Document Type
Making Assessment Useful
Publication Date
4-2008
Abstract
A team of library faculty from California State University, East Bay (CSUEB), will present an assessment-as-learning case study of an eighteen-month project which used authentic assessment practices to review curricula and strengthen teaching and learning in an established information literacy program.
CSUEB library faculty have taught a required information literacy credit course for first-year students for the past seven years. Their project provided an opportunity to learn about and apply authentic assessment across sections of the course; the project was designed to address multiple needs, including an accreditation imperative, curricular renewal, faculty development, and improved student learning. Assessment-as-learning techniques, including teacher narrative and student self-evaluation, were used to examine curriculum and assessment processes. Based on course learning objectives, the faculty developed a shared rubric to assess student portfolios and self-evaluation essays. The speakers will discuss both the methods they used to develop and vet the rubric, as well as the impact of this process on teaching and learning. This case study demonstrates how assessment-as-learning methodology was successfully used to meet the changing needs of users and better focus on curriculum, instruction, and the assessment of students' ability to evaluate and contextualize in the research process.