The document discusses how to support collaborative knowledge building through authentic assessment in online education. It explores using authentic tasks, contexts, and assessments to encourage collaborative knowledge construction. Two case studies, a virtual benchmarking project and an online teacher education program, showed collaboration was rare when course structures did not support it or assessment was individual. Meaningful collaborative tasks, social technologies, and assessment connected to collaboration are needed to promote authentic learning and assessment.

1. How to support collaborative
knowledge building through authentic
assessment in online education?
Hanna Teräs
Irja Leppisaari
Marjatta Myllylä
Leena Vainio
Thursday, March 8, 2012

2. Collaborative knowledge construction &
team work skills are in demand
Traditional online learning
Weak sense of Assessment supports
community only individual
performance
Thursday, March 8, 2012

3. “More
authentic Higher Education
learning, more Evaluation Council
working life oriented
approaches, versatile
use of social media,
better student
engagement and
ownership through National Assembly For Wales / Cynulliad Cymru
collaborative learning
and knowledge
construction, please!”
Thursday, March 8, 2012

4. Authentic Authentic Access to expert Multiple Collaborative
performances knowledge
context tasks perspectives construction
Authentic e-Learning
Authentic
assessment Scaffolding Articulation Reflection
Images starting from context: vgm8383, Bodum, Destiny’s Agent,
Brian Hatchcock, Commons, Minette Layne, Robert Higgins,
James F Clay, clairity (Flickr)
Thursday, March 8, 2012

5. Authentic Authentic Access to expert Multiple Collaborative
performances knowledge
context tasks perspectives construction
Authentic e-Learning
Authentic
assessment Scaffolding Articulation Reflection
Images starting from context: vgm8383, Bodum, Destiny’s Agent,
Brian Hatchcock, Commons, Minette Layne, Robert Higgins,
James F Clay, clairity (Flickr)
Thursday, March 8, 2012

6. How to develop assessment methods
that better support collaborative
knowledge construction?
Thursday, March 8, 2012

7. Thursday, March 8, 2012

8. Two cases
Virtual benchmarking Tampere University of
project: 20 courses Applied Sciences:
internationally online teacher education
• True collaboration rare •Appreciation of diversity
• Simple cooperation • Perspective of a team
Why the difference?
Thursday, March 8, 2012

9. Collaboration in the
two cases
Thursday, March 8, 2012

10. VBM: challenges
• Opportunities for
group and pair work
but course structures
do not support
meaningful
collaboration
• Simple cooperation
• Linking discussions to
learning objectives
• Participation in
discussions not
rewarded or graded.
Thursday, March 8, 2012

11. VBM: what promotes
collaboration?
• Wikis and
synchronous tools
• Purposeful tasks
• Tasks that cannot be
completed without
group effort.
Darcy L. McCarthy
Thursday, March 8, 2012

12. TAOKK:
past experiences & research
• Mere introduction of
collaboration tools: no
improvement
• Sense of community
essential but not
automatically formed
• Teachers find new roles
challenging
• Online discussion
forums: creation of
community slow and
weak
image: m d d
Thursday, March 8, 2012

13. Social technologies
Ongoing dialogic
as learning
assessment
environments
A new approach
to teaching
Principles of
authentic learning
faculty development Team learning
Progressive inquiry Networking
model
Thursday, March 8, 2012

14. Assessment
in the two
cases
image: andercismo
Thursday, March 8, 2012

15. There is a need to
assess the entire
VBM learning process
but it’s still in the
planning stage.
We need
self, peer
and group
Even in group evaluation
There are good
tasks, assessment but we’re
examples: e.g.
is based on not there
working life
individual quite yet.
representatives
performance.
taking part in the
assessment.
Thursday, March 8, 2012

16. Development directions
More diverse
assessment methods
Integration into
authentic tasks
Portfolios & Better working
social technologies life integration
Image by jakebouma
Thursday, March 8, 2012

17. TAOKK
• Progressive inquiry in
teams
• Ongoing and
dialogue based, not Image: ccarlstead
separately at the end
• Digital social
narratives: learning
process as a
continuum
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18. Conclusions
and future
research
Thursday, March 8, 2012

19. • Meaningful collaborative tasks and social technologies promote
authentic assessment.
• Assessment must be tightly connected with collaborative knowledge
construction.
• Universities recognize new roles of teachers & new learning
environments, but assessment has not been renewed accordingly.
• Continuous professional development of teaching faculty is needed.
•This requires wider attention also on management and policy making
levels.
Image by wstryder
Thursday, March 8, 2012

20. Thursday, March 8, 2012

21. FUTURE RESEARCH
How can social technologies
advance authentic assessment?
Collaborative knowledge
construction - facilitation -
assessment?
image: neilalderney123
Thursday, March 8, 2012

22. Thank you!
hanna.teras@tamk.fi
Thursday, March 8, 2012