Prior Learning Assessment

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Prior Learning Assessment

• Melanie Booth, Ed.D.
• Director, Learning Assessment Center
• Prior Learning Assessment Program
• Marylhurst University
• May 8, 2008

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Context for PLA

• PLA is a result of 3 significant social movements
  in the US
• The adult education movement
• The non-traditional higher education movement
• The increasing sophistication of assessment
• PLA has thus been
• part of a sweeping and multifaceted movement to
  rewrite the relationship between the university
  and the larger society. The implementation of PLA
  was largely congruent with such trends as
  relevance in education, greater access for
  underserved populations, joint ventures between
  colleges and the private sector, and a more
  inclusive curriculum (Michelson, 1997, p. 42).

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Context - 5 Types of PLA

• Standardized credit-by-examination programs.
• External evaluation of coursework that is
  completed in non-collegiate environments.
• Institutionally-assessed learning programs.
• Learner assessment through institutionally-designe
  d challenge examinations or procedures.
• Learner assessment through portfolio-assisted
  PLA.

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Types 1 2 External to Institution

• Standardized credit-by-examinations
• College Level Examination Program (CLEP)
• Defense Activity for Non-Traditional Educational
  Support (DANTES)
• American Council on Education (ACE) evaluates
  coursework completed in non-collegiate
  environments (military training or professional
  and corporate training courses) and provides
  credit guidelines.

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Type 3 Institutional

• Apprenticeships, professional licensures,
  workplace training programs, or certifications
  are assessed by the educational institution
  itself.
• Agency-sponsored learning assessment.
• The learning program is assessed learners who
  provide evidence of completion to the educational
  institution are awarded credit accordingly.
• Students may need to complete an additional
  assignment to ensure college-level attainment.

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Types 4 5 Individual

• Individual learner assessment through
  institutionally-designed challenge examinations
  or procedures.
• Individual learner assessment through
  portfolio-assisted PLA.
• Experiential learning products (essays,
  performances, work samples)
• Evidence of learning Evidence of experience

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PLA Philosophy / Theory

• Experience can be a source of significant
  learning and knowledge
• When adult learners come to college, they are
  not blank slates or empty pails.
• PLA programs
• honor learners prior experiences by providing a
  means for them to gain credit for the resulting
  college-level learning,
• help learners reflect and then be able to build
  upon these experiences, and
• help facilitate learners awareness of the great
  advantages of continual learning.

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Philosophy / Theory cont.

• CAELs perspective the source of information
  obtained in learning is the key difference in
  thinking about assessing learning that has
  occurred through experience versus learning that
  has occurred in a more traditional classroom
  setting (Whitaker, 1989, p. 3).
• BUT experience alone does not teach (Fenwick,
  2001, p.11).
• For individualized assessment, instruction is
  provided to teach learners how to identify,
  articulate, and document their prior learning at
  the appropriate college-level.

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CAEL Standards - Academic

• Credit should be awarded only for learning, and
  not for experience.
• College credit should be awarded only for
  college-level learning.
• Credit should be awarded only for learning that
  has a balance, appropriate to the subject,
  between theory and practical application.
• The determination of competence levels and of
  credit awards must be made by appropriate
  subject-matter and academic experts.
• Credit should be appropriate to the academic
  context in which it is accepted.

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CAEL Standards Admin.

• Credit awards and their transcript entries should
  be monitored to avoid giving credit twice for the
  same learning.
• Policies and procedures applied to assessment,
  including provision for appeal, should be fully
  disclosed and prominently available.
• Fees charged for assessment should be based on
  the services performed in the process and not
  determined by the amount of credit awarded.
• All personnel involved in the assessment of
  learning should receive adequate training for the
  functions they perform and there should be
  provisions for their continued professional
  development.
• Assessment programs should be regularly
  monitored, reviewed, evaluated, and revised as
  needed to reflect changes in the needs being
  served and in the state of assessment arts.

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CAELs Suggested Steps Individualized Assmnt.
STEPS RESPONSIBILITY STANDARD
1. Identification Faculty, thru course I, II
2. Articulation Learner Faculty V
3. Documentation Learner, thru course I, II, III
4. Measurement Faculty I, II, III
5. Evaluation Faculty IV
6. Transcription Administration, faculty VI
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Theory / Experience Balance

• Learners need to demonstrate a balance between
  theory and its application / their experience.
• Moving beyond description
• From what Ive done to what it means
• Cant get college credit for Joes experiences
  as a chemist
• Can get college credit for Introduction to
  Chemical Properties

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Evidence Needed (2 kinds)

• Evidence of Learning (Outcomes-based)
• Essays
• Analytical annotation of work products
• Presentations / Performance-based assessment
• Case studies
• Evidence of Experience
• Artifacts work samples, certificates, job
  descriptions, etc.
• Attestations from others letters of
  verification, performance evaluations,
  observation reports, etc.

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PLA PortfolioResearch Findings

• BENEFITS TO LEARNERS
• Improves problem-solving skills
• Creates a bridge between academic world and
  non-academic world
• Facilitates career / professional development
• Increases communication / articulation skills
• Improves academic skills writing,
  learning-to-learn, etc.
• Can facilitate transformative learning
• CHALLENGES TO LEARNERS
• Assesses limited ways of knowing
• Individual versus collective / communal focus
• Conceptually challenging not always easiest
  way
• Emotionality involved

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• PLA at
• Marylhurst University

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Options for Earning Credit

• New course work
• OR
• Previous transferable coursework
• Military or other training approved by ACE
• Standardized proficiency exams such as CLEP and
  DANTES
• Learning obtained through work and life
  experience that can be used to earn credit
  through PLA portfolio process

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Prior Learning Portfolio (Essays)

• Students can earn up to 45 credits through PLA
• Some sample course topics that students have
  written for
• Conflict Management Public Presentations
• Golf Effective Parenting
• Effective Listening Clothing Construction
• Team Building Event Planning
• Irish Music History of Rock Roll
• Grant Writing Meeting Management

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The Marylhurst PLA Process

• LRN 150 (1 credit) Learning Assessment Workshop
• LRN 305 (6 credits) PLA Seminar From
  Experience to Learning
• LRN 311 (2 credits) PLA Portfolio Development
• LRN 312 (2 credits) PLA Portfolio Development
• LRN 003 (0 credits) PLA Portfolio Development
• Compile and submit final PLA Portfolio for
  transcription

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LRN 150 (1 credit)

• 5 sessions (6 weeks) during first term
• Identify prior learning experiences
• Assess writing skills
• Evaluate transfer credits and training
• Develop academic, professional, and personal
  goals
• Receive evaluation of potential for PLA writing
  and testing for credit

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LRN 305 (6 credits)

• 10 sessions (10 weeks) of second term
• Learn about translating experience into
  college-level knowledge and learning.
• Develop academic writing skills required for PLA
  writing.
• Learn how to provide evidence of your learning
  and of your experiences.
• Write and have evaluated your first 3 PLA essays.

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LRN 311, 312, 003

• Individualized work with your PLA instructor over
  the course of a full term (10 weeks) if needed
• Each term students develop a minimum of 9 credits
  and submit for evaluation

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Evaluation of Credit

• PLA submissions are evaluated by content experts
  with appropriate academic credentials
• Many of our evaluators are Marylhurst faculty
  members
• All of our evaluators understand and value the
  learning that adults bring with them to college

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Benefits of the PLA Essay Process

• Students learn more about what they already know
• Acknowledgement that learning from past
  experience is worth something college credit
• Improved writing and research skills
• AND
• Decreased time and cost for the undergraduate
  degree

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Thank You

• For more information
• Melanie Booth, Ed.D.
• Director, Learning Assessment Center and Prior
  Learning Assessment Program
• Marylhurst University
• mbooth_at_marylhurst.edu
• 503-636-3941