Assessing skills in Higher Education: the relevance of experiential learning, rubrics and collaboration with external partners

Abstract

In the Information era, where our questions seem to be answered just by typing a few words in a search engine, skills and competences have been introduced in Higher Education as integral part of any syllabus. Thus, teachers are dealing not only with the way to implement methodologies that ensure their development –without forgetting contents-, but also with how to assess those skills and competences in an appropriate and fair way. Bearing this in mind, and as part of a broader research on skills training in Higher Education by means of Experiential Learning activities, we have focused here on the use and diversification of several assessment methods and tools in some of the experiences carried out during the last academic year and the first two terms of the present one. The aim of this communication, then, is to share the reflections of teachers and students on the following topic: is it relevant and helpful to obtain feedback from external partners and colleagues and, if so, why? Students and teachers from different areas in the School of Social Sciences and Communication, Universidad Europea de Madrid, were invited to discuss the influence of collaborating entities in the Experiential Learning activities, not only because of the fact that students need to cope with real situations, but also because those external partners, when asked to provide feedback, can take into account all the aspects they consider important for professionals in the field. Participants in the interviews and brief surveys belong to the Degrees in Pre-primary and Primary Education, International Business, Audiovisual Communication and related ones. The use of rubrics to specify the items that are observed and evaluated, either for self- and peer-assessment in the case of students or external assessment in the case of the collaborating entities, was brought up to the discussion, since the amount of time and effort devoted by teachers to those tools is expected to find a correlation with unambiguity and clearness when providing or obtaining feedback and marks. Also, the use of rubrics is analysed as an essential tool to assess skills, as long as items and criteria are clear and adequate. That is, if teachers include communication skills in the rubrics, items such as correct pronunciation, fluent discourse and good use of non-verbal skills might be specified; if teamwork is to be assessed, then the ability to assume different roles, to contribute to the team objectives and to participate in the solution of possible conflicts need to be present. Finally, Experiential Learning offers a wide range of possibilities to teachers, from short activities with a very specific goal to wide interdisciplinary projects with general goals that frame several tasks. Some of the chances will be mentioned in this communication as examples, using the experiences of teachers in designing courses’ syllabus as well as of students in their internships and in the different courses they have completed so far. Results will show how a good definition of the skills assessed and the participation of entities such as companies and NGOs can help teachers face this challenge.