1. Shift the emphasis from assessing product to assessing process

This approach places importance not only on the final product or outcome, such as an exam, final report or final essay, but the development that occurs through the learning process. A process-oriented approach focuses on evaluating the steps and strategies students engage in during the learning process, and primarily aims to assess how students think, approach problems/tasks, and reflect on their learning.

A major benefit of this approach to assessment is that it can give educators a better insight into students’ learning and foster students’ development of ‘metacognitive’ skills – that is, students’ ability to think about, and monitor and manage their own thinking and learning strategies.

An added benefit of placing more emphasis on process rather than the final product is that process is arguably more difficult for students to outsource.

Opening a window on students’ learning processes - CADMUS
Cadmus is a university-supported and widely-used online assessment creation environment that interfaces with the Canvas LMS. Students complete the entire assignment – from planning to final product – within this environment, providing academic teachers with a means to digitally ‘observe’ this process. This provides a transparent ‘audit trail’ of students’ thinking and learning processes which can be beneficial for both teachers and students. It permits better insights and allows for timely interventions and support in relation to the assessment. Cadmus can be used for a range of written assessment types such as essays, literature reviews, lab reports and take-home exams.

Examples

Self-reflection on learning in the subject (or learning journal)

To encourage students to think about their learning in the subject (metacognition), and assess their critical reflection and metacognitive skills, incorporate self-reflection tasks (written or video recording) that ask students to reflect on what they’ve learnt in the subject so far in relation to the subject’s intended learning outcomes (ILOs): How are they progressing in relation to the ILOs and what do they feel confident about? What areas remain challenging or confusing, and what is their plan for addressing this?

Process notebooks

In practical or practice-based subjects, ask students to keep notes and document the steps they are taking, what they’ve done and what they have learnt. This will allow you to assess the process of inquiry, experimentation or application, rather than just the outcome.

Case Studies

For more practical examples of this strategy, see also the following case studies:

Assessing process and product in a constructively aligned subject

Designing continuous assessment to support experiential and project based learning