Assessment and ESD – which way forward?

Abstract

The objectives of a learning activity can be categorised into three domains (also referred to as the 3Hs): the HEAD (the cognitive processes), the HEART (the affective reactions), and the HANDS (the psychomotor skills). How do we get feedback about learning? This is particularly relevant for Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and its transformative agenda. To answer this question, we need a good knowledge about the assessment OF, FOR and AS learning. On considering the theoretical frameworks for the assessment of learning, it can be seen that the recommendations are grounded in research about effective learning and the factors that help learners’ motivation and self-esteem. A study by Loughland et al. (2003) indicated that students tend to have either an ‘object’ perspective or a ‘relation’ perspective on the environment. In the former the focus is on the environment as a place that contains living things and people. In the relational perspective the focus is on the mutually sustaining relationship between people and the environment. It is normally the case that participants considered in such studies are positioned somewhere along a continuum with the two perspectives at either end. When adopting an ESD task for assessment purposes it would be useful if it was used to help the teacher identify how well the participants had understood the content presented. This can be done through tasks that involve activities such as information processing, evaluation, critical thinking, problem solving, reasoning and communication. Furthermore, it would be beneficial if the assessment also determined where the participants stood on the continuum. This chapter will discuss how assessment tasks can be designed to help place participants somewhere along the continuum and, in an ESD course, one can think of practices that will prompt participants to look at the environment in a more relational manner, which is more holistic and meaningful.