Testing the Usability of Role-Plays to Assess Performance-Based Competences in Higher Education under Consideration of FAIR Data Management

Abstract

Evidence-based research on learning and competence outcomes of higher education is a thriving field that does not only develops innovative learning and assessment methods, but furthermore produces an abundance of valuable research data. This dissertation combines the two relevant topics of innovative performance-based assessment of competences and FAIR1F management of research data. Hence, it aims at a better understanding of the usability of role-plays in higher education competence assessment, while FAIR management of applied research data facilitates transparency of the results and reuse of data. Performance-based competence is emphasized as a relevant outcome of higher education requiring appropriate assessment methods like role-plays. In-depth pre-analysis constitutes the usability of a particular role-play instrument developed by the research group “Performance-based Assessment of Students’ Communication Skills” (KomPrü) (Braun et al. 2016; Braun et al. 2018). Three published articles and one article currently under review cover this dissertations scope further by

• highlighting the personal and social importance of higher education outcomes (Braun et al. 2020/Chapter 4),

• emphasizing role-plays as a method that can merge theoretical holistic requirements with empirical measurability of performance-based competence (Falkenstern et al. 2020/Chapter 5),

• using this connection between theory and application to derive a competence level model with qualitative descriptors (Walz & Braun 2022/Chapter 6), and

• comparing the results of the innovative role-play instrument with established knowledge tests (Walz et al. under review/Chapter 7).

The empirical analysis employed different subsamples of 546 German higher education students studying teacher education or economics. This data has been documented and published under consideration of FAIR data management principles (Walz et al. 2022). Results and limitations of this approach are discussed and connected to directions of further research.