ABSTRACT
Students can act as participant designers in the creation and implementation of an authentic assessment. Authentic assessment typically means the mirroring of real-world task and expectations. This presentation will share an authentic assessment situation whereby a group of 11 ELT (English Language Teachers) postgraduate students were involved as designers, writers and peer reviewers of the project. The purpose of this study was to examine elements that determine students’ success as designers of eBook as an authentic assessment in a collaborative learning environment. The project aimed to design and publish an eBook with a goal to support other English teachers to integrate technology in their teaching. The project involved two cohorts in two different semesters. The lessons learnt from the first cohort was valuable in shaping the second cohort’s experience and outcomes of the eBook project. The students were engaged in a project-based learning with the intention to develop their skills of collaboration and communication while engaging in critical thinking and problem solving. Students were encouraged to make choices and to make their voices heard in order to coexist and contribute to the professional learning community with a mission to succeed in the project. Data was gathered via discussions, face-to-face, WhatsApp group and class Moodle as well as from reflections in student’s e-Portfolio. Students completed a self-appraisal questionnaire and were asked to draw a metaphor to reflect on their learning journey to complete the eBook. Students reported that the experience was helpful for them to become self-publisher while engaging in the design of a learning experience integrating technology. The use of authentic assessment allows for students to develop teamwork, become motivated and self-directed learners with autonomy. The outcome of this research will help the course designers and program developers to integrate authentic assessments relevant to the current needs of students.
KEYWORDS
Authentic assessment, Alternative assessment, Design thinking, eBook design, Technology enhanced learning