Wo kshop
Recommended ci a ion: Ra i, M., & Besha a , M. (2025). How Au hen ic A e
Au hen ic Assessmen s in Enginee ing Educa ion?. In Kangaslampi, R., Langie,
G., Jä inen, H.-M., & Nagy, B. (Eds.), SEFI 53 d Annual Con e ence. Eu opean
Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI), Tampe e, Finland. DOI:
10.5281/zenodo.17631317.
This Con e ence Pape is b ough o you o open access by he 53 d Annual Con e ence
o he Eu opean Socie y o Enginee ing Educa ion (SEFI) a Tampe e Uni e si y in
Tampe e, Finland. This wo k is licensed unde a C ea i e Commons
A ibu ion-NonComme cial-Sha e Alike 4.0 In e na ional License.
HOW AUTHENTIC ARE AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENTS IN
ENGINEERING EDUCATION?
M Ra i a,c,
1
, M Besha a b,c,1
a School o Chemical and P ocess Enginee ing, Uni e si y o Leeds, Leeds, UK,
ORCID: 0000-0001-7659-9492
b School o Ci il Enginee ing, Uni e si y o Leeds, Leeds, UK,
ORCID: 0000-0001-5222-0679
c Leeds Ins i u e o Teaching Excellence, Uni e si y o Leeds, Leeds, UK
Con e ence Key A eas: Enginee ing skills, p o essional skills, and ans e sal skills;
Assessmen in enginee ing educa ion
Keywo ds: Au hen ic assessmen ; Enginee ing educa ion
ABSTRACT
The e m ‘au hen ic assessmen ’ is equen ly used in highe educa ion and al hough
he e a e ex ensi e examples o i s applicabili y o enginee ing educa ion, he
pedagogic li e a u e o en e eals a myopic in e p e a ion o he e m. In he con ex
o enginee ing educa ion, he emphasis o ‘au hen ici y’ is o en es ic ed o he
echnical aspec o an assessmen ask wi h li le a en ion being gi en o how an
enginee ing s uden wo ks owa ds p epa ing hei assessmen submission and how
his compa es o a p o essional enginee ’s wo king p ac ice. This wo kshop aims o
challenge i s pa icipan s on hei concep ualisa ion o ‘au hen ic assessmen ’ and
help hem adop a mo e holis ic app oach o designing assessmen en i onmen s
ha mo e closely eplica e p o essional wo k lows. The wo kshop will engage
mul iple modes o ac i e lea ning: indi idual e lec ion on he concep ualisa ion o
e m ‘au hen ic assessmen ’, small g oup discussion on how an enginee ing
s uden ’s assessmen p ac ice can be made compa able o a p o essional enginee ’s
wo king p ac ice, and an open discussion wi h all wo kshop a endees o a icula e a
uni ying basis o au hen ic assessmen s in enginee ing educa ion. Pa icipan s will
lea e he wo kshop wi h use ul p ac ical app oaches o implemen in assessmen s o
enable s uden s o ully de elop hei p o essional skills.
1
Co esponding Au ho s
M Ra i, M Besha a
m. a[email p o ec ed], m.besha a @leeds.ac.uk
1 BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE
1.1 Au hen ic assessmen s in enginee ing educa ion
As de ined in he pedagogical li e a u e, ‘au hen ic assessmen ’ p io i izes
expe ien ial, con ex - ich lea ning pa adigms ha acili a e knowledge cons uc ion
h ough ‘ eal-wo ld’ applica ion (He ing on & He ing on, 1998). As opposed o
assessmen me hodologies ha ely hea ily on decon ex ualized memo iza ion,
au hen ic assessmen s simula e p o essional p ac ices, he eby enabling s uden s o
de elop compe encies wi hin ele an , p ac ical con ex s (Gulike s e al., 2004;
Wiggins, 1990).
Wi hin enginee ing educa ion, au hen ic assessmen s se e as e ec i e condui s o
imme sing s uden s in complex p o essional scena ios, he eby cul i a ing ad anced
cogni i e engagemen and p epa ing hem o indus y-speci ic challenges (Ash o d-
Rowe e al., 2014; Villa oel e al., 2020). This is because, by de ini ion, such
assessmen s a e designed o os e independen inqui y and c ea i e p oblem-
sol ing, which equi es s uden s o b ing oge he echnical enginee ing knowledge,
analy ical easoning and wide p o essional skills (Palme , 2004).
Au hen ic assessmen me hodologies can be u he en iched h ough s a egic
indus y collabo a ions, whe ein s uden s engage in p ojec -based lea ning o
add ess eal-wo ld enginee ing challenges posed by indus y s akeholde s. Indus y-
based p ojec s equi e enginee ing s uden s o wo k a disciplina y bounda ies and
a e an oppo uni y o imp o e hei communica ion skills (Welling on e al., 2002).
Al hough such assessmen s challenge s uden s in a good way, ma king o g ading
ub ics ha emula e indus y pe o mance expec a ions, whe e 50% good enough is
o en no accep able in indus y, can be misin e p e ed by enginee ing s uden s in
highe educa ion whe e such a ma k is ‘passable’ (Guzzomi e al., 2017), e ealing
he c i ical need o balance such an assessmen app oach wi h s uc u ed
pedagogical suppo o mi iga e po en ial s uden disengagemen . Likewise,
embedding con ex ual complexi y and pe sonaliza ion wi hin enginee ing
assessmen asks has been ound o imp o e s uden engagemen and de e
une hical academic p ac ice (Ullah, 2020).
1.2 Towa ds a mo e holis ic implemen a ion o au hen ic assessmen s
Despi e he widesp ead use o he e m ‘au hen ic assessmen ’, as a icula ed in
sec ion 1.1, he e is o en a limi ed pe spec i e wi h which i is in e p e ed in
enginee ing educa ion – o en being es ic ed o au hen ici y in he echnical con en
o he assessmen , as e iden om he as majo i y o he enginee ing educa ion
li e a u e in his domain (S obel e al., 2013; Ullah, 2020; Va gas-Mendoza e al.,
2018).
Howe e , o adequa ely p epa e enginee ing g adua es o p o essional challenges,
i is impe a i e ha au hen ici y ex ends beyond ask design (i.e. au hen ici y in
assessmen con en ) o encompass he p ocedu al dynamics o ask execu ion (i.e.
au hen ici y in assessmen deli e y). In o he wo ds, i is no su icien i he
assessmen asks o ques ions alone mi o hose o he p o essional wo ld, bu so
should he ac ual s uden wo king p ocess o disco e ing solu ions.
This wo kshop is designed o enable enginee ing educa o s o adop a mo e holis ic
pe spec i e o au hen ici y when designing s uden assessmen . The eby, he
wo kshop in ends o challenge educa o s o sus ain au hen ici y h oughou he en i e
assessmen cycle – s a ing om he speci ic ask o be assigned and how o
acili a e an assessmen wo king en i onmen ha eplica es p o essional wo k lows,
ensu ing assessmen condi ions align wi h he i e a i e p oblem-sol ing and
decision-making p ocesses endemic o p o essional enginee ing p ac ice. The
discussions will be sca olded using indings epo ed in he enginee ing educa ion
li e a u e as he heo e ical ounda ion as well as indings om he au ho s’ esea ch.
By emb acing his holis ic app oach, he wo kshop will se e as a basis o b idge he
p e alen dicho omy concep ualizing s uden assessmen en i onmen in highe
educa ion as de ached om he b oade socio-p o essional ecosys em. Ins ead, his
wo kshop ad oca es o he in eg a ion o social esponsibili y, p o essional a ibu es
and expe ien ial lea ning wi hin assessmen design and deli e y o p oducing
globally compe en and socially esponsible enginee ing g adua es (McA hu , 2023;
Ra i, 2023).
2 WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES
2.1 Ta ge audience
This wo kshop is di ec ed a enginee ing educa o s who a e in ol ed in he design
and deli e y o s uden assessmen . This includes educa o s who migh be designing
assessmen s a a module/subjec le el as well as hose in ol ed in p og amme-le el
o e iew o s uden assessmen . The wo kshop would also appeal o membe s o
he ‘Enginee ing skills’ and ‘Cu iculum De elopmen ’ SEFI SIGs as os e ing
p o essional enginee ing compe ence h ough au hen ic s uden assessmen s ongly
o e laps wi h he objec i es o hese SIGs.
The pa icipan s o he wo kshop will be asked o e lec on hei cu en assessmen
p ac ice and how i aligns wi h he p inciples o ‘au hen ic assessmen ’. The eby, his
wo kshop will be well sui ed o all enginee ing educa o s wi h an in e es in e lec ing
and imp o ing hei me hods o s uden assessmen . The pa icipan s will be able o
imp o e hei unde s anding o au hen ic assessmen by lea ning om he
pe spec i es o colleagues ( h ough small g oup discussion),enginee ing s uden s
(p esen a ion o su ey da a by he au ho s) and a ew good p ac ices ( om pilo ing
he indings in ew enginee ing cou ses).
2.2 Expec ed key akeaways
The key akeaways (KT) om he wo kshop a e as ollows:
1. To c i ically in e p e he e m ‘au hen ic assessmen ’ as applicable o
enginee ing educa ion
2. To analyse s uden and educa o pe spec i es o au hen ic assessmen
agains assessmen indings published in he enginee ing educa ion li e a u e
3. To e lec on how enginee ing assessmen s can be made mo e au hen ic in
e ms o bo h he assessmen ask and he s uden ’s assessmen wo king
p ac ice
3 WORKSHOP DESIGN
3.1 Wo kshop s uc u e
The wo kshop will commence wi h pa icipan s indi idually e lec ing on wha he
e m ‘au hen ic assessmen ’ means in an enginee ing educa ion con ex . Indi idual
esponses will be colla ed on a Padle , which would hen be used by he au ho s
(wo kshop p esen e s) o d aw pa allels o he concep ualisa ion o ‘au hen ic
assessmen ’ as p esen ed in he pedagogic li e a u e (Table 1). Following his b ie
p esen a ion, pa icipan s will discuss how enginee ing assignmen s can be designed
o imp o e elemen s o au hen ic assessmen p ac ice o deli e y. The discussion
will ake place in small g oups wi h o he con e ence delega es (expec ed 4-5
membe s pe g oup).
The discussions will be based on he ollowing p omp s: (i) Wha a e he salien
ea u es o an au hen ic enginee ing s uden assessmen ? (ii) Wha s eps would
need o be aken o align how a s uden wo ks owa ds hei assessmen submission
o how enginee s would app oach a simila ask in p o essional se ings? (iii) Wha
p o essional skills can’ be p omo ed only h ough au hen ic assessmen design
(wi hou assessmen deli e y au hen ici y)? The au ho s will check on g oups du ing
he discussions o add ess any doub s pa icipan s migh ha e and enhance he
in e ac i i y.
All g oups will eco d hei key obse a ions/discussion poin s on a lipcha /pos -i
no es and hese commen s will be sha ed o he es o he wo kshop a endees in a
eedback session immedia ely a e he g oup discussion (Table 1). The au ho s
would hen use he o e a ching commen s emana ing om he discussions o
p esen commonali ies and po en ial di e ences wi h s uden pe spec i es o
au hen ic assessmen (based on p e iously collec ed and analysed da a) and
indings published in he enginee ing educa ion li e a u e (Guzzomi e al., 2017). In
conclusion, his will help elucida e a uni ying basis o s uden pe cep ion, opinions o
p ac icing enginee ing educa o s and he wide pedagogic li e a u e ha he
wo kshop a endees can use o in o m hei p ac ice going o wa d.
Table 1. Wo kshop ime plan
Run
ime
Ac i i y
No es (Resou ces)
Mapping
o KTs
5 min
Welcome and in oduc ion
B ie in oduc ion om au ho s
(Powe Poin slides)
7 min
Indi idual e lec ion ac i i y
Indi idual hinking and eco ding o
ideas (Padle )
KT1
5 min
P esen a ion
Led by au ho s (Powe Poin slides)
KT1
13 min
G oup/Pee Discussion
Wo kshop a endees discuss in
g oups o 4-5 (Flipcha & ma ke s)
KT2
15 min
Feedback - g oup discussion
G oups sha e hei discussion (-)
KT2,3
8 min
P esen a ion
Led by au ho s (Powe Poin slides)
KT3
7 min
Conclusion & closing
commen s
Open discussion and Q&A (-)
3.2 In e ac i i y
The wo kshop is designed o maximise ac i e pa icipa ion wi h he au ho -led
p esen a ion sec ions cumula i ely aking up less han 15 minu es. Pa icipa ion is
encou aged h ough h ee o ms o ac i i ies: indi idual e lec ion a he s a , small
g oup discussion wi h ellow wo kshop a endees ollowed by sha ing o discussions
wi h he es o he wo kshop pa icipan s, and an oppo uni y o open discussion
and Q&A a he end o he wo kshop.
To p o ide an inclusi e expe ience, he wo kshop also akes a mul i-modal app oach
o in e ac ion: indi idual e lec ion eco ded digi ally and anonymously, small g oup
discussion poin s cap u ed by w i ing on lipcha /pos -i s and o al discussion when
eeding back g oup discussions and in e ac ion wi h he wo kshop au ho s.
4 WORKSHOP RESULTS
The wo kshop pa icipan s engaged in a c i ical e lec ion o how ‘au hen ic
assessmen s’ a e designed and deli e ed in enginee ing educa ion. When asked o
indi idually e lec on hei pe cei ed de ini ion o he e m ‘au hen ic assessmen s’,
wo majo hemes eme ged om he esponses logged on Padle : he i s was he
emphasis on ‘ eal wo ld challenges’ and he o he being he ‘skills’ expec ed o
p o essional enginee s, which a e cap u ed in some exempla pa icipan quo es as
ollows:
‘Au hen ic assessmen s challenge s uden s wi h asks o scena ios which hey migh
encoun e in hei u u e and allows s uden s o apply hei skills and knowledge in a
way ha is ele an and ealis ic’
‘Assessmen o skills ele an o sol ing eal-wo ld p oblems in an ecologically alid
way. Ecologically alid = pe mi ing s uden s o demons a e all skills hey a e able o
ac i a e du ing a speci ic ask’
These c i ical e lec ions om he pa icipan s helped he au ho s in in oducing he
impo ance o no es ic ing he lens o au hen ici y o he ‘design’ o an assessmen
ask i.e. he echnical ask o ques ion ha is being asked o be sol ed, bu ex end i
o assessmen ‘deli e y’, whe eby s uden s a e placed in a wo king en i onmen ha
mimics p o essional wo king p ac ice. The wo kshop pa icipan s p oceeded o
discuss in small g oups he possibili y o imp o e au hen ici y in enginee ing
assessmen s o wo exempla assessmen b ie s ha we e p o ided: a p ac ical
assessmen wi h an enginee ing equipmen o an enginee ing design p ojec .
Re lec ing on he speci ied lea ning ou comes ha we e speci ied o be assessed,
he wo kshop pa icipan s pu o h se e al in e es ing ideas, which could be
ca ego ised in o h ee main hemes as ollows:
(i) Building in g oup wo k and indi idual assessmen as pa o he o e all
assessmen : Pa icipan s we e s ongly in a ou o embedding g oup wo k
oppo uni ies and elemen s o pee eedback as all p ojec wo k in he
p o essional wo ld is always a eam e o . The e was also an inclina ion
owa ds co-c ea ion o deli e ables as a eam and suppo ing au hen ic
g oup wo k by es ablishing well-de ined oles
(ii) Longi udinal assessmen wi h eedback loops: Pa icipan s opined ha
assessing he whole p ocess ( h ough a con inuous o in e mi ed
assessmen me hod) ins ead o jus he inal deli e able would help
s eng hen assessmen au hen ici y. A case was also made o e-po olios
wi h assessmen weigh ings o incen i ise c ea i i y. Fu he mo e, a
longi udinal assessmen app oach would also enable he p o ision o
p o iding and ac ing on o ma i e eedback, an impo an cha ac e is ic
ea u e o indus y wo king p ac ice
(iii) O al assessmen s o complemen (o po en ially eplace) w i en epo s:
Wi h he g owing in luence o Gene a i e AI ools, pa icipan s we e
app ehensi e o using w i en epo s as a soli a y assessmen me hod,
and ins ead ad oca ed o o al-based assessmen me hods, including
uncon en ional app oaches o ha ing an examine ake on he ole o a
‘challenge ’ as migh o en be he case wi h line manage s in indus y.
The e we e also sugges ions ha hese could ake he o m o a de ense
session, whe e decisions aken by a s uden would need o be jus i ied.
The wo kshop concluded wi h he au ho s d awing pa allels o he poin s aised a
he g oup discussion om hei own assessmen p ac ice pilo s and s uden
pe cep ion esea ch s udies.
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