Learning Systems Paradigm and Meaningful Assessment: The Case of Assignment Design
When we engage in assessment, as faculty, staff, and members of an institutional community – what are we really doing? This webinar presents four different philosophical lenses through which assessment activities are viewed, building from the work of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA). These lenses inform models, modes, and approaches to how assessment is implemented at an institution, in a course, in a program, or for a student experience. Through interrogating mapping, alignment, and assignment design within a system of learning, this webinar will share practical examples, resources, and different conceptions for how to engage in meaningful assessment work as a shared activity designed to advance student learning.
Dr. Natasha Jankowski is Executive Director of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) and research associate professor with the department of education policy, organization and leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. She is co-author, along with her NILOA colleagues, of the books Using Evidence of Student Learning to Improve Higher Education, and, Degrees That Matter: Moving Higher Education to a Learning Systems Paradigm. Her main research interests include assessment, organizational evidence use, and evidence-based storytelling.
