I will analyse assessments and their purpose in enabling. I will use my own teaching practice to demonstrate where assessment has/has not aided or encouraged learning.
Assessment theories are based on knowledge (cognitive domain), skills (psychomotor domain) and attitudes (affective domain). Assessments differ from exams/tests, where results are graded or given a score. Assessments gauge learning that has taken place up to the point of administration and should have specific outcomes. This can then be evaluated to enhance/change a course if needed. Assessments should include informative feedback/feed forward between the learner and the teacher. John Hattie suggests that feedback should be focused, specific and clear. J.Hattie (2012).
Assessment
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It should assess attributes/knowledge that the learner should be developing and have sufficient predictive ability to establish how well the learner will progress.
Fairness - allows for all students to do equally well, regardless of gender or backgrounds. Producing reliable and valid assessment sets an even field for all learners on a course.
A host of methods are available for assessment, as Rowntree suggests that we may run into problems if we only use one method of assessment. Rowntree (1987). What needs to be assessed will determine the type of assessment used, for example, observation might be used for a practical task with peer/teacher feedback or questions and answers. Here the teacher can make a judgement on cognitive ability perhaps. As Tummons says “Practice and a supportive peer group will help”. Tummons, (2011)
Assessment methods used are subject to VACSRF – Valid, Authentic, Current, Sufficient, Reliable and Fair.
Validity; covers what has been studied in the course up the point it is administered and it sets out to check specifically the learners knowledge and
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This was to be peer assessed as it created more opportunity for learning from each other. They were shown the correct method for addressing an envelope on the interactive white board (IWB). Students then took turns to correct mistakes on the IWB. They were then given examples to correct on a worksheet. Group work was allowed as I wanted them to draw from their own experiences of letters they may have received at home. They then had to ask each other for a partner’s address, record it correctly and have it checked by a peer. This promoted learner involvement and allowed for correction of mistakes by their peers rather than me the teacher. It was an empowering exercise that built confidence and motivated the learners as some wanted another try to get it right. This activity assessed the correct way to address an envelope. I chose the blank envelope as it represented realistic imagery. It worked well as all the learners would have had mail at home from the college if nowhere else. I deemed it inclusive for this reason. As this was peer assessed my observation of each group verified that the addresses were correctly written. Another way I might have assessed this was for the learner to pick out the relevant information from a text and assemble it correctly to address an
The effectiveness of your teaching and learning approaches used in your area of specialism in relation to meeting the individual needs of the learner.
Assessment has been the greatest challenge in my development as a professional. My coursework as supported my growth in this area, especially in understanding the broad range of assessments used to support students’ growth and development. My courses have also supported my understanding of how ongoing observational assessment and standards-based measures can be used to inform instruction and support the cycle of observation, reflection and planning. Coursework
Research carried out by Ofsted (2011) shows that, assessment improved a practitioner’s awareness of a child’s strengths and weaknesses. Subsequently, this had a positive influence on their planning, as they were able to differentiate and offer adequate support for children. Ofsted believes it to be the best way to improve pupil’s attainment (Ofsted, 2011).
There a three main stages to assessment the start of a course when Initial and diagnostic assessments should take place these methods are used to identify the learners suitability learning levels and learning needs for their chosen course. The second stage would be the middle of the course where I would want to use continuous assessment methods such as peer assessment and self assessment too ensure that the learners are making the correct progress, all of these methods have formative assessment roles that allow the learner to improve whilst learning. Finally there would be a final assessment this could be a written exam end of module test or performi...
The student assessment that I choose for my students to complete in my geometry class was to write in their personal journals. By writing in a personal journal and reflecting on the lesson they learned, I will be “Activating students as the owners of their learning.” (William, 2007) After each lesson, usually at the last 5 to 10 minutes of each class period, I had my students write in their personal journal of what they learned and what information they were not completely sure of. At the end of the class as my students leave, I will hold on to their journal and look through a few of them to see what they understood and what they still need help with in understanding. The students will have three questions they can answer on their journal entries, they are:
The work sample is a word problem worksheet on coins. The objective in this lesson was for students to solve problems using coins and the students had to either add up coins or subtract coins in this worksheet. Therefore, I was able to “match learning objectives with assessment methods”. Based on the work sample, the student correctly answered the questions that involved adding up coins but when she had to subtract coins, she got the answers incorrect because she assumed that the question involved adding up coins. It taught me that she did not know when to add or subtract when reading a word problem. As a result, I adjusted my instruction and taught the student to look for clue words such as, “in all” or “have left” when solving a word problem. I taught her that key words such as, how many are left, difference, how many more and fewer indicate that she needs to subtract. While, key words such as, altogether, in all, total and sum indicate that she needs to add. This show that I was able to “analyze the assessment and understood the gaps in her learning and use it to guide my instruction”. The student knew how to add and subtract but she had a difficult time knowing what operation to use when solving word problems. I provided the student with “effective and descriptive feedback” immediately after finishing her worksheet which helped her to improve her
Sufficient and current and - Meet internal and external assessment requirement Involve learners in assessment : peer and self-assessment represent an interesting way to involve students in the assessment process as students assess each
The model has six phases that are meant to build off each other. The first phase is to analyze the learners, their general characteristics and learning style. Understanding the learners will help the designer work through the next steps. The next phase is to state the objectives, learning outcomes and desired behaviors the students will demonstrate. Selecting the technology to be used and then utilizing the selected technology are the next two steps. This is where the ASSURE model differs from many as it specifically builds technology and media into the model. Require learner participation and give the student feedback is the next step. The designer will find ways to involve the learner in the learning through activities, discussions or hands on projects. The final letter of the model, E, is for evaluation. Evaluate the effectiveness of the learning and the media used against the objectives to verify the intended outcome was achieved. Modifications or revisions will then be made as necessary based on the information from the evaluation. It should be noted, that changes and modifications can be made at any stage as well and the designer should not wait until the evaluation if a change is needed (CSU-Global,
Assessments are according to Edglossary.org (2014), “the wide variety of methods that educators use to evaluate, measure, and document the academic readiness, learning process, and skill acquisition of students”. Assessments can be used to identify several important aspects of learning and development. First, they can be used to distinguish a child’s strengths and weaknesses as well as measure specific knowledge and skills. Assessments can also be used to demonstrate what a child has learned and what they understand (“Assessment,” 2014). My opinion of assessment has not changed; however, now I understand how to use assessments that will help ensure that I am providing the most benefits for my students.
Promoting fairness in the classroom not only gives the teacher respect but also gives the students a sense of safeness and trust within the classroom. Creating an environment that revolves around fairness, trust and respect will be beneficial to all of the children in the class. The terms respect and trust are pretty straightforward. There doesn’t need to be a debate on what those two mean, but the same cannot be said for fairness. When one usually hears the word “fair” it is often looked at as synonymous to the term “equal” but the two are not the same, especially in a classroom setting. The term fairness on the classroom level means that the individual students are given what he or she may need in order to be successful; fairness does not
In spite of the importance of assessment in education, few teachers receive proper training on how to design or analyze assessments. Due to this, when teachers are not provided with suitable assessments from their textbooks or instructional resources, teachers construct their own in an unsystematic manner. They create questions and essay prompts comparable to the ones that their teachers used, and they treat them as evaluations to administer when instructional activities are completed predominantly for allocating students' grades. In order to use assessments to improve instruction and student learning, teachers need to change their approach to assessments by making sure that they create sound assessments. To ensure that their assessments are sound they need include five basic indicators that can be used as steps to follow when creating assessments. The first of these indicators and the first step a teacher must take when creating a sound assessme...
Through assessment students and teachers are able to determine the level of mastery a student has achieved with standards taught. Both formative and summative assessment should be purposeful and targeted to gain the most accurate data to drive further instruction (Ainsworth, 2010). While this syllabus does a good job of identifying the need for both formal and informal assessments, the way in which this is communicated does not provide enough detail for understanding. Simply listing assessment types does not give any insight into how these assessments fit in the learning process of this course. While some of the assessments mentioned could be common assessments chosen by the school or district to gain insight into the effectiveness of instruction, the inclusion of authentic assessments is most beneficial to students and demonstrates learning in a context closer to that of a work environment (Rovai, 2004). Unfortunately, this particular course, according to this syllabus, relies heavily on quizzes and traditional tests and essays to form the bulk of assessment opportunities. While other activities, such as formative assessments, journaling and discussions are mentioned as possible avenues for scoring, they are given a very low percentage of the overall grade. This shows that they are not valued for their ability to show progression and mastery. If this is indeed the case, this puts the students as a
Overall, I feel that the objectives of the lesson was met as the children were able to sort the animals according to two different attributes and describe how they were sorted. This was achieved by asking the children questions to gauge their understanding and by scaffolding their learning as they attempted to sort the animals both individually and in small groups.
The quality of teaching in a classroom makes the biggest learning outcome. Effective teaching leads to the improvement in a student’s achievement. Measuring effective teaching against the progress of a student is a must. It is the belief of all schools that all students must have equalising starting points which means that no matter what background a child comes from they should have the same opportunity for learning.
As I reflect on my past assessment process, I realized how much my assessments have changed over the years. In my early years, I used tests for informational recall as my assessments. I felt these were appropriate guidelines in which I needed to follow in order to substantiate a student’s grade. Every assignment or tests was given a point value and then based on the amount of points, a grade was given. Every student’s assessment was exactly the same, and the assessments did not contain any subjectivity. I felt confident in giving the grade based on a valid point system. However reflecting back, I see that I did not include any performance-based assessments or individual learning styles in my early assessment. I also did not take into consideration the individual needs of my students. My assessment approach was awful. I am embarrassed that I use to assess students in this manner.