Self-directed Learning Oriented Assessments in the Asia-Pacific

SLOA is already being applied in many schools with links to the ARC. It is an approach to assessment that acknowledges the centrality of self-directed learning and which positions assessment as a tool to enable and enhance self-directed learning. It draws on several theories of learning and assessment, including the constructivist notion that learning is best achieved when students take ownership of their educational process, setting their own goals and monitoring their own progress towards those goals. SLOA has been the research and service approach of the ARC since 2005. In the intervening years the centre has developed a number of tools to facilitate SLOA learning and assessment, including vertical ability scales, teacher-friendly computer software and packages for self-directed learning.