Student assessment and how we can never just teach to learn

For students to be successful in an unstructured knowledge economy they must not only be able to implement their knowledge, but also be able to assess solutions to determine their appropriateness or chance of success. 

I believe that implementation of theoretical or taught knowledge alone cannot drive, or be expected to drive, a knowledge economy forward. What we learn and understand depends on the context within which we learn it. I think knowledge gained in one situation cannot be directly applied to another, but might offer very good hints as to the appropriate course of action. Rather I think it is knowledge combined with critical assessment of its implementation that ultimately adds value. Furthermore, this assessment or evaluation should be done iteratively and the gained insights applied to further advance the process.

I think “Teaching” and “Learning” in Higher Education is often grouped together simply as “Teaching and Learning” for expediency’s sake. There are probably many academics who regard them as equal, specifically with the understanding that teaching = learning (in that logical order). For me, this is far from the truth because teaching can at best facilitate one part of learning (and not the most important part).  In mathematically rigorous subjects I think the one aspect of learning which is most important, but almost impossible to teach, is self-assessment.

Self-assessment speaks to having confidence in your knowledge and being able to critically evaluate it in order to further or improve it by identifying areas where your knowledge is still lacking. It also implies ownership of one’s knowledge and one’s learning. With the realization of the importance of self-assessment in place, the (higher) education system becomes an accessible library of knowledge instead of a battery hen force-feeding factory. 

In my opinion the realization of true self-assessment is also the biggest hurdle when moving from high school into tertiary education. In mathematics this is the shift from knowing the “right” answer to motivating the rationale behind, and the steps used, to obtain an answer. 

However, the self-assessment cannot stop there. It has to be entrenched in the act of facilitating the mastering of a subject by equipping students with the tools to critically evaluate their own progression outside of formal assessments. I think the biggest obstacle to this entrenchment is once again the current methods of assessment by higher education institutions. 

For timetabling purposes subjects are compartmentalized into modules. Each of these teaching modules are individually assessed in order for the student to progress.  Of course the goal is that these modules should together form a coherent body of knowledge. However, I believe it would pay to remember that knowledge is not modular, but rather a continuous flow. Unfortunately in the modern era lecturers’ teaching and research work are often experienced to be competing interests and time spent on improving teaching and learning is time taken away from research. Thus I believe there is a real danger that teaching is becoming even more modular as most lecturers probably only consider the specific module content in preparing lectures and not necessarily exactly how the module fits into the bigger scheme: this is mostly left to the programme design committee. Thus as teaching becomes more modular the knowledge flow is interrupted since students experience disjointed facts and pockets of knowledge. A direct consequence of the interrupted flow is that deduction (and intuition) is hindered and as a consequence the modular knowledge is more memorized than truly understood. Furthermore, since each module is assessed in isolation, there are little incentives for students to integrate knowledge.  

To encourage self-assessment and integration of knowledge I believe there must be a place in every degree programme where the overall body of knowledge is assessed as well as feedback on the learning experience is given.  One way of achieving this is to have an oral examination, where the student is encouraged to share what they have learned as well as understood during the programme.  Such an oral examination could serve as preparation for any interviews that the potential employee will undergo in the future.