Learning Scenario

You are developing a course on emergency management for senior emergency managers at the city, state and federal level. Because the managers need to plan for, mitigate and respond to disasters, they need to develop not only a cognitive understanding of what needs to be done, but they must also have a behavioral understanding or intuition on what they should do. Therefore, you are planning to use project-based learning throughout the course to ensure learners have an opportunity to apply what they’ve learned and to reinforce the concepts discussed. So, you have created activities to have the emergency managers create the protocols, strategies, and procedures they will need to manage emergencies for their community. 

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Authentic Assessment Description

As outlined by Indiana University Bloomington, an authentic assessment is when the learner applies what they learned to a new situation, using their own judgment to determine the relevant information and skills. The assessment should provide an opportunity for the learner to practice the skill, check resources if needed, and get feedback on and refine performances and products. (Indiana University Bloomington 2019)

For this scenario, we’ll have the instructor review the activity purpose, timeline and expectations. The assessment will be grounded in project-based learning and the learners will do their own research on their communities needs, hazards, mitigation plans and strengths. They will then be tasked with developing the protocols, strategies and procedures needed for their community that tie back to the emergency management elements that are being taught in the course.

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How This Learning Scenario Assessment is Authentic

The assessment for this learning scenario is authentic as it focuses on complex real-world situations and it meets the definition of an authentic assessment according to Grant Wiggins (1998), as it is:

  • realistic and simulates an emergency manager’s work life,
  • requires judgement and active participation from the learner, and
  • it assesses the learner’s ability to use all their knowledge and skills to complete the project.

The assessment ties to project-based learning in that learners work on realistic problems and solve them as they would in real life, and it provides the learners with increased control over their learning as the instructor serves as a facilitator. According to the Buck Institute for Education, “In Project Based Learning, the project is the vehicle for teaching the important knowledge and skills student need to learn. The project contains and frames curriculum and instruction.” (Buck Institute for Education 2019).

This project is the vehicle for education and since it is realistic and applies to real life situations that the emergency managers will face, this is an authentic assessment that is project-based.

References

Photo Reference:

Pixabay. (2019). Assess Wooden Scrabble Tiles. Pexels. Retrieved from https://www.pexels.com/search/assess/

Presenter Media (2019). Construction Tools Cross Icon. Retrieved from https://www.presentermedia.com/search.php?target=search&type=all&terms=tool%20icon&searchtype=&searchmonth=&orig=sb&start=0

Proxyclick Visitor Management System. (2019). Two Men Sitting Facing Flat Screen Monitors. Pexels. Retrieved from https://www.pexels.com/search/adults%20blond%20hair%20chairs/