Learning activities are particularly effective when they are linked to how students will learn in later formal and informal situations. Learning is not only an active, individual activity. Student learning that is collaborative prepares students for life in the contemporary world. Students and faculty are often co-learners, and effective learning experiences include group learning, peer tutoring, and collaborating with others on projects. Because students are a major source of feedback, students learn from and with each other.
Students also learn in many other situations and from many other sources outside formal settings.
Students learn as citizens, with and from others in the public domain. Students should actively participate in the assessment of their own work. Educators have primary responsibility for establishing the criteria and methods of assessment. Assessment processes should directly relate to course and curriculum goals. Assessment is most effective when it yields feedback that is part of a continuous improvement process for the individual student's performance, and in turn, the curriculum.