Participants at the January think tank, facilitated by PTF Ashley Castleberry from the College of Pharmacy, discussed effective approaches to assess learning beyond initial student reactions, primarily using Kirkpatrick’s Taxonomy, a framework for understanding the depth of different learning assessments. The discussion centered on transitioning from Reaction assessments, or students’ instant perceptions, to deeper assessments of Learning, Behavior, and Results over time.
Here are some ideas and discussion points generated by participants for each level of Assessment in Kirkpatrick’s Taxonomy:
- Reaction: In midterm feedback and reflection assignments, change questions such as “Did you like the class?” to “Did the class meet the stated learning outcomes?” This approach pushes students to evaluate their learning more objectively, instead of focusing purely on their personal enjoyment.
- Learning: Team-based learning (TBL), roleplaying, and case studies were identified as effective ways to assess knowledge application. Metacognitive moments, even brief ones, throughout a course can also help gauge learning, such as “Why are we [learning/doing/discussing] this?”
- Behavior: Participants identified Behavioral assessments to be much needed in their courses, and more difficult to perform than the first two. There were three main areas that were discussed:
- Self-reflection can be a powerful assessment tool to help students understand how what they have learned can affect their futures. Some self-assessment prompts included: “Based on what you’ve learned or done in this class, what might you do to make your next [team/paper/class/assignment] better?” “Did you complete the readings?,” or “How much time did you spend on the assignments?
- Case-Based Behavioral Assessments: Real-world assessments, such as Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs) in pharmacy programs, measure how students apply their knowledge in a professional situation. These organized evaluations offer students a real-world opportunity to exhibit practical abilities.
- Experiential Learning: Assignments where students are charged with using their newfound skills and knowledge in extracurricular applications give them the opportunity to practice what they’ve learned and see how they may apply it in the future. Labs, while not necessarily experiential learning, can also be designed to serve this function.
- Results: Participants observed that this type of assessment is the hardest, as much of the work which would be assessed happens long after the course is completed. However, facilitator Ashley Castleberry noted that within the College of Pharmacy (and other medical and professional programs), licensing and professional exams can be one such assessment. Others noted that capstone courses, especially those focusing on independent and/or team-based projects, can fulfill this role.
This Think Tank emphasized the need to focus on higher-level Behavior and Results assessments to guarantee that skills are applied in the long run, especially as students enter clinical, medical, and other licensed professions. Strategies such as peer evaluation, reflection, and experiential learning, all of which have a variety of purposes and serve many needs, can also be useful strategies for achieving these goals.