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Assessment, the Silent Killer of Learning

Who: Eric Mazur
When: Thursday 26 November 2015
Start: 3.30 p.m.
End: 5.00 p.m.

Follow up activities of Tour de Mazur at our university.
1. The slides will be available as well as the recordings. Everyone who has registered will receive a mail with information. If you didn't register but are interested to receive this mail, please leave your contact information here.
2. At our Day of Education at 28 January 2016 there will be a workshop dedicated to the Tour de Mazur and its results.

The Silent Killer of Learning

Why is it that stellar students sometimes fail in the workplace while dropouts succeed? One reason is that most, if not all, of our current assessment practices are inauthentic. Just as the lecture focuses on the delivery of information to students, so does assessment often focus on having students regurgitate that same information back to the instructor. Consequently, assessment fails to focus on the skills that are relevant in life in the 21st century. Assessment are part of the "hidden curriculum" as it is an important driver of students' study habits. Unless we rethink our approach to assessment, it will be very difficult to produce a meaningful change in education.

About education at the University of Groningen

We strive to train our students to become independent, critical thinkers and responsible people who think and act at an academic level and can play a valuable role in today’s society. Therefore we stimulate students to be active learners, inside as well as outside of the University. Independent study, learning to learn, and personal improvement is part of the programme. In order to do that, assessment ties in with the learning outcomes and stimulates independent study. Specific programmes such as Learning Communities and International Classroom are examples that help put these goals into action.

About Eric Mazur

Eric is a physics Professor at Harvard, with a special focus on innovation of education. Recently, he was awarded for decades of innovation in the classroom with the prestigious Minerva prize . Specifically, Mazur’s development of “peer instruction”, an innovative teaching method that incorporates interactive pedagogy into the classroom was noted. Peer instruction has been recognized worldwide for driving dramatic improvements in learning outcomes.

Eric already has a long standing relationship with our University, read more on the weblog of our Learning Community Study Trip .

Further info

From 23-27 November Prof. Eric Mazur will tour four Dutch Universities, stopping at Leiden University , Delft University of Technology , University of Twente , and University of Groningen .

We’re hoping to see you on the 26th!

Board of the University

Organizing committee

  • Dr. Hans Beldhuis
  • Ine Noben, MSc.
  • Dr. Enno van der Laan
  • Rutger Klein Nagelvoort, MA.
  • Dr. Koos Winnips
Last modified:24 May 2022 08.28 a.m.