To be competitive in the workplace, you need more than a degree. As students and job seekers look to highlight their soft skills and life experience, educators and employers still struggle to evaluate these sought-after qualifications. A new type of assessment could help.
Immersive simulations are an innovative approach to evaluation. These types of assessments allow people to apply what they’ve learned rather than simply recalling answers. Through simulations, students can show their knowledge and abilities. When compared to past methods of assessment like multiple-choice tests, group projects, writing a paper, or role-play exercises, immersive simulations are a more authentic assessment of complex skills.
Playing an active role in a professional scenario is also far more engaging than regurgitating facts. And simulations can be scored through automation, saving educators time and reducing bias.
The potential for immersive simulations is boundless, but two implementations have the most immediate promise.
Assessing microcredentials
One way immersive simulations can be adopted is for the assessment of skills that help students earn microcredentials. Microcredentials provide a way for students to develop discrete abilities and, importantly, offer potential employers proof of those skills. Historically, students could learn and practice 21st-century skills such as empathy, critical thinking, and initiative, but there has been no validated market signal to demonstrate competency. That’s changing now.
Dave McCool is President and CEO of Muzzy Lane, a technology company helping education institutions and companies address the skills gap through the use of simulations to develop, assess, and credential learners’ skills. He can be reached at dave@muzzylane.com.
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