Implement authentic assessments

Action

Specify the knowledge and skills students are expected to gain and subsequently demonstrate through the assessment.   

Tips

• Make sure that these learning outcomes align with and support the course-level learning outcomes. This ensures that all assessments are purposefully driving towards the same course goals. 
• Learning outcomes should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). 
• Use action verbs that denote observable outcomes (e.g., analyze, design, implement). 

Illustrative example

Prof. C. L. Mitchell’s course on Professional communication at the University of Waterloo has explicit learning outcomes. Students who take Professor Mitchell's course should be able to: 

• Write clear, concise, and properly formatted planning reports and proposals using grammatically correct English. 
• Develop capacity to speak and listen professionally with peers and superiors (e.g. teaching assistants, professors, and potential employers). 
• Recognize and utilize different types of evidence (e.g. peer-review, grey literature, and media sources) to justify an environmental problem/issue and develop a proposed solution. 
• Apply contextually appropriate professional skills taught in the course (textbook, lectures, and tutorials) in professional settings. 

These same learning outcomes apply to Prof. Mitchell’s authentic assessment wherein students can practice, or successfully meet, the course’s learning outcomes. 

Action

Craft tasks that not only reflect real-world scenarios and challenges but also require students to actively demonstrate their knowledge and skills through tangible products or performances. 

Tips

• Connect learning outcomes to actual scenarios relevant to the discipline.  
• Design performance-based tasks with open-ended solutions that encourage creativity. Tasks should result in a concrete deliverable, such as a report, presentation, or project. 
• Infuse tasks with opportunities for higher-order thinking, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and innovation. Ask students to analyze data, synthesize information into coherent structures, evaluate processes, and create novel solutions. 

Illustrative examples

1. Team proposal and video challenge

To meet the learning outcomes for the course in professional communication listed above, Prof. Mitchell designed a major assignment in which students develop a team proposal and video for the EduTOX video challenge. Using design thinking protocol, students propose an innovative idea to motivate action on climate change and health. 

2. Research and presentation of criminology theory and archival photos 

The theories taught by Prof. A. M. Singh in her graduate course “Critical Engagement with Criminological theories” at Toronto Metropolitan University formed the basis for the selection of the 11 historical photos featured in the Visualizing Crim Project. The Image Centre Archives provided students with supervised access to the original and digitized versions of the selected archival photos from two collections. Each student group worked with one of the selected photos and a particular criminological theory. They engaged in independent research on their assigned theory, photographic image and the photographer (where known). Drawing on their research, student groups wrote an interpretive gallery label to accompany the archival photo.

Action

Identify specific, measurable criteria that encapsulate what success looks like for the assessment task. These criteria allow you to gauge whether students have met the learning outcomes and can form the basis of the rubric that may be used to evaluate student work.

Tips

• Break down the task into component skills or elements that can be individually assessed.
• Ensure that each criterion is measurable and can be described in terms of quality as well as quantity.
• Write criteria in student-friendly language that clarifies expectations and communicates them transparently to students with the assignment instructions.
• Include both product and process-oriented criteria to capture the entirety of the student’s effort and learning.
• Use the criteria to create a rubric with clear performance levels (e.g., exemplary, proficient, basic, needs improvement). 

Illustrative example

The team proposal and video challenge is divided into distinct tasks:

• a group contract
• a group proposal
• peer evaluation
• a group video pitch

The tasks build on one another following design thinking protocols (empathize, design, ideate, prototype) and each has a corresponding worksheet with explicit assessment criteria and performance levels to communicate to students what expectations of success look like.

Action

Incorporate structured moments within the assessment process for both peer and instructor feedback, as well as self-reflection, to deepen learning and improve outcomes. 

Tips

• Schedule specific moments in the timeline for feedback, such as after initial drafts or presentations. Scaffolding an authentic assessment allows you to increase the complexity of tasks as students progress or break a complex project down into smaller components. 
• Provide criteria or guidelines for constructive peer-to-peer feedback, emphasizing specificity, relevance, and encouragement. 
• Offer questions or prompts to guide reflective essays or journals, focusing on personal learning, ethical considerations, and application of feedback.
• Ensure there’s an opportunity for students to act on feedback received.

Illustrative example

The team proposal and video challenge includes peer review in the design thinking protocol at around midterm (once the prototypes are ready) so that the feedback can be incorporated into the final submission. Students also receive guidance on giving constructive feedback to their peers.

Action

Use insights gained from the feedback and reflection process to refine teaching strategies and enhance the design of future assessments.

Tips

• Review feedback and reflections to identify common areas where students struggled or excelled.
• Engage with colleagues or staff at the CTL to discuss potential instructional adjustments (e.g., you may want ideas about how to explain a sticking point in different ways).
• Treat assessment design as an ongoing process, continuously looking for ways to incorporate learning from each iteration. If students’ work doesn’t meet your expectations, consider providing your students with a checklist and exemplars of prior student work.
• Reflect on and keep a record of adjustments made and their impacts on student learning to inform future teaching practices.