Abstract

Outcomes-based learning assessment, a standards-oriented approach that aims to quantify achievement of intended learning outcomes, has become so pervasive in higher education that it is seldom subjected to critical investigation. By many accounts, the practice has led to significant improvement in student learning based on an assumption that the specific learning sought (indeed, often referred to as essential learning) defines collegiate learning. The purpose of this study is to discover what students learn on the margins of such essential outcomes through a qualitative learning assessment of twenty-nine art critiques that served as the final exhibition requirement for a diverse group of college students. Using a qualitative method rather than quantitative scoring with a rubric made it possible to conduct a deep analysis of student learning, confirming the utility of such an approach. Findings suggest that student learning through the practice of exhibition and critique goes well beyond artistic skills and techniques and into the realm of epistemic cognition.