Lifelong Learning -Making it Stick

It seems everyone is into lifelong learning these days.  And truth is, I’m one of them.  But what does it mean (6 Great Lifelong Learning Examples (Plus Criticisms), n.d.)?  Is it having completion certificates from course after course after course? A standing subscription for weekly webinars on obscure topics? Using the new photocopier at the office? Mastering the dance moves of the youth in your life? Maybe. 

Learning can be measured by assessment where a learner gets a grade on a course, usually at the end but sometimes at key milestones to summarize their achievement. It is characterized by a mark or the certificate signifying the teacher has determined the learner was successful.  Assessment might also take place during the learning activity with help from the teacher and peers to point out what could be done better.  Think about the very helpful feedback from the youth in your life as they instruct you in doing those fancy new dance moves. 

People learning to dance

Assessment can also be done AS Learning. Assessment takes place throughout the learning process and is an integral part of the learning itself as the learners lead the process and uses their own reflections to adapt their approach.

Doing and participating in learning activities doesn’t mean much unless you are able to translate it into an ongoing process.  Building skills for lifelong learning is characterized by ongoing assessment that is self-directed and self-adapted and self-monitored. Do others share comments in the form of feedback and feedforward or even grades?  Yes, of course, but the primary focus is on the learner reviewing and reflecting on the skill they developed and considering how and where they might build on it for the future (“Assessment for/as/of Learning,” n.d.; Assessment OF/FOR/AS Learning, 2020). The learning is not limited to a finite classroom activity or project but asks learners to develop skills for learning that encompass their full experiences they bring as adult learners (Fenwick & Parsons, 2009).

Does Assessment AS Learning fit into the Belonging project learning activities?

It actually fits beautifully.  It is a natural extension of supporting the belief that we are looking for positive purposeful actions that benefit all members of the community (Wilkinson, 2023).  It is centred in the idea of helping people and communities to shine and the need to reflect and consider approaches, to review and analyze, to evaluate and adapt and co-create through higher ordered learning (Bloom’s Taxonomy Learning Activities and Assessments | Centre for Teaching Excellence, n.d.).

Inherent in the concept of Assessment AS Learning rests the need to question and reflect throughout the process for all those participating.  At a personal level, this reflection becomes part of the exploration of self and the role that an individual plays in community development work. 

Person with laptop and notebook, looking like they are thinking.

To support learners in the Belonging Project to develop Assessment AS Learning skills and mindset, we undertake several activities.  A journaling project takes place throughout the course where learners are asked to reflect what they learn and what they have questions about.  Each activity, particularly the group ones, have a component where there is reflection on the overall group participation, individual group member participation, and then personal participation for the individual.  Learners are asked to document this in a variety of forms and given time to complete the assessments as part of class.  This has been structured to highlight that it is a key part of the learning, not an afterthought if the learner has time. 

As the course is a non-credit course, there isn’t the need for a formal grade at the end.  Instead, the formative evaluation process takes place through the course with the ‘final’ evaluation being a summative review of the formative evaluations.  The goal is to encourage big picture thinking of ‘aha’ moments and build an action plan of things the learners commit to themselves and their community that they will continue to develop in and learn with. 

Key questions provoke learning and support learners to build from wherever they are starting from and help them to create a continual reflection process.  

Keep Shining!

References

6 Great Lifelong Learning Examples (Plus Criticisms). (n.d.). Retrieved May 4, 2025, from https://helpfulprofessor.com/lifelong-learning/

Assessment for/as/of Learning. (n.d.). Concordia University of Edmonton. Retrieved May 4, 2025, from https://concordia.ab.ca/instructional-supports/services/resources/

Assessment OF/FOR/AS Learning. (2020, December 24). It’s About Learning. https://www.harapnuik.org/?p=8475

Bloom’s Taxonomy Learning Activities and Assessments | Centre for Teaching Excellence. (n.d.). Retrieved December 15, 2024, from https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/resources/teaching-tips/blooms-taxonomy-learning-activities-and-assessments

Fenwick, T. J., & Parsons, J. (2009). The art of evaluation: A resource for educators and trainers (2nd ed). Thompson Educational Pub.

Wilkinson, K. P. (2023). The community in rural America. University Press of Colorado.