Assessment and Evaluation

Introduction

Even though there is extensive literature on the topic of assessment, there is still a wide gap on the subject of assessment in knowledge management. A recent attempt to begin addressing this void is the work by Testa, Brown-Grant, and Bedford (2020), which offers a framework for the application of assessment practices in knowledge management. In their analysis Testa et al. (2020) explain that many assessment practices in knowledge management are based on assessment models and strategies from other fields, which, in many instances fail to adequately identify and measure knowledge management capabilities. The literature on the assessment of storytelling as a knowledge management approach is also virtually nonexistent. Much of the discussion on storytelling and assessment is limited to the use of storytelling as a tool to evaluate other practices and approaches, as exemplified in the use of narrative assessment in medicine, education, and other fields (Abrahamson, 1998; Dudek & Cook, 2019; Elwyn & Gwyn, 1999; Kleinman, 1988; van Wessel, 2018). On the other hand, discussions about the assessment of a story or a storytelling practice appear more frequently in education, particularly, but not exclusively, in secondary and elementary education. At those educational levels, the assessment focuses on the design of rubrics, toolkits and other methods to measure aspects such as writing of stories, oral presentations, and digital stories. Therefore, to address the pressing need of guidance and information on the application of assessment strategies to storytelling practices Chapters 7 and 8 offer a discussion on the assessment of storytelling competencies and storytelling outcomes. The goal of these discussions is to offer practitioners advice and ideas to measure the strength and impact of their storytelling initiatives.