Progressive Video Assessment

A recent project has taken me down the path of designing a peer based assessment surrounding a learners uploaded videos of their displaying skills in action. All the technologies and approaches are now available at a reasonable cost to enable video based peer assessment or IMHO better titled as "progressive video assessment". The main ideas being leveraged are;

1. Learners progressing through different sets of competencies grouped into levels.
   
2. Learners are grouped into virtual cohorts, that change depending on pace, availability and competencies.
   
3. As learners complete competency sets they also provide feedback to those who have not yet completed the competencies.
4. A part of a learners own assessment is providing an amount of feedback to their peers, this follows more of a master-apprentice type model. The master is only one or two levels ahead of the apprentice.
5. Feedback is provided in private discussions triggered by an uploaded video demonstrating competencies and the learners self-assessment.
6. Competencies are described in rubrics.
   

Utilizing a Progressive Inquiry type approach provides a good foundation for it encourages an iterative process for building understanding and deepening meaning. It also acknowledges the importance of peers and mentors in the learning process.

The aim of a video based peer assessment approach is to bring people to a level of mastery within a given subject area. The subject area needs to be appropriate for video as a medium for capturing demonstrated skills. We want people who already have basic competency in an area wanting to improve through peer review and feedback from others with greater expertise.

Step 1. Learners provide evidence of subject knowledge (traditional assessment)
Step 2. Learners review rubric(s) describing competencies for level being attempted
Step 3. Learner video is recorded and upload (privacy ensured as videos are only available to reviewer cohort and can be deleted once review is complete)
Step 3.1. Uploaded video is immediately assigned a cohort of reviewers
Step 4. Learner kicks of discussion by answering a number of system assigned self-assessment questions.
Step 5. A small private cohort engages in facilitated discussions giving feedback focused by the respective rubric and learner answered self-assessment questions
Step 6. Reviewers also get credit toward their progression through the levels for providing the peer review
Step 7. For quality, reviews and videos are randomly / periodically critiqued by experts

In two coming posts I'll be describing the approach (or theory) behind the peer assessment and the technology infrastructure to support video based peer assessment.