Holistic Assessment through the Learning Record
Brandi DeMont, a Lecturer at the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, had been searching for a better way to assess her students. The points-based system was not providing a satisfactory representation of student growth and holistic student performance. Her search led her to the Learning Record, an evidence-based self-assessment tool.
The Learning Record assesses five dimensions of learning: confidence and independence, skills and strategies, knowledge and understanding, use of prior and emerging experience, and reflection. Throughout the semester students gather evidence of their learning in a cumulative Word document — the Learning Record. They use this portfolio to self-assess their class performance and assign a grade.
Professor DeMont started using the Learning Record during summer 2016 in her sections of Engineering Communication, which carries the Ethics and Leadership Flag and Writing Flag. Second-year students come into the course with varying levels of writing and public speaking abilities and experience. The grading system needed to be flexible enough to accommodate all these differences.
Rosaline Chen, a student in the course, says, “Students get stressed out with earning as many points as possible, so they worry about getting the correct answers or feel frustrated when they lose points. But with the Learning Record, there are no ‘correct answers,’ and this gives students the freedom to be flexible and honest. Because the Learning Record is so individualized, I think it really allows students to learn in their own preferred learning style in addition to letting their personalities show.”
Students work on a variety of projects throughout the course: papers, group assignments, and presentations. They have a chance to edit and resubmit their assignments, a criterion of the Writing Flag, so there is “lots of room for error and growth,” Professor DeMont says. Informal writing assignments due weekly, “Think Pieces,” help students become comfortable with writing frequently — they are even encouraged to do free writing.
Professor DeMont likes teaching students early in the degree program so they can use the skills they develop through the Learning Record throughout the rest of college and hopefully in their careers. She hopes students will “develop a practice of being reflective…[and] extracting meaning from day-to-day life and moments,” she says.
Professor DeMont’s interpretation of the Learning Record involves three course strands, which are essential learning objectives: writing, public speaking, and emotional intelligence. The writing strand aligns with Writing Flag objectives, and the emotional intelligence strand connects to the Ethics and Leadership Flag.
In the Learning Record, Professor DeMont asks students to analyze their prior experience, learning strategies and challenges for each strand. Students submit the Learning Record three times. At the beginning of the course, for the midterm, and for the final, students are asked to apply the five learning dimensions (confidence and independence, skills and strategies, knowledge and understanding, use of prior and emerging experience, and reflection) to the three learning strands.
Students gather work samples and observations from in and outside class. This is essentially qualitative research, “but don’t tell them that!” Professor DeMont says laughingly. Students submit this evidence to track their own growth and easily assess areas where they need improvement. Especially for engineering students, she says this kind of analytical assessment helps them understand their learning process clearly. Some students have even refashioned their data into tables, putting an engineering spin on the Learning Record template.
“The structure of the Learning Record encourages you to go back and revisit your observations (the good and the bad), so you can really see how you’ve grown and changed over time. And, I think the Learning Record helped develop my habit of making mental observations,” Chen says. These observations are easier to articulate and communicate now.
These observations often help develop emotional intelligence, the capacity for recognizing and managing our feelings, as well as the feelings of others. As students think about how they interact with others, in relation to the three course strands, they start to recognize their leadership style and reflect on ethical decisions in their lives.
This ethical reflection is further developed in the Grand Challenges for Engineering project as groups of students consider some of the most pressing engineering issues in the 21st century.
The final Learning Record submission determines the entire class grade. Professor DeMont adjusts a student’s self-assessed grade when required, but this is not often. She provides detailed notes on why she changes any grade. Tellingly, in the ten sections she has taught so far using the Learning Record not one student has come to her and challenged the final grade.
The Learning Record allows students to stop trying to live up to a uniform standard, Professor DeMont says. It also allows her to focus on areas such as participation and the level of effort a student puts into the course.
The Learning Record is a private correspondence between the student and teacher, which allows students to open up about difficulties. Through the Learning Record Professor DeMont gets to better know her students: how stressed they are, how they cope in a competitive environment, and whether they are getting enough sleep. She can understand through the Learning Record how “their current lifestyle is affecting their performance as a student,” she says. This provides context for their growth in the class and allows her to see them as individuals.
Professor DeMont believes that learning does not end here. For her, learning is a lifelong process not contained within the four walls of a classroom or four years at UT. The Learning Record allows students to prepare for a process of life-long learning, while developing their writing and ethical decision-making abilities.
The Skills and Experience Flags are a unique and innovative feature of all undergraduate degrees at The University of Texas at Austin. The Flags are designed to provide the enriched education that all students will need to become effective future leaders in our society and a constantly evolving workplace.
Interested in learning about new assessment and rubric options, or the Flags in general? Contact the Center for Skills & Experience Flags office
By Laura Robinson, Graduate Assistant for CSEF
