Assessment and Assessment Techniques - Essay Example

? Assessment and Assessment Techniques Over many years assessment has become a tool that is very useful in teaching. Education assessment has been used in raising learning standards, for which the learning process needs to be conducted. Evaluation is mostly done to lower ability students in order to define the specific learning needs that have to be addressed. Formative assessment is one of the methods of evaluation. It is a method of evaluation that is conducted during the learning program. It involves a number of informal and formal procedures of assessment that are used by teachers in the process of learning. Teachers use formative evaluation to modify the learning and teaching activities and to better the student’s attainment (Ainsworth, L. 2004). This method involves qualitative feedback which focuses on a detailed performance and content of teachers, and students. Formative assessment is a contrast of summative assessment because summative assessment seeks to monitor outcomes of education for external accountability. Developmental stages are the stages that a child goes through from childhood to adulthood. According to the study made by Erickson, the interaction of a person’s body, cultural influences, and mind determines development. With this in mind, Erickson organized eight development stages which progress from birth until death. The eight stages of development include: Infancy (birth to eighteen months), early childhood (eighteen months to three years), play age (three to five years), school age (six to twelve years), adolescence (twelve to eighteen years), young adult (eighteen to thirty five years), middle adulthood (thirty five to sixty five years), and late adulthood (sixty five to death). During my teaching profession, I sought to understand the assessment of the ever changing developmental stages in children. In this respect I planned an activity that would enable me to assess the differing developmental stages of the children in my work setting. This paper explores the devised plan, and implements a formative assessment activity, that takes into account the needs and interests of the children within my work setting. It demonstrates a systematic process of planning, evaluation, implementation, and the rationale for the design. Rationale for planning and implementing an assessment activity. The rational for formative assessment is quite clear and vivid. To start with provision of feedback, formative assessment provides feedback to the teachers so that they can modify the experience, and learning activities that are subsequent. Feedback involves focusing on the content that is being learnt (Blight, S. 2000). This is the epicenter of formative assessment. It facilitates self assessment development, clarifies the essence of good performance, and it is used in the provision of quality information to learners concerning their learning. Feedback also boosts self-esteem and positive beliefs, and motivates peer and teacher dialogue in learning. Apart from this, formative assessment is important tool to be used to remediate the deficiencies of children (Cowie, B. 1999). It increases the self efficacy of a child and reduces the effect brought about by extrinsic motivation by moving the focus from obtaining grades into the process of learning. This method of assessment also improves the students’ metacognitive recognition of how they can learn (Black, P. 2000). It enables a teacher to fine tune instructions so that the students can focus on learning progress. Being motivated by the rationale for formative assessment, one thinks of an appropriate activity that could be used to assess the developmental stages in children. From many choices of formative activities and, techniques, the appropriate activity that can be used to quench the need for an assessment is the use of the tray painting activity with the help of an age and stage questionnaire (ASQ) for analysis. Planning and implementation of this technique is made possible by the use of a lesson plan shown below. Assessment activity plan. Lesson plan used to assess differing developmental stages in children. The main goal of this lesson plan is to move children into the class for the purpose of assessing and observing their developmental stages by use of the tray painting activity and an ASQ chart. The ASQ has gone through a scientific development for specification of ages so that it can help parents and teachers to check the stages of development in children’s growth (Shepard, A. 2005). Objectives of the lesson. By the end of the lesson, children would be able: To learn how to make a print. To learn how to take turns. To explore the texture of the paint To identify different shades of colour Background Information. Four children of ages ranging between eighteen to twenty four months should be invited for the activity. All parents of the children need to be informed that the assessment and evaluation is only for learning. It is the responsibility of the teacher to keep observations as confidential as possible. Teachers should not reveal anything to the experts concerning the progress of children as they would observe. TIME CONTENT LEARNING ACTIVITY RESOURCES OR MATERIALS 5 min INTRODUCTION -Teacher turns on the music for 5 minutes- this is used to welcome the children and help them to set their mood. Children engage in games upon their arrival for 5 minutes. Children listen to the music as they await the assessment. Balls. Music. Wooden blocks. Beads to string. Toys. 30 min DEVELOPMENT -Teacher provides refreshments for the invited children and parents in the creative area -Teacher encourages children to put their apron on. -Teacher shows the children the already made patterns. -Teacher talks to the children about printing. Teacher gives out an example, by spreading the paint thinly, across the tray with a large brush, Teacher asks one child to use his finger to scribble on the paint, places an A4 paper on the table and asks one of the child to rub it down with their hands and. He then lifts the paper and shows it to the children. -Teacher gives each child a tray of colours with an A4 drawing paper and asks them to draw a cup. - After completing the drawing the children are asked to paint the drawing. -Teacher provides the children with the playing equipments and shows them how to use them. -Teacher uses the available equipments to make the children enjoy and have fun trough play. -Teacher takes time to do observation of the children while in a relaxed environment. All data is recorded down. Children take the refreshments as they get used to the assessment environment. Children put on their aprons. Children identify different patterns. Children scribble the paint using their fingers. -Children draw cups according to their imagination. -Children paint the pictures. - Children ask questions. -Children answer questions. Recording of the results is done for purposes of future assessment. Questions that the child fails to answer are directed to the child’s parent at the left blank. . Aprons. Pencils. Crayons. Papers. Access to the stairs. Child scissors. . Table. Pencil. 4 trays. Ready mixed paint (yellow and blue). A4 paper and thin card 4 large brushes Plastic mat for the table. Balls. Wooden blocks. Beads to string. Toys. 5 min CONCLUSION -Review of the lesson by highlighting the major points. . Children ask questions and answer questions from the teacher. Chalkboard illustrations. Assessment. The type of assessment that are employed in this lesson include writing of samples and making of observations. Depending on the time available a teacher needs to complete observation chart and the summaries for the age and stage questionnaire. The ASQ summaries are made by the teacher. The results obtained during the activity, are transferred from the ASQ to tallying scores and summaries. The teacher completes the Age and stage chart of observation for his or her assigned child and for the other three children by use of the results obtained. The age-stage observation chart should have a reflection that is written. The contents of the reflection include: Observation notes that may be of interest; assessment evaluated validity; knowledge obtained by the students out of the experience; the child overall level of development basing on the summary of the ASQ, and advice given to parents of the children regarding the children’s development (Crooks, T. 2001). The assessment of the teacher would be based on group member’s participation, the chart completion, and written reflection. In addition to this chart, completion should be made with emphasis kept on areas that motivate the intervention activities. Evaluation and reflection on the activity plan The evaluation of the given lesson plan and its implementation would be based on the early year foundation stage. It is a right of every child to demand best support and life so that they can fulfil their potentials (Huhta, A. 2010). This is very important to a child because it provides a child with a proper foundation in their talents and abilities as he grows up. In this respect, this lesson activity will keep the children safe to the expectations of their parents. The activity will provide the children with the ability to be safe, healthy, achieve and enjoy, make a contribution that is positive and achieve his/her well being (Pack, M. 2008). The child gets to understand the world by printing and, discovering the printed material in the room. This lesson activity will set the learning standards of children by caring and developing the children experience during the attendance of the activity. This lesson activity will enable the children to develop their skills of communication, literacy and language. This is done when the children talk about the paint texture and feel. The results of this activity enable the children to develop numeracy, creativity, reasoning and problem solving skills. The activity will also provide equality of opportunities. From the lesson plan, all the individual differences of each child have been taken care of by the plan. All the children shall be treated equally during the assessment. The plan has provided all children with equipments without and seclusion. The plan allows students to play with all the children safely with no segregation. This shows that the implementation of this lesson shall not disadvantage any child in regard to culture, ethnicity, religion, family background, home language, disability, ability, learning difficulties or gender. Apart from this the plan has also involved the parents of children. Parents have been allowed to accompany their children during assessment, and in case a child fails to answer a question, the parent answers it for him. This indicates that implementation of the lesson shall create a partnership framework of working between professionals and parents (Nicol, D. 2005). Also, the implementation of this lesson, shall improve the consistency, and quality of the early year development, because after the completion of the assessment, the parents are given advice regarding the children’s development. This advice will help to improve the consistency of development. The implementation of this plan also lays a secured future learning foundation. This has been made possible by the lesson plan because it organises the needs of each child as per the child’s interest. During the implementation of the lesson plan, the teacher takes into account the following principles (Cohen, A. 2000). First the teacher considers every child to be unique. He identifies that each child is an able student right from birth; a child is confident, capable, self assured and could be resilient. The teacher provides a positive relationship to the child. This shows out how a child can learn the attribute of independence from their parents loving relationships. A teacher also creates an enabling environment for the development of learning (Cauley, M. 2010). This will prove that the environment is important when it comes to the support of a child’s learning and development. Commitments that are set around planning, observation and assessment do support every child; while in the environment of learning, in the transition context, and in continuity and working of the multi agency. Impacts and results of the lesson plan. The results of this lesson will impact in the strategies of teaching and learning in many ways. To start with the issue of avoiding unpleasant surprises and frustration, a lesson plan gives a teacher an allowance to have an advance visualization of each and every step that would be used in the teaching process (Bloom, S. 1968). This is an important attribute because it facilitates the success of the teacher. A lesson that is well planned saves a class in some circumstances, for example, when a teacher fails to teach. In this case, the substitute teacher gets guidance form the plan of the lesson (Brow, G. 1994). Apart from this, a lesson plan enables a teacher to have a record of topics and lesson that are covered before. This will help a teacher to analyse his own teaching in order to improve on it in the future. Apart from this, a lesson plan saves a teacher’s time in the future. If a teacher teaches lessons that are similar, he can always go back to refer to an older lesson plan and extract the useful elements without starting the plan from the scratch. Therefore, the activity plan in this paper will not only help a teacher to stay on track bur also achieve the objectives of the lesson. The future effectiveness of such a lesson plan to a child is that it will enable a child to better his physical development. In this respect, a child will move safely with imagination and confidence; the child will move with coordination and control; child would be able to travel around through climbing and balancing equipment; be aware of space, others and themselves. The children would also be able to recognize their body changes, use a number of equipments in the setting and handle objects and tools with a lot of control. The results would also develop the creativity of a child. At the end of the lesson, a child would be able to respond in many ways to whatever they hear, see, touch, smell, and feel (Black, D. 2003). The child communicates his thought, feeling and ideas by use of suitable tools, role play, range of equipments, movement, making and designing and, a variety of songs. The results of the lesson also enable a child to have an exploration of shape, texture, colour, and space in three or two dimensions (Scriven, M. 2004). Children identify sound by singing songs that are simple from their memory there by recognising the sound patterns of music. It is, therefore, evident from the above discussion that the relevance of the results of the lesson plan will impact positively to the teaching and learning strategy. Formative assessment is, therefore, an integral developmental and learning process (Nightingale, B. 1996). All formative activities should ensure that it observes the response of the children in an appropriate manner in order to help them to progress from birth to the early goals of learning. Teachers require the support and proper resources in order to facilitate a smooth assessment (Black, R. 2009). The observational evidence that is obtained during the assessment has to be given to the child’s parents, and all adults interacting with the child have to contribute to the development process. The teachers or practitioners, on the other hand, need make an assessment and systematic observation of interest, learning styles and achievements of the child (Wiliam, D. 2006). These assessments and observations should be used to identify the priorities of learning so as to plan the relevant experiences of learning of the child. Lastly the practitioner needs to match his observations with the expected, early learning goals. If all this is done on an effective and an appropriate manner then the assessment made would be able to assess the developmental stages in an appropriate and effective manner. References Ainsworth, L., 2004. Common formative assessments, Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Black, D., 2003. In praise of educational research: formative assessment, New Yolk: McGraw-Hill. Black, P., 2000. Assessment and classroom learning, London: Heinle & Heinle Publishers. Black, R., 2009. Developing the theory of formative assessment, San Francisco: Jossey- Brass. Blight, S., 2000. Formative and summative evaluation of student learning, New York, USA: McGraw-Hill. Bloom, S., 1968. Learning for mastery. Los Angeles, USA: University of California press. Brow, G., 1994 .Strategies for Diversifying Assessment, New York: Oxford Centre for Staff. Cauley, M., 2010. Formative Assessment Techniques, Washington, Dc : National Academy Press. Cohen, A., 2000. Assessing Language Ability in the Classroom, London: Heinle & Heinle Publishers. Cowie, B., 1999. Formative assessment of developmental stages, London: Heinle & Heinle Publishers. Crooks, T., 2001. Validity of Formative Assessments, New York: Jack and Jill publishers. Huhta, A., 2010. Diagnostic and Formative Assessment. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. Nicol, D., 2005. Rethinking Formative Assessment: a theoretical model and seven principles of good feedback practice, New York: McGraw-Hill. Nightingale, B., 1996. .Assessing learning in Universities Professional Development Centre, Australia: University of New South Wales. Pack, M., 2008. Early Year Foundation Stage (EYFS), Retrieved on 5th May 2012 from https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/ Scriven, M., 2004. The methodology of evaluation, Chicago: Rand McNally. Shepard, A., 2005. Formative assessment: Caveat emptor, New York: ETC publishers. Wiliam, D., 2006. Formative assessment: getting the focus right. New York: McGraw-Hill. Read More