Sunday, July 1, 2012

Reflection



Evaluations is the first step in getting the students the help their needs to learn and progress in school. The evaluation tells teachers and parents what students need to learn and how they may learn, and finally his information is then used to build an Individualized Education Program.

I think that an adequate educational evaluation is an important help in terms of instruction, as evaluation impacts student learning and motivation, it also influences the nature of instruction in the classroom. There has been considerable recent literature that has promoted evaluation as something that is integrated with instruction. When evaluation is integrated with instruction it informs teachers about what activities and assignments will be most useful, what level of teaching is most appropriate, and how summative evaluations provide diagnostic information. For instance, during instruction activities informal, formative evaluation helps teachers know when to move on, when to ask more questions, when to give more examples, and what responses to student questions are most appropriate. Standardized test scores, when used appropriately, help teachers understand student strengths and weaknesses to target further instruction.


Observation techniques




One usable method of assessment for teachers is to provide a rubric for student use and for both formative and summative assessment purposes. Another is to provide some type of graphic organizer. 






The rubric is one authentic assessment tool which is designed to simulate real life activity, where students are engaged in solving real life problems. It is a formative type of assessment because it becomes an ongoing part of the whole teaching and learning process. Students themselves are involved in the assessment process through both, peer and self assessment. As students become familiar with rubrics, they can assist in the rubric design process. This involvement empowers the students and as a result, their learning becomes more focused and self directed. Authentic assessment, therefore, blurs the lines between teaching, learning adn assessment (Pickette and Dodge).










Types and procedures of Assessment




The key to effectively assessing your students' mastery of skills is to match the assessment method to the learning objectives. If a learning objective of your class is to have students understand the differences between Eastern Orthodox and Catholic architecture in the 15th century, then a research paper may be more appropriate than a multiple-choice exam.
Some of the more common types of assessments include:


Formal Assessment
Multiple-choice exam
Essays
Short-answer or problem-solving exam
Lab report
Research paper
Performance-based ("authentic") - interpreting a piece of music, writing a computer program, constructing a three-dimensional model of a scientific concept, etc.
Oral Presentations
Comprehensive portfolios


Informal Assessment
"Minute Essays" - at the end of a class/unit, students take 5 minutes to write about what they have learned, and how it relates to a learning objective
"Peer Teaching" - after a short lecture about a new concept, have students work in pairs and explain that concept to each other
"Question Time" - students are given an index card and asked to record two questions they have about the material covered in lecture that day/week. Allow time in the next class period to respond to some of the more common questions
"5 Minute Quiz" - at the beginning of class, give students one or two questions over material covered in the previous class session. Discuss answers and do a show of hands to see how many understand the concepts.

Bloom's Taxonomy

Bloom's Taxonomy is a way to address the levels of student thinking desired on an assignment. There are six levels, with "Knowledge"-based questions being the most simple, and "Evaluation"-based questions being the most complex. When designing assessment, determine at which levels you wish students to demonstrate their understanding, then design questions that address this level of thinking. The Bloom´s Taxonomy website at the University of Washington provides model questions and key words for each level of thinking.





ASSESSMENT FORMATS
Format
Nature/Purpose
Stage
Baseline Assessments
Oral and written responses based on individual experience

Assess prior knowledge
Baseline
Paper and Pencil Tests
Multiple choice, short answer, essay, constructed response, written reports

Assess students acquisition of knowledge and concepts
Formative
Embedded Assessments
Assess an aspect of student learning in the context of the learning experience
Formative
Oral Reports
Require communication by the student that demonstrates specific topic understanding
Formative
Interviews
Assess individual and group performance before, during, and after any type of experience (art fair, scientific fair, play, etc)
Formative
Performance Tasks
Require students to create or take an action related to a problem, issue, or concept
Formative and Summative
Checklists
Monitor and record anecdotal information
Formative and Summative
Investigative Projects
Require students to explore a problem or concern stated either by the teacher or the students
Summative
Extended or Unit Projects
Require the application of knowledge and skills in an open-ended setting
Summative
Portfolios
Assist students in the process of developing and reflecting on a purposeful collection of student-generated data
Formative and Summative
       









Types of Assessment reflection



Assessment is a part of the instruction and determines whether or not the goals of education are being met, it affects decisions about grades, placement, advancement, instructional needs, etc.





Today´s students need to know not ony the basic reading and arithmetic skills, but also skills that will allow them to face a world that is continually changing. They must be able to think critically, to analyze and make inferences. Changes in the skills base and knowledge our sutdents need require new learning goals, these new learning goals change the relationship between assessment and instruction, teachers need to make an active role in making decisions about the purpose of assessment and the content that is being assessed. (edutopia.org)

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Assessment






It is a systematic ongoing process of monitoring learning which measures the student learning at the micro-level.




We have different kinds of Assessmente;


According to the moment: 

_ Initial (diagnostic)
_ Formative (progress)
_ Summative (final)

According to the Instrument:

_ Observation
_ Essays
_ Interviews
_ Performance tasks
_ Exhibitions and demonstrations
_ Portafolios
_ Journ
_ Teacher-created tests
_ Rubrics
_ Self-and peer-evaluation

According to the Agent:

_ Hetero-evaluation: Evaluator is different level (teacher-student).
_ Co-evaluator/peer evaluation: Students evaluate other members within the same group.
_ Self-evaluation: Students evaluate their own performance.


Why do we Assess?


To check the student´s knowledge: What do they know.
To check the student´s skills: What they can do and also how well they can do it.
To check the student´s progress: How do they go about the task of doing their work.
To check their effort and motivation: How do they feel about their work.

And their functions are:

_ Diagnostic, tells us what the student needs to learn.
_ Formative, tells us how well the student is going as work progresses.
_ Summative, tells us how well the student did a task at the end of a unit.








Psychometric and Edumetric Assessment


Edumetric Assessment (by norm), Compares the performance of each student with the average performance of the rest of the members of the group.


Psychometric Assessment (by criteria), Compares each student´s performance with absolute criteria that are previously defined in relation to which the position of each student is seen individually.

Purpose of the approach

First compares each student´s performance with pre-determined standards, then evaluates the efficiency of the teaching methods considering student´s performance and results and finally it locates the students in the teaching and learning process according to their level of learining domain.





Sunday, April 15, 2012

Evaluation, Assessment, Measurement




Evaluation, Assessment, Measurement.

Evaluation: It measures the effectiveness of the teaching-learning system, so it involves the three major elements, objectives, learning experiences and learner appraisal.

Assessment:  Is the process and instruments designed to measure the learner's achievement, judgement can be made on the basis of this assessment,  it precedes the final decision making stage in evaluation,  It has a narrower meaning than evaluation and a broader meaning than measurement.

Measurement:  It involves assigning a score on a given task performed by the learner, collection or gathering of data from the student's scores in an examination, measuring physical properties of objects, behavioural sciences, measurement of psychological characteristics such as neuroticism, etc.


1)  What is assessment?

The instruments on which the teacher is able to measure the student's learning and finally the teacher can make a judgement according to the results.

2)  What is measurement?

It is the score given on a performed task by the learner and also the collection of data from the students behaviour, the students psychological characteristics, etc.

3)  What is the relationship of evaluation, assessment and measurement?

Evaluation is a series of activities within the teaching learning process, where assessment, through a test, is needed to measure the student´s learning and achievements.