UCalgary scholars reimagine assessment of student learning at 2025 Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching

The University of Calgary Conference on Postsecondary Learning and Teaching will soon be underway. Many people from the UCalgary community and beyond will gather in the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning from April 28 to 30 to participate in presentations, workshops and talks led by a roster of keynote speakers. 

The 2025 conference theme is ‘reassessing assessment in postsecondary education’. This might sound familiar since assessment was the conference theme exactly ten years ago. The decision to circle back to reassess assessment stemmed from the many shifts that have transpired within education over the past decade. With the help of the pandemic, we know what it means to make an emergency shift to remote learning, while there has also been an unfolding of generative artificial intelligence, and attention to equity and justice. 

It’s no surprise that one of the conference keynote presentations will focus on reimagining assessment of student learning and will feature three members of the Assessment Principles Group (APG), created in March 2023, with a mission to draft a set of principles to guide the assessment of student learning at the University of Calgary. 

Drs. Barbara Brown, PhD; Natasha Kenny, PhD; and Adil Arshad, PhD(c) took a moment to answer a few questions related to what they will present on day two of the conference on April 29.

Tell us a bit about who you are and your area of research/interest.

Arshad: I’m an Educational Development Consultant at the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning and I’m currently completing my PhD in Educational Research at the Werklund School of Education. I also serve as a member of the Assessment Principles Group. My research focuses on narratives and experiences of international teaching assistants, students as partners, and authentic assessments.

Brown: I'm an Associate Professor and Associate Dean of Teaching and Learning at the Werklund School of Education. I serve as co-chair of the Assessment Principles Group. My program of research is focused on innovation in teaching, learning, and instructional leadership through research-practice partnerships and design-based professional learning models in education contexts.

Kenny: I’m the Senior Director of the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning (TI). I also serve as co-chair of the Assessment Principles Group. My research interests relate to educational leadership, well-being in higher education, the scholarship and practice of educational development, and the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL).

What were some unexpected discoveries that came out of the assessment principles development process?

All: Articulating assessment principles will position UCalgary among leading institutions, nationally and will demonstrate a commitment to impactful and future-focused education. One of the unexpected pieces was that few U15 institutions have developed clear assessment principles.

There was clear institutional support and vision to make this happen and we’ve been guided by input and voices from across the campus community. However, it’s taken more time than anticipated to ensure we engage in broad campus consultation and the process has been messy. There has seldom been a time when we know the answer or the exact right next step moving into a discussion.

The way our community discussed or defined assessment is much broader than one assignment or point of assessment. Student assessment includes the many practices and processes that students experience from admissions through to graduation.

For example, Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and Elders have helped guide student learning, instructional design, and assessment practices in many courses, focusing on reciprocity, relationships, the holistic student experience and connections to spirit and the land.

If you were to choose one thing that has had the greatest impact on assessment in postsecondary education in recent years, what would it be and why?

All: Embracing emerging technologies in learning. Whether it was moving to emergency remote teaching and learning during COVID or generative artificial intelligence, emerging technologies are shifting how we conceptualize assessment. These shifts have brought us back to broad, philosophical questions about assessment: What is assessment? What is the purpose of assessment? How do educators and students meaningfully and authentically engage with assessment practices?

What can conference attendees expect from your presentation?

All: We’ll share what we've done, what’s worked, what’s been messy and challenging, what’s been most important, and key lessons learned as we develop assessment principles at UCalgary. 

More importantly, we’ll invite attendees into this important conversation and to share their expertise, through multiple opportunities for engagement.

Is there anything else that you think people should know about you or your work?

All: This work is exciting and crosses faculty, unit and disciplinary boundaries.  Folks across our community have experience with assessment, regardless of their role. We’ve been both grateful and inspired by the conversations and processes we’ve engaged in to date.

Registration is now open for the in-person conference taking place at the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning from April 28 to 30.

Check out the rest of the keynote speakers and stay tuned for the full schedule.