Reimagining Assessment Through Play: A Case Study of MetaRubric

Abstract

Younger generations of learners want to have a sense of ownership and play active roles in their own learning processes. While many innovative pedagogical approaches in higher education aim to provide learning experiences that empower students as partners in their educational experience, assessment can fail to offer that ownership. In this chapter, we describe how bringing play into assessment could transform both educators’ and students’ roles in assessment processes, and how a playful take on assessment could introduce social, iterative, and democratised assessment processes. We further illustrate how play could be integrated with assessment using the case of MetaRubric, a playful assessment design tool that educators can play to learn about the features of good rubrics, or have students play to co-create rubrics in a playful way. We conclude the chapter by discussing the potential benefits of playful assessment for assessment of and with younger generations.