Analysis and Review of Concepts, Methods, Strategies for Student Assessment - Essay Example

? Module 4 - Assessing Competences Assessing competencies Outline and discuss the centered assessment strategies to assess knowledge, skills and competences Student centered leaning is a method that places students at the centre of educational processes. In the recent past, there have been momentous changes of learning activity from the teachers to students. Student centered teaching methods include cooperative learning, active training and inductive teaching and learning. The shift in focus seeks to empower learners to acquire specialist skills in their doing and thinking. The reason is that student’s use the same tools as specialists do. The shift in teaching methods from teacher centered to student centered is widely acknowledged as students play an active role in their learning process. Traditional learning was teacher centered, and most of the time the teacher played an active role of lecturing while students took a passive role of watching and listening (Afflerbach, 2007). Cooperative learning entails students working in teams on projects and problems under conditions that guarantee positive interactions and personal responsibility. Active learning is when students answer questions, debate, ask questions and brainstorm during class time. Inductive learning entails presenting challenges to students, who then learn the course materials in the milieu of addressing the challenges presented. Some inductive learning methods include just in time teaching, discovery learning, case studies inquiry based learning, and project based learning. Student centered assessments include essays, group progress reports, presentations, outlines, instructor student meetings, reflections, problem solutions and essays. The main assessment strategies to assess knowledge, competencies and skills are feedback, the class structure, the syllabus and the assignments. Class structure The structure of the class is another strategy to assess learners’ skills and competencies. In order to assess knowledge and skills, the tutor employs the case content to cover learning skills and to foster student’s self awareness for learning. The tutor also uses short activities from time to time to teach students on how to use supplementary materials, learn how to read and summarize texts (Heritage, 2007). Under the class structure, the tutor helps students to form small groups, which the students use in learning groups and team skills. The small groups can be for learning inside or outside classroom. Usually, learners do not have the skills and competencies to work effectively in groups. Facilitating small groups prompts students to be familiar with problems that can happen when working in groups. Facilitating small student groups also helps students to have ideas on how to address group conflicts (Ensino, nd). Small groups are essentially noteworthy in helping students to prepare for the work environment as they will work in teams in an organizational setting. Assignments Assignments are a core factor used to assess learners’ skills and competencies. Well designed assignments engage students in authentic learning tasks. Assignments may be in different forms such as paperless assignments, written assignments, practical assignments where students pursuing technical courses like music may participate in live singing and concerts. Assignments build up study initiatives in students. Assignments also create a sense of responsibility related to completing their homework (Ensino, nd). Assignments also help students to develop skills of time management. The assignments are designed for a specific period of time and students must comply with the assignment deadline. As students learn to do things on their own, they learn how to utilize time effectively, which encourages self discipline and autonomy (Heritage, 2007). Feedback Feedback is the key area to influence the degree to which evaluation practices are developmental, rather than exclusively judgmental. Feedback is at the centre of the fundamental learning process. Feedback helps students to comprehend where they have gone wrong and areas of improvements necessary for a required course. Feedback should be provided at all times whether students have done well or not (Heritage, 2007). Summative feedback is essential and helps to assess whether the curriculum and syllabus objectives are being attained. Formative feedback is significant, challenging, comprehensive and supportive means of assessing individual skills. The syllabus The syllabus enables the students input into the entire syllabus. This is achieved by students interviewing each other on what they wish to learn, and the tutor puts that information newsprint. 2. Examine critically the validity and reliability of three main types assessment methods Assessment in education and vocational training entails gathering evidence of students’ work, in order that judgments on learners’ accomplishments or non accomplishments may be made and decisions arrived at. The decisions may have to do with the learner, the tutor or the learning programme. Since evaluation is central to the acknowledgement of accomplishment, the quality of assessment is thus significant to offer plausible certification. Credibility in evaluation is guaranteed through evaluation processes and practices being administered by firm values. These values are reliability, validity, practicability and fairness (Benjamin, 2008). Validity in assessment refers to the degree in which an instrument measures what it is supposed to measure. Reliability refers to the extent in which a measurement instrument or procedure yields the same results on repeated trials. In assessment, reliability refers to consistency whereby the same judgment must be made in similar context for every time a particular assessment for specified intents is administered. There are three main types of assessment namely, Formative assessment, Summative assessment and Initial/Diagnostic assessment. Formative assessment Formative assessment is a continuous process that allows learners and teachers to be informed of the students’ progress towards programme learning goals. Formative assessment entails identifying the gap between a student’s current status in learning and the desired educational goal. If a student perceives the gap as being too wide, the education goal may be unattainable. In addition, if the gap is too small, closing it might not be individual effort. Formative assessment also entails feedback, learner involvement, as well as learning progressions. The validity and reliability of formative assessment depends on the teachers’ knowledge and skills required for training, the elements of formative assessment and the students input as well (Benjamin, 2008). Formative assessment is moderately valid. The reason is that the assessment is dependent on a vast number of factors, which should all be effective for the assessment to measure what it ought to measure. With regards to reliability, formative assessment is partially reliable. Every individual is unique in their own way, and teachers’ skills and competencies are not uniformly the same. Though the elements of formative basement may be the same, consistency may not be achieved due to individual uniqueness. Initial assessment Initial assessment is often carried out at the starting of a programme to establish the learners’ strengths and weaknesses. Initial assessment may also take place before the beginning of a programme. Initial assessment may be a particular check and on a specific skill, aptitude, or a broad indicator of areas that necessitate attention. The purpose of initial assessment is to identify a student’s need and strengths throughout a vocational program, and/or to place the learner in the most suitable course for their level of skill. Initial assessment is sometimes used to establish suitability for admission for a specific programme. Initial assessment is partially valid and inconsistent. Sometimes initial assessment may test what they are intended, but individual understanding and aptitudes may result in different scores. Sometimes it does not imply that one is ineligible to undertake a course by the mere fact of failing an initial assessment. In addition, initial assessment is inconsistent in that if the same test was carried out several times, different results would be achieved by the same individual. Summative assessment Summative assessment occurs often at the end of a unit of study, or at the end of a great chunk of learning. Essentially, summative results are mostly for the teachers or the school’s use. Summative assessment is partially valid and inconsistent (Heritage, 2007). There are numerous factors that affect both validity and reliability of summative assessment. For illustration, there may be bias in a teacher’s evaluation depending on the student attributes such as behavior, verbal ability, gender and special educational needs. Teachers’ assessment differ with standard tests or tasks associated with the school. 3. The effectiveness of a range (at least four) of assessment methods and tools implemented in class to facilitate student learning Project based approach A Project is an independent work created by an individual student or a group of students. A project allows students to work on topics that interest them at their own pace. Projects match the particular learning styles and emotional needs. Instructors are able to monitor carefully at students efforts as they undertake step by step approach on the project. Focus groups and cooperative learning Focus small groups are among the most common form of assessment. Focus groups entail students joining a group with a definite number of students and working on a single exercise. The teacher evaluates the capacity of students to work as a team. Groups comprise of students with different capabilities and talents, allowing participants to experience value of their unique strengths. Small groups suit the emotional needs of their members and learning styles of some students. In small groups, students work together to attain particular tasks that promotes positive interdependence (Scholastic Red, 2000). Group Tasks are designed in a way that no individual member can complete them on their own. As a result, focus groups promote recognition of diverse strengths and teamwork. Case studies/ project based approach Case studies enable students to solve realistic problems by reflecting on best strategies and drawing on preceding knowledge of effective methods employed in other problem situations. Case studies are essentially significant and effective in legal training as students formulate answers by evaluating on previous decided cases (Ontario, 2011). In addition, case studies are essential in technical skills that require previous knowledge and readiness to learn. Case studies also offer suitable challenges for cognitive challenges for students. Observation Tutors may in some instances assess learners by observing them doing work at the classroom or other environments. Records may be used as evidence to prove student’s competence. For illustration, tutors may observe students undertaking practical skills during attachments and other real situations. Watching students practice in real life experiences make the students to feel at ease. This is beneficial as it helps students gain courage, which will be pertinent in the professional environment that awaits them. The mode is also effective in that it offers appropriate learning opportunities for learners who benefit most from structured learning and specified processes. Observation also provides an opportunity for learners who need more guidance. 4. The assessment strategies within the vocational teaching/learning context, from a student-centered assessment dimension In media studies, there are four main categories of assessment strategies: performance tasks, portfolios, senior projects and written assessments. Written evaluations are activities where media studies students select and composes responses to prompts. Prompt includes printed materials, events, experience or objects in most instances. Responses are often yielded on demand within a specified time. The time constraint contributes to standardization of testing conditions that enhances comparability of results across students. Performance tasks are practical activities that require media studies learners to show their capacity to perform certain acts. Performance tasks covers wide ranging activities that are significant in the media profession such as gathering information, preparing reports and presentations and formulating and scrutinizing data. Performance tasks are essentially significant as they simulate real occupational settings and practical demands. Competencies and skilled exhibited by performance tasks vary significantly (Ontario, 2011). Some performance tasks may demand that a student exhibit his/her skills directly as was taught in class. Other tasks may necessitate the learner to employ his/her learning in an unfamiliar context. As evaluations become more open ended, students responses increasingly become intricate and scoring becomes intricate. This necessitates the choice of holistic and analytic approaches to score complex performances. Senior projects reflect the work done by learners over an extended time period. Senior projects help students employ skills they have developed over time. A senior project comprises of a research paper, an activity or product or a verbal presentation on a media related theme o help learners integrate vocational and academic ideas (UMass, 2001). The length and complexity of senior project make assessment intricate as teachers may be bias depending on technical knowledge, content, and time management. Portfolios are cumulative evaluations representing a student’s work on a vast number of topics and themes. Some portfolios are made to represent students’ best tasks, as well as showing how students work has evolved over time. Portfolio present scoring and grading challenges as every learner incorporates different pieces in his/her portfolio. This variation makes it intricate to develop grading method that may be employed consistently from one portfolio to the next. Bibliography Benjamin, A., 2008. Formative Assessment for English Language Arts: A Guide for Middle and High School Teachers. NY: Eye On Education. Afflerbach, P., 2007. Understanding and Using Reading Assessment, K-12. Buenos Aires: International Reading Association. Heritage, M., 2007. Formative assessment: what do teachers need to know and do? PHI DELTA KAPPAN International 89 (2), 1-8. Accessed on 5 July 2013 from< http://easlinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Heritage_formative_assessment.pdf>. Ensino, M. nd. 33 ways to make your classroom more learner centered. Accessed on 5 July 2013 from< http://www.serprofessoruniversitario.pro.br/m%C3%B3dulos/m%C3%A9todos- de-ensino/33-ways-make-your-classroom-more-learner-centered#.UdbcozvX9e6>. Scholastic Red, 2000. Assessment tool types. Accessed on 5 July 2013 from< http://www.scholastic.com/content/collateral_resources/pdf/l/lessonrepro_reproducibles_ profbooks_red_tr_c03s03_assesstool.pdf>. “Chapter three: types of assessment. Accessed on 5 July 2013 from< http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/monograph_reports/MR836/MR836.ch3.pdf > Ontario, 2011. Learning for all. Accessed on 5 July 2013 from< http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/learningforall2011.pdf> UMass, 2001. Course based review. Accessed on 5 July 2013 from< http://www.umass.edu/oapa/oapa/publications/online_handbooks/course_based.pdf>. Read More