Authentic Assessment Through Digital Storyworld Scenarios

Abstract

A narrative storytelling approach to experiential learning is central to the digital storyworld scenario framing authentic assessment. The digital scenarios are not only resources for framing assessments, but authentic situations based on industry-required skills and competencies as reflected through a microbusiness model such as would be common in the arts and humanities in freelancing, sole trader or small group startups or project-based events. To shape authentic assessment around creative microbusiness entities, they need to be set up as a digital story, which, imagination- and immersion-wise, provides reality-based contexts for the assessments. This chapter considers digital stories or scenario-based situations developed as a model across communications, professional and creative writing, editing and publishing and writing for games at the undergraduate level in higher education. These are diverse industry sectors, but the digital model is a flexible creative microbusiness entity encouraging learning that is relevant, interdisciplinary and responsive to a changing world of work.