2024 UniSA Teaching and Learning Breakfast Series

Title

Right, real, focused: How authentic assessment can function in higher education

Abstract

Assessment is the primary means of determining and supporting student achievement. There are long-standing challenges, however around effective task design, useful feedback, and integrity of student achievement results. New opportunities and challenges have recently emerged due to rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. Higher education needs to hold frank, productive discussions around how to design and implement high-quality assessment that meets the needs of key stakeholders.

Authentic assessment presents a productive way forward. Universities are increasingly framing authentic assessment as a way of addressing both persistent and emerging challenges. But what is authenticity? How do we express it through our assessment task design? What are the broader issues we need to address to assure authenticity, quality, and focus?  

In this seminar, Chris Deneen will productively explore authenticity in higher education assessment. We will come to definitional clarity on what constitutes authentic assessment, examine how authentic assessment may address recognised challenges, identify potential hazards, and explore ways to sustain the development of our knowledge beyond this session.

Presenter

Associate Professor Chris Deneen is an Enterprise Research Fellow with UniSA Education Futures. He leads the Complexity Leadership & Change in Complex Systems research stream at the C3L Research Centre. A/Prof. Deneen’s work contributes to essential, future-focused understandings of assessment and feedback in higher education. His current program of research uses theoretical and psychometric modelling to advance our understanding of how technology interacts with assessment and feedback. The impact of A/Prof. Deneen’s research has been recognised nationally and internationally. A/Prof Deneen has authored over sixty publications, principally in high-impact journals. He has served as lead investigator on multiple research projects bringing in approximately 2.9 million AUD in external, competitive funding, and he regularly gives invited keynotes at national and international conferences. A/Prof. Deneen is a consultant to multiple national and international bodies, including the Singapore Ministry of Education and Australia’s TEQSA.