Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning [Paperback]

Mary E. Huba (Author), Jann E. Freed (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0205287387 | ISBN-13: 978-0205287383 | Publication Date: December 13, 1999 | Edition: 1

Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses integrates current thinking and research regarding the learning of undergraduate students with principles of best practice in assessment and teaching. The book will help readers see the connection among three powerful trends in higher education today: the focus on learning and learners, the emphasis on the assessment of learning, and the need to continually improve what those in higher education do. Grounded in principles of constructivist learning theory and continuous improvement, the book provides opportunities for readers to make connections with what they already know about assessment, integrate new information with their current knowledge, and try new approaches to enhance the learning of their students. Readers will consider what it means to shift from a teacher-centered paradigm of instruction to a learner-centered paradigm. The book offers practical approaches to help formulate intended learning outcomes, gather feedback from students to guide instruction, and develop scoring criteria for guiding and evaluating student work. Readers will learn how to assess students' ability to think critically, address enduring and emerging issues and problems in their disciplines, and use portfolios to promote and evaluate student learning. Numerous questions to guide implementation, as well as examples from a variety of disciplines and institutions are provided. For higher education administrators or those in faculty development.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses integrates current thinking and research regarding the learning of undergraduate students with principles of best practice in assessment and teaching. The book will help readers see the connection among three powerful trends in higher education today: the focus on learning and learners, the emphasis on the assessment of learning, and the need to continually improve what those in higher education do. Grounded in principles of constructivist learning theory and continuous improvement, the book provides opportunities for readers to make connections with what they already know about assessment, integrate new information with their current knowledge, and try new approaches to enhance the learning of their students.

Readers will consider what it means to shift from a teacher-centered paradigm of instruction to a learner-centered paradigm. The book offers practical approaches to help formulate intended learning outcomes, gather feedback from students to guide instruction, and develop scoring criteria for guiding and evaluating student work. Readers will learn how to assess students' ability to think critically, address enduring and emerging issues and problems in their disciplines, and use portfolios to promote and evaluate student learning. Numerous questions to guide implementation, as well as examples from a variety of disciplines and institutions are provided.

For higher education administrators or those in faculty development.

About the Author

Mary E. Huba, is a professor in the College of Education at Iowa State University, where she also serves as Assessment Coordinator. Dr. Huba teaches courses, conducts research, and consults in the areas of assessment and program evaluation. She has helped several colleges and universities refine their assessment plans and develop their assessment programs.

Jann E. Freed, is a professor of Business Management and the division chair of the Behavioral Sciences at Central College in Pella, Iowa. Dr. Freed has co-authored two books and several articles on continuous quality improvement in higher education.

Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Allyn & Bacon; 1 edition (December 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0205287387
• ISBN-13: 978-0205287383
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #273,516 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

55 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great surprise, April 24, 2000

By 

Jim Formosa - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning (Paperback)

As a faculty developer and instructional designer I am constantly on the lookout for good resources. Every once in a while, a jewel turns up. I must say that this is a pure jewel. I have had my copy for about six eeks and have read it once and am in the process of rereading it a second time.

For faculty who really want a good understanding of student-centered instruction as well as assessment, I higly recommend this book.

It is replete with examples and the section on developing and using rubrics is exceptional.

I consider this book a must have for faculty member's professional library.

Jim

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Grant Wiggins, Warmed-Over, April 2, 2006

By 

Constant Reader (Gloucester MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning (Paperback)

I got this book after reading the reviews posted here, and found it rather disappointing. First, the authors have taken from Grant Wiggins the idea that 'authentic assessment' should include assignments that test 'real-world' skills and interpreted it *very* literally; as a result you will find many examples here from soil science, forestry and engineering, but almost nothing at all from the humanities (I teach history and found no applicable examples). Combined with this is an implicit argument that the point of education is preprofessional training; the authors embrace the idea that the student is a consumer purchasing a skill set from teacher-salesmen. On top of that, it's very clumsily written. I found this a narrow and discouraging view of student-centered learning, which at its best not only applies well to the humanities, but offers a wider perspective on the 'preprofessional' as well: missing here are the ideas of generating essential questions, any discussion of how to incorporate those into syllabus design, or a coherent bigger picture in which engaging assignments that duplicate 'real-world' work are fitted into a learning trajectory. There is, however, a fair amount of discussion of the practice of assessment techniques such as the portfolio etc., but this can also be found in books that apply to a wider range of educational topics. Readers, esp. those from the humanities, interested in learner-centered assessment *and teaching* would be better served by going straight to Wiggins instead of reading the excerpted and narrower version of his arguments presented here.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Different and Powerful Approach to Assessment, August 13, 2004

By 

Dr. (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Learner-Centered Assessment on College Campuses: Shifting the Focus from Teaching to Learning (Paperback)

Huba and Freed bridge the gap between assessment and student-centered teaching and learning. Throughout the text the authors include reflection questions to trigger thinking and changes in mental models. While the thrust of the book is conceptual, there are many practical suggestions for implementation in areas such as learning outcomes, rubrics, and other related areas of assessment. While compatible with other treatments of assessment, this is a unique perspective.