The Design of Competency-Based Performance Assessment in E-Learning

Abstract

Though effort has been invested in designing powerful e-learning environments, relatively little attention has been paid to the design of valid en reliable assessments in these environments. This article focuses on the design of competency-based performanceassessment in e-learning. An approach to designing performance assessments in e-learning contexts is presented, that implies also an alternative view on instructional design, learning and assessment. The requirements for the learning environment are addressed. Examples from a virtual seminar are presented to illustrate the design approach. The article concludes with the identification of possible pitfalls related to the approach and gives directions for future research. Performance-based Peer Assessment in E-Learning 3The Design of Performance-based Peer Assessment in E-Learning Institutions of higher education are confronted with a demand for competency-based learning (CBL), which is expected to narrow the gap between learning in the educational setting and future workplace performance. In these competency-based learning environments learners are confronted with authentic, open problems and learning materials which have personal meaning for them and are presented in a variety of formats. Teaching methods are applied which arouse interest, activate prior knowledge, clarify meanings, and model appropriate learning strategies and reflective processes. The to-be-acquired knowledge and skills are supposed to be integrated in educational activities, so that learners recognise a resemblance with tasks in the real world (Stoof, Martens, van Merriënboer, & Bastiaens, 2002).Although many efforts have been made to implement CBL and assessment in face-toface education, it is still quite a struggle when it comes to the design of CBL in an electronic learning environment. Especially the design of more performance-based assessment is a weak component in e-learning. The emphasis is still much more on traditional testing than on assessment. The Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (1999) define test as "an evaluative device or procedure in which a sample of an learners' behaviour in a specified domain is obtained and subsequently evaluated and scored using a standardized process."Testing is often a process of gathering data and returning results, instead of a process of providing opportunities for learning. An assessment is a more general process of gathering data to evaluate a student. Data from several assessments are used to make a decision about a learner's performance level.In contrast to traditional tests, assessments are based on multiple products or processes, for example essays, reflection papers, oral assessments, process analyses, group products, and work samples. The assessment task is described in terms of a certainThe Design of Competency-based Performance-Assessment 4 performance that is perceived as worthwhile and relevant to the learner, and can therefore be defined as performance assessments (Wiggins, 1989). Performance assessment focu...

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