Assessment is central to learner motivation as well as providing accreditation. The introduction of different assessment systems has a major impact on education and training processes. In recent years, a new pedagogic paradigm has emerged placing the learner as the central subject in the construction of their own learning. At the same time there is an increasing trend of employers recruiting new staff based on skills and competences, rather than just qualifications. And this period has seen the increasing use of technology for teaching and learning.
The affordances provided by digital devices, tools and apps, increase opportunities for the implementation of assessment for learning which meets learners’ needs. Digital technologies also allow access to some of the difficult to describe, or measure, skills and dispositions, which underpin vocational education. These ‘invisible’ attributes contribute towards learners ‘becoming’ (i.e. attainment of an occupational identity) as they progress towards building their personal knowledge, skills and competences profile.
Although research is still in the course of analysis and publication, it would appear that the Vocational Education and Training sector had more problems than Higher Education and schools in the turn to digital in repose to the Covid `9 crisis (see e.g. Jisc Learner Digital Experience Insight Service). Anecdotal evidence suggests that the reponse was uneven with some institutions and teachers embracing new technologies for learning with others struggling.
Through the eAssessment Erasmus+ project we are researching the use of eAssessment and particularly how to support teachers in Vocational Education and Training to introduce eAssessment with their students. We have produced a short questionnaire (about five minutes to fill in) looking into the digital capabilities of teachers and trainers, focusing on the areas relevant to digital assessment.
Can you help us by filling in the survey, This is the link to the English language version on Survey Monkey.
It is also available in German, Portuguese, Greek and Lithuanian. You can find links to these language versions on the eAssessment project website here.