Student Panel: What Makes Major Assignments & Exams Meaningful?
Since March 2020, we have adjusted our approaches to assessment to account for the phases of the pandemic and provide students with fair opportunities—in the face of often-overwhelming challenges—to show us what they've learned (and to prompt learning in the first place). With all these adjustments, lessons learned, and persisting questions, we consider the future of assessment: not just the type or kind of assessments, but also how we integrate them into our curricula, how we prepare students for them, and how they align (or don't) with historical, current, or emerging values and goals in our disciplines. This panel will consider from the student perspective what makes major assignments and exams meaningful, especially within our current teaching environments. The student panelists will discuss instructional strategies that have enhanced their learning, increased their confidence, and reduced their anxiety. Their perspectives will add a rich layer to our ongoing assessment of assessment itself in higher education.