Learner-centered Assessment Research Articles

Portfolio Assessment in Enhancing the Grammatical Competencies in Writing

This study determined the role of the portfolio assessment as a learner-centered assessment in enhancing learners’ grammatical competencies of students in writing during the third quarter of School Year 2023-2024. The researcher used descriptive rubrics to determine the gain scores in writing through portfolio assessment. This study utilized quantitative research design that draws statistical conclusion from quantitative data. The students' performances in writing have been described in terms of portfolio assessment highlighting the grammatical competencies of the students in terms of Lexis and Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation, Cohesion and Coherence. As a result from the statistical analysis, there is a significant difference in the mean pre-writing and post-writing test scores of the students in the portfolio-assessed reflective learning activities across all three grammatical competencies although the study concludes Grade 8 students need to further enhance their level of grammatical competence in cohesion and coherence compared to lexis and spelling and grammar and vocabulary. The merits and essentials of the findings were drawn and treated as inputs in the development of portfolio assessment in enhancing the grammatical competencies in writing. Recommendations are offered to improve strategies and techniques in instruction and in the development of this strategy will complement the goal to develop the relevant competencies of students in the field of English language learning.

Case study of the use of learner-centered assessment in the math school of a large university in the United States

ABSTRACT This case study examined the current assessment practices in the math school of a large research university in the United States. After reviewing a sample of course syllabi offered in the spring 2021 semester, we descriptively summarized the use of 19 assessment methods in the school and examined the assessment patterns by subjects, class standings, and class size. Our study found that traditional homework and written tests were the most frequently used assessments in the school, while the use of learner-centered assessments was rare. Among the 19 assessment methods, we found significantly different usage of quizzes, participation scores, and projects by various course characteristics. Our case study demonstrates the gap between the recommended and actual assessment practice in U.S. higher education. We call for more future research that explores strategies to effect changes and increase the use of learner-centered assessment in higher education institutions.

How Can a Technology Enhanced Learning Environment Support Learning-Oriented Assessment in Higher Education?

This study uses a qualitative approach to explore how technology enhanced learning (TEL) contributes to learning-oriented assessment (LOA). The analysis of 9 interviews revealed that a TEL environment may facilitate learning through enabling timely feedback, tracking learning progress, offering innovative and learner-centered assessment methods, and increasing transparency. However, due to a lack of digital assessment competences, teachers may face challenges designing LOA in a TEL environment.

Mobile Technology for Learning Assessment: Design Process for the NursE-Quiz Mobile Application

This paper traces the development of a mobile application designed to simplify and support learning in nursing education. This application is based on the principles of dynamic formative evaluation, a method that encourages student involvement in the formative assessment process and supports student learning through formative feedback. A formative assessment model was derived from these principles and informed the application’s design. This mobile application project, which ran from February to September 2020, aimed to contribute to the improvement of formative assessment practices through the development of a learner-centered assessment tool and the identification of key formative processes within the application. The application’s functionality was based on the needs of the actors, which were analyzed according to Black and William’s theoretical perspectives on formative assessment and Keller’s motivational model; both were used to inform the pedagogical design of the application. This application is intended for nursing teachers working in ISPITS in Morocco and student nurses enrolled in the professional license cycle in these training institutes

Learner-Centered Assessment:, Requirements And Challenges Of Implementation In Foreign Language Environments

Learner-Centered Assessment:, Requirements And Challenges Of Implementation In Foreign Language Environments

Fostering learners' involvement in the assessment process during the COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives of university language and communication teachers across the globe

With the transition to online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for identifying effective methods of assessment has become paramount. The methods of traditional summative in-person, paperand-pencil exams could not be adapted to the online environment. In case of unsupervised (nonproctored) exams it was impossible to ensure students' academic honesty. Some universities have offered remotely supervised (proctored) examinations, which has been a rare exception. The pandemic prompted teachers to innovate their assessment practice and apply formative assessment methods as an alternative to traditional summative assessment. They have started using tasks such as e-portfolios, online learning journals, blogs, online presentations, creative writing, and open-book exams, which present golden opportunities to involve students in the assessment process. This study aims to explore assessment-related experiences of language and communication teachers at higher education institutions (HEIs) during the pandemic. Our mixed-method research combines an international survey administered to university language and communication teachers (N=301) with in-depth interviews with a selection of participants (n=18) of the same background. The results provide valuable insights into the perceptions that university language and communication teachers have of effective assessment methods and pedagogical approaches engaging learners in assessment. The implications of the study advocate a growing trend toward a wider use of learner-centered assessment.

Fostering learners’ involvement in the assessment process during the COVID-19 pandemic: Perspectives of university language and communication teachers across the globe

With the transition to online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need for identifying effective methods of assessment has become paramount. The methods of traditional summative in-person, paper-and-pencil exams could not be adapted to the online environment. In case of unsupervised (non-proctored) exams it was impossible to ensure students’ academic honesty. Some universities have offered remotely supervised (proctored) examinations, which has been a rare exception. The pandemic prompted teachers to innovate their assessment practice and apply formative assessment methods as an alternative to traditional summative assessment. They have started using tasks such as e-portfolios, online learning journals, blogs, online presentations, creative writing, and open-book exams, which present golden opportunities to involve students in the assessment process. This study aims to explore assessment-related experiences of language and communication teachers at higher education institutions (HEIs) during the pandemic. Our mixed-method research combines an international survey administered to university language and communication teachers (N=301) with in-depth interviews with a selection of participants (n=18) of the same background. The results provide valuable insights into the perceptions that university language and communication teachers have of effective assessment methods and pedagogical approaches engaging learners in assessment. The implications of the study advocate a growing trend toward a wider use of learner-centered assessment.

WEB-BASED 5-DIMENSIONAL ELECTRONIC PORTFOLIO (5DEP) AS A COMPETENCY-BASED ASSESSMENT TOOL IN POST-GRADUATE MEDICAL TRAINING

Background. New challenges of permanently changing context of healthcare system requires new methods of medical education and new assessment tools, as well. Competency-based Medical Education (CBME), framework which has been adopted as a new approach in medical education, needs appropriate assessment tool such as portfolio. Portfolio is learner-centered assessment instrument which evaluates learner’s progression towards outcomes and enables both residents and teachers to engage in a process of learning through assessment.
 Objective. In this paper we aim to share our successful experience of an effective use of web-based 5-Dimensional Electronic Portfolio (5DeP) as an assessment tool in the Pilot Group.
 Methods. Pilot Group of sixteen residents (six first year residents of Obstetrics/Gynecology and ten first year residents of Internal Medicine. Tbilisi State Medical University Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Continuous Professional Development) and twelve mentors (four Obstetrics/Gynecology mentor and eight Internal Medicine mentors) reported some feedback about 5-Dimensional Electronic Portfolio (5DeP) as a new assessment tool.
 Results. Feedback about 5-Dimensional Electronic Portfolio (5DeP) as a new assessment tool from mentors and students demonstrated efficiency of the program. It enables assessment within a framework of transparent and declared criteria and learning objectives; provides a model for lifelong learning and continuing professional development; increases competence in a wider context with benefits to both professional and personal roles; improves organizing skills.
 Conclusions. 5DeP have been recognized as an extremely effective assessment tool.

SW교육 학습자 중심 평가 사례 분석을 통한 인공지능교육의 평가 방향 고찰

SW교육 학습자 중심 평가 사례 분석을 통한 인공지능교육의 평가 방향 고찰

Competence committee: How meeting frequency impacts committee function and learner-centered assessment

The Department of Pediatrics at Queen's University wrestled with following the RCPSC guidelines with regards to Competence Committee (CC) meeting frequency, this article outlines adaptations we made to CC function and the rationale for our design decisions. After adopting a monthly meeting approach that focuses on formative assessment and greater resident feedback we have created an enhanced learner-centered assessment process that more fully empowers our residents with timely formative feedback to better support them in actively taking ownership of and responsibility for their learning.

Does linking help? Effects and student perceptions of a learner-centered assessment implemented in introductory chemistry

This study developed and implemented a learner-centered assessment named Creative Exercises (CEs) in introductory chemistry courses at a four-year university and a two-year community college. CEs were developed and implemented as an intervention for treatment groups. The control groups only used traditional assessments such as multiple-choice and short-answer questions. A mixed-methods approach was employed for evaluating the effectiveness of CEs in improving student learning and performance. First, quantitative data included student exam scores, DFW rates, and percentages of letter grades were analyzed and compared between treatment and control groups. Second, student responses to CEs were coded as chemistry concepts and then organized into chemistry topics. A series of visual maps were plotted to show students’ linking of chemistry topics and progress made throughout the semester. Lastly, student perceptions of the use of CEs were investigatedviaa free-response survey. Quantitative results showed that CEs improved students’ academic performance and retention in introductory chemistry courses at both college settings. The implementation at the two settings indicated that the frequency and quality of the use of CEs might impact the effectiveness. The results from qualitative data analyses converged with the positive effects of CEs. Students were able to connect prior and newly-learned topics in response to CEs and made progress on linking more topics over time. Open coding of the free-response survey data identified four themes explaining why the use of CEs helped students: knowledge integration, conceptual understanding, flexibility, and more effective study habits. Best practices for implementation of learner-centered assessments learned in this study and future directions for research are discussed.

Engaging Oral Health Students in Learning Basic Science Through Assessment That Weaves in Personal Experience.

Learning basic science forms an essential foundation for oral health therapy and dentistry, but frequently students perceive it as difficult, dry, and disconnected from clinical practice. This perception is encouraged by assessment methods that reward fact memorization, such as objective examinations. This study evaluated use of a learner-centered assessment portfolio designed to increase student engagement with basic science in an oral health therapy program at the University of Sydney, Australia. The aim of this qualitative study based on focus groups was to investigate students' engagement with basic science courses following introduction of the portfolio. Three assessments were conducted in three subsequent semesters: one based on students' interest in everyday phenomena (one student, for example, explored why she had red hair); the second focussed on scientific evidence and understanding of systemic diseases; and the third explored relations between oral and general health. Students were encouraged to begin with issues from their personal experience or patient care, to focus on what they were curious about, and to ask questions they really cared about. Each student prepared a written report and gave an oral presentation to the entire cohort. After the portfolios were completed, the authors held focus groups with two cohorts of students (N=21) in 2016 and analyzed the results using Zepke's framework for student engagement research. The results showed that the students successfully interweaved personal experience into their studies and that it provided significant motivation for learning. The students described their learning in terms of connection to themselves, their peer community, and their profession. Many additional benefits were identified, from increased student engagement in all courses to appreciation of the relevance of basic science. The findings should encourage dental and allied dental educators to reconsider the effects of assessments and seek integrative methods to help students engage in meaningful knowledge production and understand that what they are learning goes beyond acquisition of scientific facts.

Evaluation of Automatic Item Generation Utilities in Formative Assessment Application for Korean High School Students

The recent interests in research in the assessment field have been rapidly shifting from decision-maker-centered assessments to learner-centered assessments (i.e., diagnostic and/or formative assessments). In particular, it is a very important research topic in this field to analyze how these learner-centered assessments are developed more practical and valid by combining information (or intelligent) and communication technologies (ICT) and psychometric advances, and how these systems contribute to learning. Automatic Item Generation (AIG), which is in the spotlight recently, is a representative example of building a next-generation assessment theory and practice by integrating ICT into psychometrics.AIG has very broad and promising features in mass production, intelligent item calibration and management, especially learner-centered assessment, and so on. However, these claims have not yet been fully validated in real education settings, and it is in dire need of evaluating the utilities of AIG applications in practical educational settings. Based on these needs, the purposes of this research are, firstly, to introduce the benefits and challenges of AIG to properly assess AIG’s utilities. And, secondly, this study provides empirical evaluation results of AIG’s utilities within a formative assessment system for Korean high school students and teachers.The results of this study have important implications in that it is the first empirical study to evaluate the usefulness of AIG in the formation evaluation application of the actual educational environment, Korean high school setting. The results of the theoretical and empirical evaluation of the AIG will also be useful to researchers and practitioners who wish to evaluate the benefits and issues of future AIG-based educational services or theory development.

The development of implementation of learner-centered assessment in pedagogical requalification studies

The article presents the results of two empirical researches conducted in 2010 and 2015 with the graduates of pedagogical requalification studies. Referring to the analysis of the data of scientific sources and factor analysis the approaches of student-centered assessment have been emphasized, the results of both researches have been presented and referring to them the dimensions of student-centered assessment are highlighted. It has been stated that in the university under investigation, according to the graduates, student-centered assessment is becoming more and more predominant. Moreover, having performed a correlative analysis it has been shown that the respondents’ age and working experience did not have significant influence on their opinion about student-centered assessment

Milestones for medical students completing a clinical genetics elective.

We are not aware of any competency-based evaluation method that is specifically designed for a genetics elective for medical students. Here, we aimed to create a milestone template to improve evaluation and to use the feedback from the template to improve the elective. Through an iterative process using feedback from eight medical students and eight attendings, we crafted a milestone template for the medical student genetics rotation. A "scavenger hunt" of activities was developed to address several gaps discovered through this process. All participants felt that the milestone template was complete for the student level and that it improved evaluation. In response to faculty feedback, we modified the evaluation process such that several evaluators rated students in only selected domains. Scavenger hunt activities were designed to address five domains that the students reported to be inadequately covered. Developing a milestone template has taken us a step closer to meaningful assessment of students completing the genetics elective and simultaneously allowed us to strengthen the elective. Meaningful elective experiences in genetics that provide individual feedback within a learner-centered assessment of progress and flexible out-of-classroom activities may contribute to lifelong learning and interest in genetics and genomics.Genet Med 19 2, 236-239.

Examining the challenges of learner-centered education

Learner-centered education has been touted as an improvement over teacher-centered educational systems. However, educators and researchers need to be cautious about its problems, in addition to considering its benefits. The authors set out to identify challenges to learner-centered education through the eyes of educators in a truly learner-centered school with a self-directed, project-based learning approach. During their interviews, three administrators and all nine teachers described challenges that they faced in learner-centered instruction and learner-centered assessment. The hope is that the study makes learner-centered education easier for educators and more effective for students.

The confluence of family and academic lives: Implications for assessment practices of college student learning in higher education institutions in the United States

Studies on family–work conflict among higher education faculty focus exclusively on research or promotion-related work outcomes and find significant challenges in balancing these two spheres. To extend this line of research, this study shifts the focus to classroom practices known as learnercentered assessment (LCA) and estimates the statistical association between marriage and parenthood and the use of these LCA practices in undergraduate classrooms. The hypotheses are framed around role theory and tested using data on a representative sample of U.S. faculty from the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty and hierarchical linear regression techniques. The results return quite disparate gendered patterns. For males, marriage and parenthood are associated with reduced used of LCA practices in undergraduate courses. For females, parenthood but not marriage is associated with greater use of LCA practices. All regression results remain robust after adjusting for a wide range of individual and institutional characteristics. These results align with previous research showing that the work and family lives of faculty are indeed entwined. However, this entanglement may have quite different and significant implications for male and female faculty within the institution of higher education, as this study suggests.

Creating learner-centered assessment strategies for promoting greater student retention and class participation.

Many teachers still use in-class multiple choice exams in their classes, the primary goal of which is to see how much the students have already learned. The assessment strategies we will examine in this paper change the focus from assessing whether students have learned anything to creating assessments which double as learning experiences themselves. Assessments do not have to merely measure what was learned; rather, they can be methods for getting students to learn while they are completing the task you have given them. The theoretical framework of learner-centered assessment emphasizes problem solving, higher order thinking skills, the promotion of a sense of ownership in learning, and a dialogic approach to instruction (Rich, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to discuss six specific strategies for implementing learner-centered assessment in the classroom. The six research based strategies we will discuss are: Strategies which ensure students have read the material The use of take-home examinations Giving short answer tests with questions at an integrative and/or applied level on Bloom's taxonomy Using Formative summative assessments during class time (FSA) Being responsive to results from Audience response systems (ARS) Student learning style inventories The students have to read the material to learn anything from it! A key to effective teaching is to ensure that students have read all the material. If the student doesn't read the material they will not be as ready to understand what is going on when the teacher covers the work in class (Krashen, 2004). As an instructor, breaking up the material may be beneficial because many students just breeze through the chapter instead of actually reading it. If teachers ask a question about the assigned reading at the beginning of the first class when that information will be discussed, and students are informed that there will be an in-class quiz on the reading, more students will do the reading (Sweet et al., 1998). If your students persist on ignoring their assigned readings, according to Felder and Silverman (1988) and Lucas and Bernstein (2004), there is not much point in punishing them. The students who fail to read will then be punished enough on examinations and quizzes.

The use of learner-centered assessment practices in the United States: the influence of individual and institutional contexts

Research examining the contexts that influence the use of learner-centered assessment (LCA) practices in undergraduate courses has not kept pace with those focusing on teaching practices. Such research is needed given that conceptualizations of effective pedagogy generally include both teaching and assessment. The authors examined a range of individual and institutional variables and their relationships to the use of LCA among faculty in the United States. These variables measured the structural and cultural contexts in which faculty make pedagogical decisions. Data from the 2004 National Study of Postsecondary Faculty revealed that faculty who were highly involved in advising, service, and research and reported teaching-friendly cultures were the most likely to use LCA practices. But, it was also found that higher teaching loads and class sizes hindered LCA practices. Almost all of the differences in LCA use occurred within institutions, and the institutional-level variables had little net influence on LCA practices in undergraduate classrooms.

Cognitive Education: Constructivist Perspectives on Schooling, Assessment, and Clinical Applications

Our responses to the five questions concerning cognitive education that Robert Sternberg raised focus on the school, the learner, and applications to clinical settings.Considering the school and the learner, we emphasize constructivist theory and applications of learner-centered instructional and assessment approaches. Considering applications to clinical settings, we focus on cognitive remediation and dynamic assessment (DA) approaches that address the impaired balance of cognitive level and task requirement for people with psychoses and other cognitive or developmental disorders. Emphasis is on the goal of including these persons into communities of learners that will be able to benefit from cognitive education.