Call for Abstracts for 2022 Special Issue: Authentic Assessment

Authentic assessment gained popularity during the COVID pandemic, when remote teaching led many instructors to recognize the problems inherent in our objective testing practices. It is,  however, a response to an ongoing challenge in higher education: that of helping students bridge the gap from conceptual knowledge to applied knowledge—the move from being able to do well on a test to the ability to apply that knowledge in real-world situations. This special issue seeks to explore the ways we can use technologies to foster the use of authentic assessments in our classes and curricula. Possible questions and topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

• How does technology allow us to move beyond the classroom to engage students in the real-world problems that drive authentic assessment?
• What challenges do our current learning management systems pose for authentic assessment, and how do we work around those challenges, making tasks feel authentic in a possibly inauthentic technical context?
• What alternate technologies are available that support authentic assessment, that set real-world technical contexts for addressing real-world problems?
• How can we use technology creatively to set up authentic assessments for contexts that cannot actually occur for our students (e.g., from the microscopic to the historical)?
• How can we use technology to manage the time commitment involved in authentic assessments, for both instructors and students?
• How do we ensure equitable access to the technologies we use to support authentic assessment? And how does considering this equity reflect/inform/complicate the real-world problems students are addressing?

We invite 300-word abstracts submitted via email to facet@iu.edu (deadline extended to January 12, 2022) for data-driven articles, case studies, reflective essays, Quick Hits, or critiques. Please use the subject line “JoTLT Authentic Assessment Issue.” Abstracts will be blind reviewed and invitations to submit a full article will be sent the week of January 17, 2022. The full article will be due June 1, 2022, followed by double-blind review. The target date for publication is December 1, 2022. 

Manuscript categories are described below; please list the category of your submission so we know how to review it.

• Articles: data-driven formal research projects with appropriate analysis. These studies are either with a quantitative or qualitative emphasis and authors should indicate the appropriate domain. Acceptable articles establish a research rigor that leads to significant new understanding in pedagogy. 

• Case studies: an intense analysis of a specific teaching situation or problem that led to a solution. Case studies are well-grounded in the literature and should have the following components: description of the teaching situation or problem, solution or solutions attempted, quantitative or qualitative analysis of the effectiveness of the solution, reflection on the implications and possible generalization to other settings or populations. 

• Reflective essays: essays rooted in the literature that interrogate current practice, encourage experimentation, or draw novel conclusions. 

• Quick Hits: a brief description of an innovative teaching practice or an innovative use of a teaching or learning tool. Each quick hit should include a brief description of the activity and its context, necessary materials, including technology, step-by-step instructions for the activity, and evidence of effectiveness (i.e., what were the results of the activity that told you it worked well?).

• Critiques: a systematic and detailed assessment of a published empirical study, case study, or reflective essay. A critical evaluation should deconstruct the work, identify both strengths and weaknesses, and evaluate it in light of its purpose. 

For more information or questions, please contact the journal’s Editorial Team: Michael Morrone (Editor in Chief) or Christopher Young (Executive Editor) at josotl@iu.edu.

Special Issue Editor: Greg Siering, Indiana University-Bloomington

Established in 2012 by Indiana University’s Faculty Academy on Excellence in Teaching (FACET), the Journal of Teaching and Learning with Technology (JoTLT) is an international journal dedicated to exploring efforts to enhance student learning in higher education through the use of technology.