The Vital Role of Assessment in Active Teaching and Learning

• In Event: Assessing Innovative Pedagogies for Diverse Learners

Abstract

Pedagogy in teaching political science and international relations in college classrooms has undergone considerable change over the last decade or so. To name just a few major trends, the advance of online instructions in public and private not-for-profit colleges and universities has opened higher education to a larger and more diverse student body; a growing number of students finish their academic career at a different institution than the one they started at; increasingly, professors are embracing active learning pedagogies to replace or supplement classroom lectures, including simulations, group work, games, problem solving, or flipped classrooms.
These new approaches reflect the reality of changing demographics in higher education. They also reflect a concern for rethinking college education to facilitate student learning and student success. Yet, frequently college professors embrace new pedagogical approaches assuming they are better – however defined and measured – without, however, knowing for sure that they facilitate learning more effectively than other approaches. This is particularly important because adopting new pedagogies requires resources, including professors’ time. It is therefore vitally important that we understand whether, and how, different pedagogic approaches work, which ones lead to better results for which student demographics, and which ones are less effective in facilitating student learning and success.
I propose to reflect on the critical importance of assessment, especially for innovative pedagogies including active teaching and learning. I will also discuss alternative ways in which professors may evaluate how successful their exercises and pedagogical approaches are. This is vitally important if we take higher education’s function to facilitate the academic success of diverse student populations. The paper will be informed by recent scholarship in the area of assessment in international relations and political science.

Author

• Kerstin Hamann, University of Central Florida