Quality of Student Assessment - Research Paper Example

?Running head: Learning and Assessment Basics Number: Due Introduction Its most disappointingto realize that what students acquired in class is not all what we thought we were teaching. This can be blamed on the poor assessment techniques that we use at times. Assessment of student learning is currently undergoing profound change at the face of reforms that are taking place in the learning environment in areas such as content standards; instruction; curriculum; the professionalism of teachers and the relationship between schools, parents, community and the government. It is therefore imperative to have these factors in mind when designing an appropriate assessment technique. To be more precise, an assessment technique that best serves learning must be integrated with instruction and curriculum. Characteristics of learners Although the characteristics of students may have some similarity, in the long run, they are as unique as finger prints. It’s of great importance for educators to monitor and have knowledge of the characteristics of their students. In fact, educators or teachers should keep a well updated profile of their students. This is very important when it comes to structuring tailor-made techniques of teaching, instruction and assessment. As an educator, there are various characteristics I can identify with learners. Firstly, majority of learners poses the ability to evaluate. Students like to quickly form opinions and can evaluate basically everything and especially their tutors. They can easily detect lack of competence, sincerity or enthusiasm (Wood & Cantillon, 2011). Tutors therefore need to be dedicated to doing their best to avoid giving students the opportunity to make evaluations especially the adverse one. Fallibility is another trait associated with students. Just like anybody else, students make mistakes and tutors should not lose patience when students make mistakes. We should not forget that we also had difficulty in acquiring the knowledge we have today and therefore students should be encouraged when they make mistake but taught to overcome them in future. Thirdly, different learners have different academic potentials. Some students grasp new concepts faster, more than others. Some grasp concepts fast but forget fast while others take time to understand new concepts but once they understand, they rarely forget. Often, those students that understands concepts fast gets bored when tutors keep on repeating the same thing while on the other hand, the ‘slow learners’ are left behind when the tutors rush. Another characteristic of learners is that they like to be recognized. Recognition is one way of motivating students and tutors can use different approaches to recognize special performances. Recognition should be prompt and proportional to the degree of performance. Other characteristics of learners include that different students poses different psychological characteristics that dictate when and how they learn. This makes students to perceive different things differently. Some students learn best early in the morning while others perform best later in the day. This is rather psychological and varies from student to student. They also react differently to immediate environment like effects of sound and the setting of the learning environment (Aspin et al., 2011). Explain how your understanding of cognition and learning will influence your design of instruction and assessment with this group in mind. The two skills actually work hand in hand because it is one thing to learn and another to understand things in the classroom environment that influence the nature of instruction and assessment methods. Learning actually gives more formal skill and approach towards development of instructional and assessment methods while on the other hand, cognition helps instructors often to invent, discover, or simply stumble upon a strategy that works. According to the question, the knowledge I have gained through thinking and learning will have great influence of the way I would design instruction or assessment techniques for my students. Through learning for example, I have gained the skill of monitoring my students basically through observation among other methods to gain thorough knowledge of my students. It is actually through learning that I have understood that there are different types of learners like visual learners who understand best through observation and therefore use of diagrams and other visual aids facilitate their learning. There are also auditory learners that learn best through methods like verbal communication and lecture. Finally, there are tactile learners that understand best through use of practical lessons. This is very fundamental in structuring instructional and assessment techniques that best suit the nature of students. Cognition on the other hands helps me to understand the classroom environment and factors that affect productivity of class work. This leads to designing instruction and assessment methods that are tailor made to suite the learning situation and type of learners at hand. Although there are formal approaches to instruction and teaching, there are other factors that affect productivity in class work and therefore these formalized approaches do not work always. Factors like culture, upbringing, motivation and attitude may dictate the approach to be used in instruction and assessment and this is where cognition comes into play, (Blanchard, 2009). Explain how you would facilitate the development of expertise in the classroom According to Calkins & Cox (2009), expertise is the status held by an individual whereby he/she is widely recognized as a reliable source of a particular technique or skill and whose ability to judge justly, rightly and wisely is accorded by the authority, peers and the public in general. There are various approaches I would use to facilitate classroom expertise. Fundamentally, one of the criteria I would use to facilitate this is through creating the need to learn. This will create a desire to learn and consequently the students will have their attention drawn to what is being taught. In such a case, productivity is usually high. Another approach I would use is using freedom. Sometimes the approach used in teaching is dependent on other factors like attitude, level of intelligence etc. The tutor should be able to abandon certain standards and adopt the flow if he/she finds this to be the way out. I would also advocate the cultivation of ethical principles to ensure standardization of the learning environment. For example, I would ensure that the syllabus is completed in time and also students get time to practice what they learn in class. I would also ensure that the instructional techniques are fair- fair in the sense that they suite all categories of students. The assessment methods should also be fair. Finally, I would ensure that teachers are well motivated to undertake their duties and responsibilities willingly. Motivation actually creates a self-drive and an internal desire to work best. It may also help both teachers and learners to develop a sense of belonging and a positive attitude towards the learning activities. Discuss the specific guidelines you would use for assessing students' development There are different programs and experiences in the learning environment that facilitate learning and development of students. In order to evaluate these programs, evidence must be collected about the extent to which desired outcomes of educational process have been attained and the learning process works best where the results of assessment are used in subsequent learning process. There are certain guidelines I would employ to effect the assessment process. Firstly, I would ensure that the primary intention of the assessment is to improve students’ learning. The assessment process should therefore employ practices and other methods that are consistent with learning goals, instruction, curriculum and current knowledge of how students learn. Above all the results should be implemented in the learning process. Secondly, I would ensure that the assessment systems are fair to all students. This includes use of varied but equivalent methods for students to express their knowledge and experience. The systems should be adaptive and accommodate different types of learners like students with disability. Thirdly, I would ensure that the broad community participates in the assessment development. Development of assessment techniques should draw knowledge or and involve such parties as parents, professionals in education sector, students and the community to ensure both effectiveness and acceptance. Fourthly, I would ensure that communication about assessment is clear and regular. Educators, institutions and governing bodies should communicate regularly and in ordinary language the agreed upon learning goals and objectives. The primary focus here should be what the students are able to do, what they need to do and the actions to be taken to facilitate improvement. Fifthly, I would ensure that there is professional collaboration and development support in assessment. Assessment process require educators who understands fully the process involved, uses sufficient data and suitable methods, works together and engage in ongoing professional development to improve the abilities on assessment. Finally, I would ensure that the assessment equipment is regularly reviewed and improved. Educational environment is dynamic in nature and therefore assessment methods should evolve to accommodate the resultant changes. Reviewers may include stakeholders in the education system and even other independent expert analysts. Conclusion The learning environment is changing rapidly and there is need to come to with effective methods of instruction and assessment. The development of these methods should be inclusive, and should be implemented in subsequent learning processes. References Aspin, D.N., Chapman, J. & Evans, K. (2011). Second international Handbook of Lifelong Learning. NY: Springer Verlag Blanchard, J. (2009). Teaching, learning and assessment. Maidenhead: Open University Press. Calkins, S & Cox, R. (2009). Learning and teaching in higher education: the reflective Professional. Los Angeles: Sage Wood, D., & Cantillon, P. (2011). ABC of learning and teaching in medicine. Wiley: Blackwell. Read More