to be aligned with each other. It means that the curriculum, instruction and assessment need to support each other such that learners are assessed based on what is taught, and what is being taught should reflect the curriculum. Alignment is an important feature especially for curriculum design, yet it is difficult to achieve in practice (Pellegrino, 2006, pp. 2–3; IAL, 2016, p. 67). There are several models catering to curriculum design for classroom as well as workplace learning (see for example Figure 5.3). These models serve as a guide to enable alignment but complexities highlighted in the workplace learning case, for example, suggest issues such as learners’ understanding and experiences, different perspectives in framing knowledge and ways of knowing (workplace learning, human resource development etc.), and business/organisational priorities and practices, cannot be ignored. In the context of SkillsFuture, IAL has begun to explore “blended learning” that integrates work, learning and technology, and where alignment between what the business enterprise wants to achieve, intended learning outcomes, training strategies and assessment is central. It seeks to “operationalise” Bigg’s notion of constructive alignment with a model identifying stakeholders and critical success factors (see IAL, 2016). The main idea in these models is that assessment should be integral to curricula and instructional design (see also Boud & Soler, 2016, p. 12).
Figure 5.3 Model of an aligned curriculum for a school/classroom setting.
(Source: http://www.ucdoer.ie/index.php/Using_Biggs'_Model_of_Constructive_Alignment_in_Curriculum_Desi gn/Introduction) Authenticity is another key feature across formative, sustainable and summative assessment designs. It is characterised by opportunities and/or affordances for the application and recontextualisation of learning and its contribution to work improvement. Current assessment models supporting “authenticity” emphasise not only task and context but also performance that requires learners to apply combinations of aptitude, knowledge and skill in particular settings and/or work practices. These models imply or suggest integrated performance (holism) which brings together what has been learned, and they portray “authenticity” as a continuum:
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