Engagement and the Role of SoTL in Assessment Change

This study follows a network-based Assessment Redesign Project at a Canadian university to investigate engagement and sustained implementation. The following strategies were employed in the project: mini-grants, embedded support, a community of practice, and social networks. Assessment facilitators worked in discipline clusters to achieve mutual goals for assessment reform targeted at the authentic assessment of critical thinking and problem-solving. Interviews were conducted with nine of the 25 project members one-year post-implementation. The study adopted a motivational theoretical lens to investigate how the experience of the Assessment Redesign Project affected motivation and the continued adoption or propagation of assessment strategies. Participants commented on how helpful the embedded support had been in building their assessment skills or knowledge. The mini-grants were used (in some cases) to fulfil scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) goals. All of those engaged in SoTL demonstrated intrinsic motivation for assessment change and had propagated assessment techniques or activities into other courses. In the few cases where motivation was purely extrinsic, there was no SoTL or continuation of assessment activities. This study highlights the links between SoTL and the longer-term impact of the Assessment Redesign Project. Suggestions are provided for institutions wishing to replicate outcomes from the project.