David Slomp | University of Lethbridge (original) (raw)

Papers by David Slomp

Research paper thumbnail of Chapter 14. Ethical Considerations and Writing Assessment

The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado eBooks, Apr 1, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Afterword: Meeting the Challenges of Workplace English Communication in the 21st Century

The journal of writing analytics, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Principled Development of Workplace English Communication Part 1: A Sociocognitive Framework

The journal of writing analytics, 2021

• Background: This study advances a sociocognitive approach to modeling complex communication tas... more • Background: This study advances a sociocognitive approach to modeling complex communication tasks. Using an integrative perspective of linguistic, cultural, and substantive (LCS) patterns, we provide a framework for understanding the nature and acquisition of people's adaptive capabilities in social/cognitive complex adaptive systems. We also illustrate the application of the framework to learning and assessment. As we will show, understanding the connection between measurement models and users' needs is important to increase assessments' educative usefulness. • Questions Addressed: Our framework is designed to address questions regarding the following four areas: the nature of sociocognitive perspectives in educational measurement, the application of LCS patterns to complex communication tasks captured in an extended formative assessment of Workplace English Communication (WEC), the usefulness of psychometric models for instruction and assessment with such complex tasks, and considerations for measurement modeling.

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial Volume 54

Assessing Writing, Nov 1, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Principled Development of Workplace English Communication Part 3: An Integrated Design and Appraisal Framework

The journal of writing analytics, 2021

• Background: An expanded skillset is needed to meet today's shifting workplace demands, which in... more • Background: An expanded skillset is needed to meet today's shifting workplace demands, which involve collaboration with geographically distributed multidisciplinary teams. As the nature of work changes due to increases in automation and the elevated need to work in multidisciplinary teams, enhanced visions of Workplace English Communication (WEC) are needed to communicate with diverse audiences and effectively use new technologies. Thus, WEC is ranked as one of the top five skills needed for employability. Even so, results of employer surveys report that incoming employees lack communication competency (National Association of Colleges and Employers [NACE], 2018). To address this issue, with a focus on WEC teaching and assessment, we describe a framework used to guide the design of WEC modules. We suggest that conceptual frameworks can be used to inform the design process of the module. In • Conclusions: This article illustrates the application of the IDAF to inform the design and development of WEC modules. This article contributes to the literature on WEC and complex assessments of hard-to-assess constructs more generally by offering a way of thinking about designing, assessing, and then evaluating the design and assessment of interactive educational modules for teaching complex communication knowledge and approaches.

Research paper thumbnail of Introduction and overview to the volume

Studies in corpus linguistics, Jun 15, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Introduction: Meeting the Challenges of Workplace English Communication in the 21st Century

The journal of writing analytics, 2021

concept of communication as studied in this special issue is the idea that constructs are drawn d... more concept of communication as studied in this special issue is the idea that constructs are drawn down-that is, both narrowed and limited by use and context-in a particular study for a particular reason (Mislevy & Elliot, 2020). As such, while it is possible to speak of robust construct representation (researcher use, for example, of an email to better understand knowledge of student sensitivity to organizational hierarchy), it is nevertheless important to remember that communication itself is a complex construct. Indeed, we wonder if it is the case that all constructs, understood in their full span, are complex. If that is the case, then the more robust a construct is represented in a given assessment, the harder it is to evaluate. In the case of communication, construct span is vast (White et al., 2015). And so, while each of our authors establishes ways that the construct under examination is represented in acts of writing, reading, listening, and speaking (that is, a language arts model), it is inaccurate to imagine that there is one universal construct of communication-or that any assessment can do any more than to capture the drawn down construct. Seen in this way, construct underrepresentation is inevitable, and we must do our best to understand the impact of any episodic draw down (Elliot, 2016). Key, then, is for the readers of this special issue to attend to the construct as limited and defined in each article. • Threshold Concept 3: Twenty-first century communication abilities are needed across organizational settings. In an issue of Assessing Writing published just before this special issue, Macqueen et al. (2020) noted the significance of communication in nonacademic settings: "In a hospital context, an inaccurate written handover poses a risk to patient safety. In a business context, an inappropriate tone in an email poses a risk to the client relationship and their future dealings" (p. 1). In cases when these abilities are taught and assessed, it is worth asking if the drawn-down construct results in risk-to organizational applicants who do not have sufficient capabilities and to organizational stakeholders who rely on them. While great effort has been spent to assess written communication (as isolated from reading, listening, and speaking) in academic settings, far less effort has been undertaken to assess organizational communication in its professional and technical forms (Hundleby & Allen, 2010). Additionally, first-year writing in U.S. post-secondary settings is commonly focused on academic genres in which the instructor is the sole audience and knowledge of conventions is the pedagogical target (Isaacs, 2018). In this restrictive environment, it therefore becomes imperative to understand the overwhelming need to shift traditional writing pedagogies to ones that embrace a comprehensive view of communication in organizational settings and to design curricula in which transfer capacity is a focal goal.

Research paper thumbnail of The ethical turn in writing assessment: How far have we come, and where do we still need to go?

Language Teaching

Both of us were drawn into the writing assessment field initially through our lived experiences a... more Both of us were drawn into the writing assessment field initially through our lived experiences as schoolteachers. We worked in radically different contexts – Martin was head of a languages department and teacher of French and German in the late 1990s in the UK, and David was a Grade 12 teacher of Academic English in Alberta, Canada, at the turn of the twenty-first century. In both these contexts, the traditional direct test of writing – referred to, for example, as the ‘timed impromptu writing test’ (Weigle, 2002, p. 59) or the ‘snapshot approach’ (Hamp-Lyons & Kroll, 1997, p. 18) – featured significantly in our practices, albeit in very different ways. This form of writing assessment still holds considerable sway across the globe. For us, however, it provoked early questions and concerns around the consequential and ethical aspects of writing assessment.

Research paper thumbnail of Very Like a Whale: The Assessment of Writing Programs, E.M. White, N. Elliot, I. Peckham. Utah State University Press, Logan (2015), 202 pp., ISBN: 978-0-87421-985-2

Assessing Writing, 2016

Very Like a Whale: The Assessment of Writing Programs (Whale) is Ed White, Norbert Elliot, and Ir... more Very Like a Whale: The Assessment of Writing Programs (Whale) is Ed White, Norbert Elliot, and Irv Peckham’s most recent ffering to the writing assessment community. Whale captures effectively the complexity involved in assessing writing rograms. It challenges writing program administrators, writing instructors, and those responsible for assessing writng to design and execute high quality writing assessment programs that model the constructs associated with writing evelopment for students within their unique institutional ecologies (p. 7). To begin, a note about the audience, focus, and purpose of this book. White, Elliot, and Peckham have written this book for eachers of writing and for writing researchers. The book focuses on the assessment of writing programs at postsecondary nstitutions in the United States. The authors’ goal is to communicate assessment concepts to professionals in the fields of omposition, rhetoric and writing. Others have written reviews of this book for Amer...

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial - vol 55 Jan 2023

Research paper thumbnail of The Virtual Classroom Project through Video Vignettes

The Virtual Classroom Project was an initiative to encourage University education students to con... more The Virtual Classroom Project was an initiative to encourage University education students to consider who their prospective students would be. The project shares a series of video interviews with a class of grade 4 students and their teacher. Knowing learners is crucial to developing relationships and planning effectively. Viewing these videos might afford insights and understanding into a class of young learners. It is the hope that prospective teachers can use the information in the videos to leverage in-class conversations and be a platform for making assignments and activities more authentic.

Research paper thumbnail of Reflections on Equity-Centered Design. Research Report. ETS RR-20-22

ETS Research Report Series, Dec 1, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial Volume 52

Research paper thumbnail of An Integrated Design and Appraisal Framework for Ethical Writing Assessment

Journal of Writing Assessment, 2016

In my introduction to this special issue, I highlighted the insufficiency of key measurement conc... more In my introduction to this special issue, I highlighted the insufficiency of key measurement concepts--fairness, validity, and reliability--in guiding the design and implementation of writing assessments. I proposed that the concept of ethics provides a more complete framework for guiding assessment design and use. This article advances the philosophical foundation for our theory of ethics articulated by Elliot (this issue). Starting with fairness as first principle, it examines how safety and risk can be addressed through the application of an integrated design and appraisal framework (IDAF) for writing assessment tools. The paper is structured around two case studies set in Alberta, Canada. Case Study 1 applies Kane’s (2013) IUA model of validation to an appraisal--Alberta’s English 30-1 (grade 12 academic English) diploma exam program--highlighting in the process the limitations in contemporary validity theory. Case Study 2 examines an assessment design project I am currently undertaking in partnership with 8 English language arts teachers in southern Alberta. This case study examines how the IDAF supports ethical assessment design and appraisal.

Research paper thumbnail of Disrupting White Supremacy in Assessment: Toward a Justice-Oriented, Antiracist Validity Framework

Educational Assessment, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Forum Issues and Reflections on Ethics and Writing Assessment

Journal of Writing Assessment, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Ethical Considerations and Writing Assessment

Journal of Writing Assessment, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Writing Machines: Formative Assessment in the Age of Big Data

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of (Re-) Mapping the System: Toward Dialogue-Driven Transformation in the Teaching and Assessment of Writing

Over three days, 180 junior and senior high school English teachers, postsecondary (university an... more Over three days, 180 junior and senior high school English teachers, postsecondary (university and college) writing instructors, workplace (corporate and small business) writing instructors, and government officials who are responsible for portfolios related to workforce training and literacy met to understand from a broad systems-level perspective how writing development was being supported and assessed in Alberta Canada. Conversations were structured using Dynamic Criteria Mapping (Broad, 2003) as a method for understanding the values, expectations, and contextual factors that shape the system. Participants shared values related to clarity of expression, risk-taking, and ability to motivate audience. These values, however, were enacted differently within school and workplace contexts. Writing as a problem-solving activity was identified as a tool for enhancing knowledge transfer within the system. Alberta's large-scale writing exams, on the other hand, created barriers to tran...

Research paper thumbnail of Disrupting White Supremacy in Assessment: Toward a Justice-Oriented, Antiracist Validity Framework

Educational Assessment, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Chapter 14. Ethical Considerations and Writing Assessment

The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado eBooks, Apr 1, 2024

Research paper thumbnail of Afterword: Meeting the Challenges of Workplace English Communication in the 21st Century

The journal of writing analytics, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of Principled Development of Workplace English Communication Part 1: A Sociocognitive Framework

The journal of writing analytics, 2021

• Background: This study advances a sociocognitive approach to modeling complex communication tas... more • Background: This study advances a sociocognitive approach to modeling complex communication tasks. Using an integrative perspective of linguistic, cultural, and substantive (LCS) patterns, we provide a framework for understanding the nature and acquisition of people's adaptive capabilities in social/cognitive complex adaptive systems. We also illustrate the application of the framework to learning and assessment. As we will show, understanding the connection between measurement models and users' needs is important to increase assessments' educative usefulness. • Questions Addressed: Our framework is designed to address questions regarding the following four areas: the nature of sociocognitive perspectives in educational measurement, the application of LCS patterns to complex communication tasks captured in an extended formative assessment of Workplace English Communication (WEC), the usefulness of psychometric models for instruction and assessment with such complex tasks, and considerations for measurement modeling.

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial Volume 54

Assessing Writing, Nov 1, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Principled Development of Workplace English Communication Part 3: An Integrated Design and Appraisal Framework

The journal of writing analytics, 2021

• Background: An expanded skillset is needed to meet today's shifting workplace demands, which in... more • Background: An expanded skillset is needed to meet today's shifting workplace demands, which involve collaboration with geographically distributed multidisciplinary teams. As the nature of work changes due to increases in automation and the elevated need to work in multidisciplinary teams, enhanced visions of Workplace English Communication (WEC) are needed to communicate with diverse audiences and effectively use new technologies. Thus, WEC is ranked as one of the top five skills needed for employability. Even so, results of employer surveys report that incoming employees lack communication competency (National Association of Colleges and Employers [NACE], 2018). To address this issue, with a focus on WEC teaching and assessment, we describe a framework used to guide the design of WEC modules. We suggest that conceptual frameworks can be used to inform the design process of the module. In • Conclusions: This article illustrates the application of the IDAF to inform the design and development of WEC modules. This article contributes to the literature on WEC and complex assessments of hard-to-assess constructs more generally by offering a way of thinking about designing, assessing, and then evaluating the design and assessment of interactive educational modules for teaching complex communication knowledge and approaches.

Research paper thumbnail of Introduction and overview to the volume

Studies in corpus linguistics, Jun 15, 2023

Research paper thumbnail of Introduction: Meeting the Challenges of Workplace English Communication in the 21st Century

The journal of writing analytics, 2021

concept of communication as studied in this special issue is the idea that constructs are drawn d... more concept of communication as studied in this special issue is the idea that constructs are drawn down-that is, both narrowed and limited by use and context-in a particular study for a particular reason (Mislevy & Elliot, 2020). As such, while it is possible to speak of robust construct representation (researcher use, for example, of an email to better understand knowledge of student sensitivity to organizational hierarchy), it is nevertheless important to remember that communication itself is a complex construct. Indeed, we wonder if it is the case that all constructs, understood in their full span, are complex. If that is the case, then the more robust a construct is represented in a given assessment, the harder it is to evaluate. In the case of communication, construct span is vast (White et al., 2015). And so, while each of our authors establishes ways that the construct under examination is represented in acts of writing, reading, listening, and speaking (that is, a language arts model), it is inaccurate to imagine that there is one universal construct of communication-or that any assessment can do any more than to capture the drawn down construct. Seen in this way, construct underrepresentation is inevitable, and we must do our best to understand the impact of any episodic draw down (Elliot, 2016). Key, then, is for the readers of this special issue to attend to the construct as limited and defined in each article. • Threshold Concept 3: Twenty-first century communication abilities are needed across organizational settings. In an issue of Assessing Writing published just before this special issue, Macqueen et al. (2020) noted the significance of communication in nonacademic settings: "In a hospital context, an inaccurate written handover poses a risk to patient safety. In a business context, an inappropriate tone in an email poses a risk to the client relationship and their future dealings" (p. 1). In cases when these abilities are taught and assessed, it is worth asking if the drawn-down construct results in risk-to organizational applicants who do not have sufficient capabilities and to organizational stakeholders who rely on them. While great effort has been spent to assess written communication (as isolated from reading, listening, and speaking) in academic settings, far less effort has been undertaken to assess organizational communication in its professional and technical forms (Hundleby & Allen, 2010). Additionally, first-year writing in U.S. post-secondary settings is commonly focused on academic genres in which the instructor is the sole audience and knowledge of conventions is the pedagogical target (Isaacs, 2018). In this restrictive environment, it therefore becomes imperative to understand the overwhelming need to shift traditional writing pedagogies to ones that embrace a comprehensive view of communication in organizational settings and to design curricula in which transfer capacity is a focal goal.

Research paper thumbnail of The ethical turn in writing assessment: How far have we come, and where do we still need to go?

Language Teaching

Both of us were drawn into the writing assessment field initially through our lived experiences a... more Both of us were drawn into the writing assessment field initially through our lived experiences as schoolteachers. We worked in radically different contexts – Martin was head of a languages department and teacher of French and German in the late 1990s in the UK, and David was a Grade 12 teacher of Academic English in Alberta, Canada, at the turn of the twenty-first century. In both these contexts, the traditional direct test of writing – referred to, for example, as the ‘timed impromptu writing test’ (Weigle, 2002, p. 59) or the ‘snapshot approach’ (Hamp-Lyons & Kroll, 1997, p. 18) – featured significantly in our practices, albeit in very different ways. This form of writing assessment still holds considerable sway across the globe. For us, however, it provoked early questions and concerns around the consequential and ethical aspects of writing assessment.

Research paper thumbnail of Very Like a Whale: The Assessment of Writing Programs, E.M. White, N. Elliot, I. Peckham. Utah State University Press, Logan (2015), 202 pp., ISBN: 978-0-87421-985-2

Assessing Writing, 2016

Very Like a Whale: The Assessment of Writing Programs (Whale) is Ed White, Norbert Elliot, and Ir... more Very Like a Whale: The Assessment of Writing Programs (Whale) is Ed White, Norbert Elliot, and Irv Peckham’s most recent ffering to the writing assessment community. Whale captures effectively the complexity involved in assessing writing rograms. It challenges writing program administrators, writing instructors, and those responsible for assessing writng to design and execute high quality writing assessment programs that model the constructs associated with writing evelopment for students within their unique institutional ecologies (p. 7). To begin, a note about the audience, focus, and purpose of this book. White, Elliot, and Peckham have written this book for eachers of writing and for writing researchers. The book focuses on the assessment of writing programs at postsecondary nstitutions in the United States. The authors’ goal is to communicate assessment concepts to professionals in the fields of omposition, rhetoric and writing. Others have written reviews of this book for Amer...

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial - vol 55 Jan 2023

Research paper thumbnail of The Virtual Classroom Project through Video Vignettes

The Virtual Classroom Project was an initiative to encourage University education students to con... more The Virtual Classroom Project was an initiative to encourage University education students to consider who their prospective students would be. The project shares a series of video interviews with a class of grade 4 students and their teacher. Knowing learners is crucial to developing relationships and planning effectively. Viewing these videos might afford insights and understanding into a class of young learners. It is the hope that prospective teachers can use the information in the videos to leverage in-class conversations and be a platform for making assignments and activities more authentic.

Research paper thumbnail of Reflections on Equity-Centered Design. Research Report. ETS RR-20-22

ETS Research Report Series, Dec 1, 2020

Research paper thumbnail of Editorial Volume 52

Research paper thumbnail of An Integrated Design and Appraisal Framework for Ethical Writing Assessment

Journal of Writing Assessment, 2016

In my introduction to this special issue, I highlighted the insufficiency of key measurement conc... more In my introduction to this special issue, I highlighted the insufficiency of key measurement concepts--fairness, validity, and reliability--in guiding the design and implementation of writing assessments. I proposed that the concept of ethics provides a more complete framework for guiding assessment design and use. This article advances the philosophical foundation for our theory of ethics articulated by Elliot (this issue). Starting with fairness as first principle, it examines how safety and risk can be addressed through the application of an integrated design and appraisal framework (IDAF) for writing assessment tools. The paper is structured around two case studies set in Alberta, Canada. Case Study 1 applies Kane’s (2013) IUA model of validation to an appraisal--Alberta’s English 30-1 (grade 12 academic English) diploma exam program--highlighting in the process the limitations in contemporary validity theory. Case Study 2 examines an assessment design project I am currently undertaking in partnership with 8 English language arts teachers in southern Alberta. This case study examines how the IDAF supports ethical assessment design and appraisal.

Research paper thumbnail of Disrupting White Supremacy in Assessment: Toward a Justice-Oriented, Antiracist Validity Framework

Educational Assessment, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Forum Issues and Reflections on Ethics and Writing Assessment

Journal of Writing Assessment, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Ethical Considerations and Writing Assessment

Journal of Writing Assessment, 2016

Research paper thumbnail of Writing Machines: Formative Assessment in the Age of Big Data

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 2021

Research paper thumbnail of (Re-) Mapping the System: Toward Dialogue-Driven Transformation in the Teaching and Assessment of Writing

Over three days, 180 junior and senior high school English teachers, postsecondary (university an... more Over three days, 180 junior and senior high school English teachers, postsecondary (university and college) writing instructors, workplace (corporate and small business) writing instructors, and government officials who are responsible for portfolios related to workforce training and literacy met to understand from a broad systems-level perspective how writing development was being supported and assessed in Alberta Canada. Conversations were structured using Dynamic Criteria Mapping (Broad, 2003) as a method for understanding the values, expectations, and contextual factors that shape the system. Participants shared values related to clarity of expression, risk-taking, and ability to motivate audience. These values, however, were enacted differently within school and workplace contexts. Writing as a problem-solving activity was identified as a tool for enhancing knowledge transfer within the system. Alberta's large-scale writing exams, on the other hand, created barriers to tran...

Research paper thumbnail of Disrupting White Supremacy in Assessment: Toward a Justice-Oriented, Antiracist Validity Framework

Educational Assessment, 2022

Research paper thumbnail of Monsters, Inc. : Curing Ethical Blindness in an Era of Test‐Based Accountability

Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy