Defining Authentic Assessment
One of the main aims of the Prof-ASSESS project has been to co-create a working definition of, and common language for framing, authentic assessment at TU Dublin. 'Authenticity' in assessment is a fluid, context-dependent term and our institutional definition needs to reflect the diversity of disciplines, practices, and perspectives that characterises our university. This working definition was iteratively developed as part of an extensive workshopping process that involved our partner programme teams and PSRBs, and members of the Authentic Assessment Community of Practice (CoP).
At TU Dublin, Authentic Assessments are:
"Meaningful challenging assessments designed to develop the attributes, capabilities and professional skills that prepare our students to become effective life-wide learners and responsible global citizens"
An accompanying glossary of key authentic assessment terms, underpinning this definition, can be found in here (link).
TU Dublin Authentic Assessment Framework
The framework is intended to embody a set of non-prescriptive, guiding principles to support lecturers and programme teams seeking to embed more authentic approaches to assessment in their modules and courses. IT is structured across the four dimensions of 'realism', 'cognitive challenge', 'feedback processes', and 'critical reflection'. You can read more about these four core concepts in our glossary (link)
The framework has been developed with input from the Learning, Teaching and Assessment team, Prof-ASSESS project partners, and members of the TU Dublin Authentic Assessment Community of Practice. Here's a timeline for the Development of the Framework (to enlarge, right click and select 'open in new tab'):
Prof-ASSESS Podcast EP1 - Introducing Authentic Assessment
Recorded as part of the Prof-ASSESS project at TU Dublin, and made possible by funding from QQI’s ‘Rethinking Assessment Initiative’, this podcast miniseries brings together academic staff, learning, teaching and assessment experts, and representatives from Professional, Statutory and Regulatory Bodies (PSRBs) to share their perspectives and ideas about assessing students in ways that have more relevance to their disciplines, ongoing learning, future professions, and life outside of university.
Hosted by Dr Jen Harvey and Dr Derek Dodd from the Learning, Teaching and Assessment (LTA) team at TU Dublin, to date we have published three episodes that centre, respectively, on defining authentic assessment, making use of it in practice, and fostering collaboration on assessment design among and between programme teams and other stakeholders, including PSRBs.
In episode one (36 mins) – ‘Introducing Authentic Assessment’ - we explore what authentic assessment is and how our understandings of it have changed, why it matters, and how an educator might get started with it. Featuring contributions from leading international experts Professor Sally Brown, Professor Kay Sambell, and Professor Lydia Arnold, in this first instalment of our series, we asked our guests about how they conceptualise authenticity in assessment, the value they see in it, and how it might advantage learners, educators, the professions and wider society.
Click on the image below to play.
