Virtual session 3 Evaluating learning and competences

In my previous post I was really waiting to see, how the discussion about assessing the learning during the 21 century will end.
Yesterday we had a virtual session (we start really to own Adobe Connect and it feels soooo nice) about Evaluating learning and competences.
One first challenge in our presentation was to use Prezi. A new, but quite interactive program, which stimulates at least our creativity. Creativity in my opinion has to be part of teaching, so I don´t regret of choosing Prezi as a tool. I have in any case some concerns about our video about SOLO taxonomy. My concerns regard the vocational point of view. I think for the next presentation we should take care about the vocational point of view (when putting a video there). 
You can check our work following this link: How to assess learning
The other groups spoke about:
What are the central features of competence based qualifications and vocational skills demonstrations?and What is the role of the student's self-evaluation in vocational education?



Competence based qualifications were new things for me: it seems also that in our break session only one had experiences with specialist in competence basic qualification.
The pro in CbQ is that it prepares people straight for labor market (even though the students are adults) and the con is actually the really short training period that students are going to get. The students have to be demonstrated during a practical exam. So candidates are evaluated with a scale from 1-3 and the candidate gives also a self -evaluation.
I found that really strange: does each student need an evaluation? And what kind of evaluation? We spoke in our presentation about this: we read quite much academic material about how to assess learning. I found the material good in theory but not so effective, when they were speaking for example about the different kind of tests you could give to a large or small class,
Assessment in learning is important both for teachers and students:  Students need to be evaluated all the time, but we should use correct tools. Teachers need to be monitored during the whole process. Portfolio is a good thing to use, and now that I am writing one it seems to have logic. 
Through this teachers and other students can read, comment, give feedbacks. So the students are actually stimulated all the time and willing to learn. The motivation is also really a big factor in self-evaluation and we all agree that self-evaluation is not always easy when we speak about teenagers who don´t know how they feel about something they made. So, sometimes it´s just a matter of methodology.  Through games you might reach them and they might evaluate what they have learnt. 
Self-evaluation anyway requires suitable method and should be qualitative: I couldn´t agree more that self-evaluation is really a big part of of the job learning. It motivates the students and lets them to find the strength and - why not - the passion to go on. 
I should also do my own self-evaluation, editing my personal study plan. Read it again and laugh aloud and write  over and over. 

During the session I found very useful to go through this: we need to evaluate ourselves and others in order to learn together, in order to be ready to the labor market in practical issues.

This is really lifelong learning.


References:
- Biggs J., Teaching for Quality Learning at the University,  Formulating and clarifying curriculum objectives, Open Univ Pr; November 2007 edition, Society for Research Into Higher Education. 
- Jarvis P., Adult Education & Lifelong Learning abstract Assessing and Evaluation Routledge Falmer 2004 
-Wankat P., Oreoviz F. Teaching Engineering, chapter 11 Testing, Homework and Grading 
https://engineering.purdue.edu/ChE/AboutUs/Publications/TeachingEng/chapter11.pdf