The development of personal
autonomy in enterprise and entrepreneurship education is desirable, and this
should be reflected in the learning and assessment process. As an illustration,
students can be required to work with incomplete information or information
that is incrementally offered after a review of their initial findings. They
can be required to elicit multiple solutions and to make choices based on
personal reflection, both in teams and as individuals. Evaluation can take
place within a carefully simulated context or a real context that addresses
current themes and trends as well as incorporating external influences such as
employers' perspectives. Students' developed personal views and/or evaluation
of others' perspectives will help them respond to situations that they may
previously have found uncomfortable.
The above assumes a shift in the
relationship between educator and student. Knowledge that is continuously being
'harvested' during a project or assignment may bring new dimensions into play
at any time, and both the student and the educator must be flexible and
adaptable to changing scenarios. For example, at the time of writing, a popular
brand of mobile phone had just failed a considerable number of its customers;
in only a week consumer confidence had plummeted, and it would take
considerable time to rebuild the brand. To integrate this type of real-time
event into learning and assessment is to make enterprise and entrepreneurship
education more real and tangible for the student.
A range of methods of learning and
assessment is likely to be appropriate. Assessment in enterprise has sometimes
been solely through submission of a written business plan; however this method
is unlikely to enable assessment of the full range of enterprise behaviours,
attributes and skills, and so would usefully be complemented by other methods.
Assessment of innovation and creativity, for example, can be done through tasks
that require students to challenge norms and spot opportunities, and to be
flexible and adaptable in situations of ambiguity and risk.
A number of activities generate
outcomes that can be matched to an individual's situated learning. For example,
'learning by doing' requires the generation of multiple ideas and encourages
reflective practice to elicit lessons learned; other activities useful for
assessment purposes include pitches to peers and expert advisers, contextual
simulations and games, and tendering and competing for advantage. Importantly,
there should be no expectation of being 'absolutely right' at all times, as the
student will be responding to the current 'knowns', contexts and timing, as
well as to prevalent trends and influential factors, which educators can into
account during assessment and evaluation. This again offers the advantage of
making the learning more current and real to the student because it is not
artificially abstracted from current events.
Students
should be encouraged to draw on a wide range of intellectual resources,
theoretical perspectives, and practical applications to illuminate their
learning and the contexts within which it takes place. These may take the
learning process beyond the expertise of the educator, but this can be
accommodated since self-directed learning is a key element of enterprise and entrepreneurship
education. Informal and exploratory learning experiences can provide important
opportunities for assessment. A supportive facilitator will aim to enhance
learning, including self-directed learning, rather than taking the role of an
expert who will facilitate 'correct' solutions and discount alternative but
potentially meaningful ones. Enabling participants to do more than they could
do before, and to challenge their ability to tackle and respond to problems,
becomes more important than the 'right approach' or 'right answer'. The most
creative solutions are usually the ones that were not foreseen.
Engaging
students in peer-to-peer assessment and inviting external specialists to debate
students' approaches and solutions can not only make assessment more real and
relevant, it can also make it more accessible and understandable. In an
ever-changing environment, what is 'right' today may not be right tomorrow;
thus situating learning in a real or well simulated environment provides
opportunities to assess in a way that is fit for purpose.
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