Kim Koh

Kim Koh, BA (Hons), MA, PhD

Positions

Professor

Werklund School of Education, Specialization, Learning Sciences

Contact information

Web presence

Phone number

Office: 403.220.4312

Location

Office: EDT810

Background

Educational Background

Doctor of Philosophy Measurement, Evaluation, & Research Methodology, The University of British Columbia, 2004

M.A. Clinical Psychology, National University of Malaysia, 1996

B.A. Hons. Psychology, National University of Malaysia, 1994

Biography

Dr. Koh is a Professor in Educational Assessment and Measurement, and serves as the Chair of Educational Studies in Learning Sciences at the Werklund School of Education. She grew up in Malaysia and had taught psychology, educational assessment, and research methods courses in various cultural contexts. She was a lecturer in clinical child psychology but went on to complete her doctoral study in educational measurement, assessment, evaluation, and research methodology at the University of British Columbia. Before joining the University of Calgary, she held appointments at the National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. At the University of Calgary, she has received numerous grants and awards in research and teaching. She teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses in classroom assessment. She is a supervisor cum mentor of graduate students in Learning Sciences. She also has supervised and mentored numerous undergraduate students to win their PURE awards and to complete their research projects in the summer. Dr. Koh has served as the program chair of Division D (Measurement and Research Methodologies) at the 2018 American Educational Research Association (AERA) annual meeting. She is an editorial board member of the Journal of Early Childhood Literacy and the Teacher Educator.

Professional & Community Affiliations

Dr. Koh offers her expertise in assessment to the schools in Canada, Singapore, and the Philippines. She has also provided her technical advice to the UNESCO’s literacy assessment project and serves as a consultant for the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language to develop the first Chinese Language Oral Proficiency Diagnostic Assessment Tool. 

  • Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE)
  • American Educational Research Association (AERA)
  • International Association for Educational Assessment (IAEA)

Research

Areas of Research

Scholarly Activity

Dr. Koh’s research focuses on authentic assessment task design and its impacts on students’ engagement in learning, teachers’ assessment literacy and professional development, problem-based learning in supporting preservice teachers' development of assessment literacy, and teachers’ conceptions and practices of assessment for and as learning across different sociocultural contexts. In addition, she is interested in the areas of test/survey development and validation, online assessment, and digital portfolios. Working with Professor Allan Luke, she was instrumental in leading a classroom assessment panel in the signature CORE I Research Program on Pedagogy and Assessment at the National Institute of Education Singapore. She also developed the Singaporean Diagnostic Reading Assessment, which serves as a formative assessment tool to enhance the quality of reading instruction for young children. Currently, Dr. Koh is working closely with Dr. Olive Chapman and a group of preservice teachers at the Werklund School of Education in the design and development of authentic assessment tasks and instructional materials in mathematics, with an eye toward building preservice elementary teachers' expertise in mathematics authentic assessment. She is also working with several inservice teachers to design and develop authentic STEM assessments for use with elementary schools. In collaboration with her colleagues at the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning, and the Werklund School of Education, her current Scholarship of Teaching and Learning project is focused on investigating undergraduate students' and instructors' perceptions of and experiences with the use of exemplars in online, blended, and face-to-face learning environments. 

Interests:
  • Classroom assessment and student learning
  • Problem-based Learning
  • Mixed-methods research methodologies
  • Educational and psychological measurement
  • Technology and teacher education
  • Teacher learning and professional development
  • Collaborative, school-based research
  • Comparative and international education

Participation in university strategic initiatives

Courses

Course number Course title Semester
EDER 600 LEC 05 05 Research Methodology Education 2021
EDER 604 LEC 08 08 Collaboratory of Practice 2020
EDUC 420 LEC 02 02 Issues in Learning & Teaching 2020
EDUC 456 SEC 04 S04 Assessment 2021
EDUC 456 SEC 11 S11 Assessment 2021

Projects

Current:
  • Building Preservice Elementary Teachers' Capacity in Mathematics Authentic Assessment (SSHRC Insight Grant)
  • Designing Authentic Assessments to Promote Girls’ Self-Efficacy and Interest in STEM Subjects (Alberta Education Research Partnership Grant)
  • Understanding Undergraduate Students' and Instructors' Perceptions of and Experiences with Exemplars (University of Calgary Teaching and Learning Grant)
  • Signature Pedagogies for Preservice Assessment Education: Does One Size Fit All? (University of Calgary Teaching and Learning Grant)

Awards

  • University of Calgary Graduate Students' Association Excellence in Teaching Award, 2023
  • University of Calgary Eyes High Postdoctoral Fellow Matching Fund , 2022
  • University of Calgary Eyes High Doctoral Recruitment Award , 2016
  • University of Calgary Teaching Award for Curriculum Development , 2014
  • Partner of Teachers Network Award, 2006
  • UBC Ph.D. Dissertation Award Nominee, 2003
  • Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship, 2002
  • R. Howard Webster Foundation Fellowship, 2002
  • UBC Graduate Fellowship, 2002

Publications