At this challenging juncture, college faculty find themselves facing two distinct directions regarding assessment: return to 1980s practices with blue books and scantrons, or move forward with a new approach to measuring learning. That is the core premise behind the Assignment Redesign Cohort—how we evaluate student learning must adapt to the modern era. A recent Inside Higher Ed article by Kathryn Palmer concurs - AI Detectors Are Out, New Assessments Are In.
When we started the Google Faculty Groups, the reality Tricia Bertram Gallant writes about in The Opposite of Cheating: Teaching for Integrity in the Age of AI helped shape our approach. Through the different GFG boards, we aim to build community amongst college faculty to discuss advancements in their disciplines, their various campus roles, *and* the challenges of the modern collegiate classroom. We also host biweekly events bringing academic voices together to share expertise and strategies for navigating today's opportunities and challenges.
In July, we launched the final piece of this three-pronged approach: engaging faculty through Assignment Redesign Cohorts (ARCs). ARCs use a month-long cohort model to reflect, evaluate frameworks, and redesign an assignment or assessment. This process models a repeatable workflow for course redesign. Centering the work of researchers and practitioners, we provide a path that directly addresses the conundrum Palmer’s article posits.
If you are looking for support in changing your approach to assessment, consider joining us in the August cohort, it’s not too late to jump in. If now is not the time, consider joining us in September.
