Emma Louden
President,
Slooh
When Online Students Can't Fake It: What Authentic Assessment Reveals about STEM Learning
Thursday, October 01, 2026 | 9:30AM–10:30AM MT
Session Type:
Poster Session
Delivery Format:
Poster Session
Online asynchronous STEM courses are among the fastest-growing segments in higher education, yet most rely on passive materials and assessments that students can shortcut—leaving institutions checking a general education box without creating scientifically curious graduates. This session shares four semesters of data from a multistage redesign of introductory astronomy courses for non-science majors at a 45,000-student R1 serving as a Minority Serving- and Hispanic-Serving Institution. Traditional textbook and problem-set materials were replaced with a combination of gamified content, open educational resources, and a robotic telescope platform that gives online students the same authentic, instrument-driven experience previously reserved for on-campus learners. We present what happened to student satisfaction, engagement, and performance—including an honest look at how Drop, Fail, Withdraw and Incomplete (DFWI) rates increased when students could no longer game their assignments—and offer a practical framework for any institution evaluating experiential learning platforms for online STEM delivery.
