...of a workshop program on instructional strategies for adult learning programs requires the integration of performance-based assessments. Performance-based assessments are assessments that focus on specific performance markers in order to determine whether these are achieved following the completion of a program (PBA, 2002). Unlike direct testing methods commonly utilized in many educational settings, performance-based assessments are more flexible and allow for a view of performance, rather than expected testing outcomes, as the basis for determining learner outcomes.
For adult participants of a program designed to teach strategies for adult learning, the performance-based assessments need to consider three primary questions: 1. What will the participants know and be able to do when they complete the workshop? 2. What key habits of mind will they demonstrate? 3. What is the rationale for these outcomes. In creating an effective assessment process, then, it is beneficial to consider performance-based assessments for each of these three questions.
Assessment #1:...