which students are exposed to real or realistic legal issues and problems. In this process they are required, in a structured way, that may or may not lead to the award of academic credit, to apply theory to practice and then deconstruct and analyse what took place (or did not as the case may be) and why. In the world of legal education an experiential approach to study is often termed ‘clinical’ and the word ‘clinic’ will appear frequently throughout this paper in referring to the vehicle through which experiential learning may be presented and delivered.</p><p>Finally, by way of introduction, the word ‘assessment’ is intended to include the measurement of both the quality and extent of student learning (regardless of whether academic credit is gained) and the perceived value of what is being delivered from a learning and teaching perspective, by the ‘us’, the ‘them’ and the ‘others’.</p>

An Assessment of Experiential Learning of Global Poverty Issues Through International Service Projects

Service learning has been used to supplement a standard business curriculum, but not typically in an international business context. We report the results of two short-term study abroad programs in which we incorporated service learning projects, one in Cambodia and the other in Vietnam. Our objective is to assess how we organized and delivered effective service learning projects in short-term study tours, and to assess students’ learning outcomes on global poverty issues in a business curriculum. We used both quantitative and qualitative assessment measures. The findings suggest that several types of learning outcomes did occur through the service learning projects, as the literature suggested. Seeing poverty firsthand and doing something about it through service learning may be a first experience for many students, but it seems to be a transformational one for many. We conclude that students may approach business and even political decisions with a greater understanding of their impact on poverty in the developing world.

Experiential Learning in Sport Sales: Student Perceptions of Sport Sales Expectations, Skills and Preparation

Experiential learning within sport sales is a growing component of the sport management curriculum. Assessment of student learning outcomes within these experiences is important in quantifying the effectiveness of the learning experience. This study utilized a survey to examine the change in students’ perceptions of sport sales as a result of completing an experiential, client-based sport sales program. The methodology included development and analysis of a survey instrument and application of that survey with enrolled and non-enrolled groups with pre- and post-test experiential learning assessment. Student expectations of a career in sport sales significantly decreased after program completion (t(56) = 2.33, p < .05), while their perception of skill level and preparation for a sport sales employment did not significantly change for the experimental group. These findings relate this learning experience to a realistic job preview for the students, which typically decrease an individual’s expectations toward a particular job (Premack & Wanous, 1985).

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

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.

The Theory & practice of teaching

Part one: 1. Teaching, learning - the changing landscape, Gill Nicholls and Peter Jarvis 2. Teaching in a changing world, Peter Jarvis 3. Teaching styles and teaching methods, Peter Jarvis 4. Ethics and education, Bob Brownhill and Peter Jarvis 5. Radical and feminist pedagogies, Julia Preece and Colin Griffin. Part two: 6. Didacticism - lectures and lecturing, Colin Griffin 7. The Socratic method, Bob Brownhill 8. Facilitation and facilitator style, Josie Gregory 9. Principles of experiential education, Josie Gregory 10. Experiential methods of teaching and learning, Paul Tosey 11. Practice-based and problem-based learning, Peter Jarvis 12. Mentoring - the art of teaching and learning, Gill Nicholls 13. The learning community - a design for teaching and learning, Paul Tosey. Part three: 14. Assessment in post-compulsory education, Linda Merricks 15. Assessment of experiential learning in higher education, Josie Gregory 16. Distance education in the learning society, Thomas Black and John Holford 17. Further developments in teaching, Peter Jarvis.

Beyond Galileo's Telescope: Situated Knowledge and the Assessment of Experiential Learning

For all their celebration of experiential learning, current approaches to the assessment of prior experiential learning (APEL) are consistent with and, in some respects, trapped within Enlight-enment theories of knowledge. Alternative epistemologies offered by post-modernist, feminist, and anti-racist theory suggest a different conceptual underpinning for APEL. Reinscribed within an epistemology of situated knowledge, APEL can grant visibility to outsider knowledge that is valuable for its divergence from academic ways of knowing, not only its similarity, and rewrite the relationship between experiential learning and academic authority.

Assessment of Experiential Learning in England and France

ABSTRACT Based upon a search of literature in the respective countries, the current situation in France and England with regard to the Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) and Prior Experiential Learning (APEL) is provided. The two systems, which have both developed from North American models, are broadly similar, though there are differences with regard to legal status and the operation. The systems are considered in general terms, as well as in regard to vocational qualifications and entrance to further and higher education. The systems are still developing, with other countries in the European Union also developing similar systems.

"Auctoritee" and "Experience": Feminist Epistemology and the Assessment of Experiential Learning

"Auctoritee" and "Experience": Feminist Epistemology and the Assessment of Experiential Learning

Critical Thinking and Credit for Prior Experiential Learning

This article explores a new model for assessing prior learning that encourages students to think critically. It begins by introducing the reader to the concepts of prior learning assessment and critical thinking. It then describes specific assignments to promote critical thinking in prior experiential learning assessment, as well as in field study, exercises, simulations, and other forms of experiential learning.

College-Level Learning and Prior Experiential Learning Assessment

College-Level Learning and Prior Experiential Learning Assessment

The Painful Emotions of Prior Experiential Learning Assessment

The Painful Emotions of Prior Experiential Learning Assessment

Accreditation of Prior Learning: Implications for Trainers and Managers of Colleges of Further Education

The results of an investigation into the possibilities with regard to the accreditation of the prior achievements of instructors in community workshops in Northern Ireland are detailed. A number of instructors were interviewed to determine whether they would be interested in accreditation and what kinds of evidence of prior achievement they would be able to offer. It was found that instructors would welcome the introduction of an accreditation procedure but that, in most cases, they would be unable to supply documentary evidence of prior achievements. It is suggested that managers of further education colleges should make provision for accreditation, as this will be an important source of clients in the future provided that they are able to offer appropriate facilities in terms of counselling and assessment of experiential learning.

Assessment of Experiential Learning in business administration

A study at Syracuse University funded by the Cooperative Assessment of Experiential Learning resulted in the development of a model for the assessment of experiential learning and the awarding of appropriate academic credit in a given educational environment. Academic courses were restructured to incorporate clearly stated performance (outcome) objectives grouped in logical modules. Self-assessment instruments, based on these objectives, were developed to provide the basis for establishing the criteria for awarding academic credit based upon the results of the self-assessment. Students possessing measurable knowledge at a level above the predetermined criteria may be awarded partial or full credit for the courses completed. Faculty were utilized to validate the self-assessment of students and specify the credit to be recorded.