Background
As a teacher, you need to check the children’s learning process in order to see if they learn and how or if your teaching-methods are helping them progress. We have chosen to focus on the importance of assessment and how it is (or should be) used as a part of the learning process.
Research question
- What is assessment?
- Why should we assess?
Theory
Assessments can be carried out in different ways. The different assessments are:
1) Formative; the pupils learning process. Assessment for learning. Ex. Portfolios.
Summative; “summing-up” – how much did the pupils learn through the course. Do they meet the target? Assessment of learning. Ex. Tests.
2) Objective; is a form of questioning which has a single correct answer, fx. true/false answers, multiple choice etc.
Subjective; is a form of questioning which may have more than one correct answer or more than one way of expressing the correct answer. Ex. extended-response questions and essays.
3) Criterion-referenced; about the individual’s performance in the language.
Norm-referenced; it relates one candidates performance to other candidates.
The general aim of assessing is to make a profile of the pupils’ strengths and weaknesses, in order to monitor and aid the pupils’ progress and to monitor your methods and materials as a teacher. It is also used to provide pupils and their parents with evidence of their progress, and enhance motivation for the pupils (Ioannou-Georgiou & Pavlou, 2003).
When teaching, it’s not guaranteed that each pupil will learn equally, because lots of factors play a role. It could be learning styles, the pupils’ prerequisitions, motivation etc. As it says in Fælles Mål 2009; ”Teaching and learning is not the same … No matter how well-planned a teaching is, a specific learning outcome is not guaranteed”. Therefore, using the assessment-results when planning a lesson is the best way of including everyone in class.
Vygotsky turned ideas of assessment by insisting that we do not get a true assessment of a child’s ability by measuring what she or he can do alone and without help; instead, he suggested that what a child can do with helpful others both predicts the next stage in learning and gives a better assessment of learning. This kind of ‘scaffolded assessment’ is far removed from the child seated in silent isolation to take a test (Cameron, 2001).
Discussion
“It’s not that useful just to get the match results. What we need is a live description of the match.” (Rea-Dickens, Stæhr, 2009)
First of all, an assessment should be valid and reliable. A valid assessment is one which measures what it is intended to measure. For example, it would not be valid to only give marks for spelling and neatness, when assessing writing skills (p. 225. Cameron, 2001). A reliable assessment is one which constantly achieves the same result with the same group of students. As said before, assessment is for the teacher and the pupils, and it should be organized as a part of the overall planning of teaching.
According to Lars Stæhr, it’s not the tests and others assessment-methods that makes the pupil competent, it’s the teachers pedagogical follow-up on the result (Stæhr, 2009). And if the classroom atmosphere is influenced by interaction, where the pupils feel comfortable of being assessed, they will feel it’s okay to take chances and make mistakes, and this will help the teacher to get a good insight of what the pupils understand and not understand (OECD, Stæhr).
To make sure an assessment is as valid as possible, the teacher should decide on the assessment's five questions from Fælles Mål 2009:
1. What is assessed - what do we need knowledge about?
- Who assesses and by whom - fx. the pupils, the teacher, pupil-pupil?
- Why assessment - what should assessment be used for?
- How do we assess - which tools are appropriate?
- When do we assess - fx. during lessons, end of a course, end of year?
Practical examples
Pupils Logbook
This example is taken from: http://evaluering.uvm.dk/templates/laerereOgLedere_layout.jsf
Purpose: Creating an increased reflection among pupils as well as documentation of what students have learned.
Focus: The tool focuses on the pupil's thoughts and reflections on own learning.
About the activity
The logbook is written by the pupil, and used by the teacher to get information about education and insight into the pupil's learning. The purpose of the logbook as an assessment tool is to enhance the pupil's self-assessment of her/his work in relation to the objectives. The logbook serves also as a tool for documenting the pupil's learning and development. The logbooks are often used in projects where the pupil reflects on and adjust the process. The logbook is a personal diary where the pupil writes her/his thoughts and reflections in relation to the work she/he is doing. It is a professional and personal journal with emphasis on the academic. The logbook is also called a process report or a work report. The structure depends on the pupil's age, profession, purpose, organization and individual agreements between teacher and student. The teacher collects the logbook, which forms the basis for a brief conversation with pupils about teaching and learning of it. Working with the logbook as an assessment tool requires that the learning objectives are clear. Logbook writing can be a reflection of both professional and personal and social development.
Questions the pupils can write about:
• What have you done?
• What was difficult?
• What / who helped you if it was difficult?
• What have you been particularly fond of?
• What have you learned?
• How have your efforts been?
• What should you do better next time?
Before you decide to use the logbook as an assessment tool in teaching, it is an advantage that the teacher in collaboration with the pupils discusses and clarifies what the aim of the writing is.
List of references
- Cameron, Lynne. 2001. Teaching Languages to Young Learners. Cambridge University Press.
- Hughes, Arthur. 2003. Testing fir Language Teachers. Cambridge University Press.
- Imsen, Gunn. 2004. Lærens Verden – Indføring i Almen Didaktik. Gyldendalske Boghandel.
- Ioannou-Georgiou, Sophie & Pavlou, Pavlos. 2003. Assessing Young Learners.Oxford University Press.
- Stæhr, Lars. 2009. Test i Folkeskolen – De nationale test i et pædagogisk perspektiv. Hans Reitzels Forlag.
- Fælles Mål 2009. Engelsk.
- http://evaluering.uvm.dk/templates/laerereOgLedere_layout.jsf
