These weeks, many universities of applied sciences are focused on assessment and completion. The same applies at ArtEZ Conservatory Enschede, where teaching weeks have now been replaced by exam and resit periods.
But how do you assess knowledge and skills in a time when AI support is within every student’s reach?
Given the extensive capabilities of AI to generate text and the ease of working with this technology, it didn’t take long for our students to discover and start using it. The challenge for us as educators was how best to respond.
In education, we’ve faced similar challenges before. Consider, for example, the introduction of the calculator—was memorising multiplication tables still necessary? Or the rise of the internet, which gave students access to a wealth of knowledge, followed by the smartphone, which brought that knowledge within a pocket’s reach.
These developments require us, as educators, to reflect on the core of our teaching: what do our students need in an ever-changing world, and how can we prepare them effectively?
With the emergence of AI, we must answer that question once again. And because of the generative nature of AI, it is also necessary to find suitable forms of assessment to evaluate our students’ development—this applies even in my courses focused on applying technology in music education.
Digital skills module
For the module Digital Skills, I’ve already moved away from traditional homework-style assignments toward a hybrid, formative form of assessment. Students are now tasked with collecting materials that demonstrate their development in digital skills. I have chosen the format of a digital portfolio filled with outcomes (audio, images, video), accompanied by commentary and photos of the processes they have followed. Highlights from these portfolios are presented in plenary sessions to me and to each other. It quickly becomes apparent during the lessons how comfortably students can work with the technologies being taught. This means assessment takes the form of multiple types of “evidence,” used in a formative way.
moLab module
In another module, moLab (Music Education Lab), I also apply hybrid assessment. Here, students research new ways of applying technology in music education. The assessment takes the form of a poster presentation with a demonstration. Using a self-designed poster, students must explain—both to their client and to peers and lecturers—how their research process unfolded and what they discovered. They also demonstrate what they developed.
So, is AI completely excluded from these assessments? Certainly not. But we use it consciously, for example to improve the design of the posters or to check texts one last time for spelling and grammar errors.
Leave a Reply