From University to Workplace: Assessing Experiential Learning Conclusions

What the Policy Internship program at Deakin University shows is that it is possible to design a learning environment that is collaborative, constructive and responsive to the student's needs in the workplace. The challenge has been to design an assessment regime that suits that learning environment, one that allows the students to firstly understand an evaluation framework and then apply it to their own circumstances in the workplace. The assumption is that if students are able to learn how to assess they can then apply it to their own experience. Consequently, preparation for learning is an important element of an assessment regime in experiential learning. What the Deakin program does is draw together the three major elements of preparation, collaboration and reflection into a holistic approach to assessment.

First preparing students to develop assessment criteria for their own experiential learning requires that they in fact have an initial experience of assessing the work of another. This also means that they be allowed to develop the critical skills required to apply an assessment regime. At Deakin the "Working with Government" subject is designed to engage the students in an evaluation that allows them to produce a final task that applies a range of assessment approaches. By progressively evaluating different aspects of a public policy document, they build the skills necessary for use in the ensuing workplace task.

Secondly through the collaborative process of negotiating a research contract the students are able to set down the basic goals for their placement. These goals are a combination of setting objectives, devising criteria and developing action plans that can be formulated in a formal learning contract. Using the skills obtained in the "Working with Government" unit the students are able more easily to focus on a range of approaches to their goal development. By formulating these goals in conjunction with workplace and academic supervisors the student not only develops a guide for progress in the project but also a set of criteria for a final assessment of the placement.

Thirdly by engaging in a reflective approach to their experiences in the workplace students are able to focus on the broader policy framework of their placement. In this way they link their previous theoretical study of public policy to their specific case study. The emphasis is on critical reflection where there is a recognition, a judgement and a justification of the student's ideas and actions. The final reflective essay synthesizes the evidence they develop in their journals or diaries into a sustained argument about the issues or problems they have faced.

The Deakin Policy Internship can be seen as a model of experiential learning that allows students to conceptualize, synthesize and integrate an assessment process into their planning and implementation in the workplace. Through preparation, collaboration and reflection students and supervisors alike can build an assessment regime that has the imprimatur of all concerned. In this sense assessment becomes an integral part of the experiential learning.

اخر الاخبار

اخبار العتبة العباسية المقدسة

بالصور.. ملايين الزائرين تحيي ليلة زيارة الأربعين عند العتبتين المقدستين

الموكب الثقافي العام ينظم أنشطة فكرية وجلسات حوارية لزائري الأربعين

فريق موسوعة أحيوا أمرنا يجري حوارات توثيقية دولية مع زائري الأربعين

معهد القرآن النسوي يقيم ختمات قرآنية لزائرات الأربعين في الهندية

المزيد

الآخبار الصحية

حجم جزء محدد من الجسم يعكس الصحة العامة ومخاطر الأمراض

تفشي عدوى بكتيرية بفرنسا يحتمل ارتباطها بنوع من الجبن الطري

دراسة حديثة تكشف ما تفعله الشاشات بـ"قلوب الأطفال" !

متلازمة المبنى المريض.. هكذا يتحول تكييف الهواء إلى خطر صحي ؟؟

المزيد

الآخبار التكنلوجية

كيف تتعامل مع حرارة الطقس أثناء القيادة؟

لماذا يجب عليك إيقاف تكييف السيارة قبل إطفاء المحرك؟

دراسة تكشف سببا محتملا وراء زيادة خطر إصابة الأطفال بالتوحد

تشيلي.. العثور على متحجرة حيوان ثديي صغير من زمن الديناصورات

المزيد

مواضيع ذات صلة

Case 2 Online portfolio and group multimedia project

Results, analysis and discussion Case 1 Online role play

Research methodology

The research context

Literature review Characteristics of good assessment practice

Using Online Environments to Promote Assessment as a Learning Enhancement Process

Utilizing an ICT Tool for Moderating, Marking and Managing Assessment in Large Tertiary Classes Conclusions

Response to feedback

Implications for teaching in large classes

Unit coordinator perspective

Tutor perspective

Findings Student perspective