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PLA Assessor Training

Explore the theory and practice of assessing experience-based learning in this comprehensive training resource. Focus on academic rigor, ownership issues, validity concerns, and criteria for quality assurance. Get insights on documenting learning experiences and ensuring assessment integrity.

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PLA Assessor Training

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  1. PLA Assessor Training Prepared by the PLA Assessors Group

  2. Learning Experience Theory Assessing Experience-Based Learning • Focus on learning – not just experience • Learning based on: - experience and - academic theory

  3. Review: PLA Documentation • Prior Learning must be documented • Documentation provides alternative formats for candidates to provide evidence they have the knowledge and skills for a specific course’slearning outcomes.

  4. Concerns for Assessors • Academic rigor • Ownership • Targeted courses • Content and academic freedom • Assessment • Retake options • Validity issues • Experience • Documentation of learning

  5. Academic Rigor • Assessors are content experts • PLA portfolio aligned with learning objectives for existing courses • Critical: Learning outcomes in syllabi must clearly define what is valued.

  6. Ownership Issues • Departments determine which courses may be taken for PLA credit • This may depend on • Electives v major courses • Foundation v upper level courses • Transfer courses (e.g. preMedicine)

  7. Ownership Issues • Departments or assessors determine • Prerequisite prior experiences • Extent of contact between assessor and student

  8. Ownership Issues • Departments determine retake policies: • Retake entire submission • Retake selected parts • Retake maximum portion (%) • No retake

  9. Ownership Issues • Assessors determine • Content • Accepted forms of evidence • Form of assessment • Common VSU-PLA format for consistency in communicating expectations and outcomes

  10. Validity Issues • Validity of experience: • Serves as entry gatekeeper • Documentation of experience is supervised during PLA 2000 • Focus on formal evidence • Validity of learning: • Focus on personal performance • Focus on applications of content and theory in personal experience

  11. Criteria for Quality Assurance • Credit or its equivalent will be awarded only for learning, and not for experience. • Assessment should be based on standards and criteria for the level of acceptable learning. • Assessment should be treated as an integral part of learning, not separate from it, and should be based on an understanding of learning processes. • The determination of credit awards and competence levels must be made by appropriate subject matter and academic or credentialing experts. • Credit or other credentialing will be appropriate to the academic context in which it is awarded and accepted. • The program of study and the student’s major, i.e., core, upper-division, or graduate, of the student determines the “academic context.” Adapted From: Morry Fiddler, Catherine Marieneau & Urban Whitaker. Assessing Learning: Standards, Principles, & Procedures. Chicago: CAEL (Council for Adult and Experiential Learning), 2006.For more information visit: The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) at http://www.cael.org/.

  12. What Students Do Students must convince assessors that • They have relevant and appropriate experiences • They learned from those experiences • Learning is aligned with learning outcomes for the target course • Learning is grounded in relevant theory

  13. Students Step 1: Sources of Learning • Assess experience background • PLA 2000 instructor guides student in collecting and evaluating documentation of experiences as potential sources of leraning

  14. Evidence of Relevant Experience Students provide evidence to document relevant experiences. Relevant experiences could include: • Courses • Training programs (e.g. military) • Work experience • Community service • Personal study

  15. Students Step 2:Index of Learning • PLA 2000 instructor guides student to examine syllabi and learning outcomes of relevant course(s) • Student aligns prior learning with learning outcomes of target course(s)

  16. Students Step 3:Assessor Guidelines • Obtain assessor’s guidelines: • Learning outcomes • Defined levels of performance • Accepted/required forms of documentation • Suggestions for student

  17. Evidence of Learning Many ways to provide evidence of learning from experience: • Work products • Performance simulations • Interviews • Oral or written exams • Skills demonstrations • Original fine art • Computer software • Poems, books, stories

  18. Students Step 5:Portfolio Development • Students prepare portfolio • Align learning with learning outcomes for the course • Align learning with relevant theory • Align learning with grounding experience • Address assessment guidelines

  19. Students Step 6:Assessment • Assessors rate learning for each of the learning outcomes and defined criteria • ?? Students must receive a satisfactory rating on each component • ?? If rating for any component is not satisfactory, the student may be allowed one opportunity for revision and rescoring

  20. Role of Faculty Assessors • Help determine appropriate courses based on backgrounds of students • Develop assessment methods appropriate for the course • Provide syllabus and assessment guidelines • Evaluate student documentation, portfolios, etc.

  21. Assessors Step 1:Revise Course Syllabus • Provide Course Syllabus: • Course title and number of credits • Course description (from catalog) • Learning outcomes • Additional resources (if appropriate)

  22. Learning Outcomes Are Critical Learning outcomes: • Define expectations for the target course • Define observable behaviors • Must be clear and explicit • Should include all valued components (including process skills) If learning outcomes are not explicit, students cannot be held accountable.

  23. Learning Outcomes • Define observable behaviors • Yes: The student will demonstrate effective planning of …. • No: The student will know how to plan … • No: Planning instruction … • Define levels of performance • Low: knowledge, comprehension • High: analysis, synthesis, evaluation

  24. Assessors Step 2:Analyze Course Requirements • What prerequisite experience? • Gatekeeper to entry • Appropriate, equitable and defensible • What learning? • Elaboration of learning outcomes • Components to include in evaluation • What sources of evidence of learning? • What minimum levels for credit? • What retake policies?

  25. Define the Assessment Method Assessors Step 3: Assessment method depends on the course Exam e.g. Mathematics Essay e.g. English Portfolio e.g. Science Performance e.g. Fine Arts Traditional Behavioral

  26. Assessors Step 4:Develop Evaluation Instrument

  27. Possible Scoring Categories • Sources of Learning (Experiences) • Evidence of Learning • Learning aligned with Learning Outcomes • Learning aligned with Experiences • Learning aligned with Theory • Presentation: • Breadth / Depth / Significance • Introduction / Conclusion • Documentation / Citation of Source Material • Writing quality

  28. Assessors Step 5: Communicate Expectations • Ensuring rigor (breadth/depth) • Careful wording of learning objectives • Defining components of evaluation rubric • Ensuring validity of learning • Grounding in personal experience • Suggestions for students • What is valued • What is expected

  29. Questions?

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