Principles of Assessment Essay Example for Free

Principles of Assessment Essay Educational assessment is the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs. Assessment can focus on the individual learner, the learning community (class, workshop, or other organized group of learners), the institution, or the educational system as a whole. According to the Academic Exchange Quarterly: Studies of a theoretical or empirical nature (including case studies, portfolio studies, exploratory, or experimental work) addressing the assessment of learner aptitude and preparation, motivation and learning styles, learning outcomes in achievement and satisfaction in different educational contexts are all welcome, as are studies addressing issues of measurable standards and benchmarks. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Educational_assessment Some of the key concepts of assessment are as follows: * Accountability * Achievement * Assessment Strategies. * Initial, Formative or Summative types Accountability means that I am answerable to my learners and my organisation to ensure that I am performing my role as an assessor correctly. I always let my learners know when they are going to be assessed and how they will meet the criteria. Achievement- I will look at what the learner has achieved while they have been doing the course and compare this with the standards to ensure they have been fully met. Assessment Strategy- I follow my organisations assessment strategy for the subject I am assessing to ensure I am carrying out my role correctly. The assessment strategy I follow for NVQ2 in Cleaning is: * UPK questions * Observations * Progress Review * Supplementary questions * Exit Interview. The qualifications and experience I require are A1 V1 and experience in the cleaning industry. Formal Assessment * Ongoing during a course * It enables progress to be regularly monitored and reviewed * The student can see what they need to develop further before a final assessment * A student can identify gaps in their learning * It shows a student how much they have learnt so far which encourages and motivates them Methods of Formal Assessment. * Tracking Sheet * Observations * Tutorials * Midway Review * Oral Questions Summative Assessment * Usually taken at the end of the course * Usually leads to a pass/fail situation * Tests whether performance criteria have been met Methods of Summative Assessment * Exit Interview * Portfolio Completion * Demonstration * Summative Testing * Evaluation Form â€Å"Summative assessment takes place at the end of a course or topic and is used mainly for certification purposes. It is used to see if a student has learned the material and is capable of going on to further study. † Formative assessment is most suitable where the results are to be used internally for example: Teachers to ensure learning has taken place and for improving methods of instruction and for students to have an idea of their success etc whilst summative assessment can be set by the teacher or by an awarding body/examination body. When making a summative decision I confirm to my learners that they have met the criteria. They may receive a certificate as with NVQ2 or progress further with their training. Summative assessment takes place at the end of a course or topic and is used mainly for certification purposes. Formative assessment, on the other hand, takes place during the course and is useful in telling the student how the learning is proceeding. Reece Walker 2007p323. STRENGTHS WEAKNESSESS Formative Assessment Formative Assessment Role Play Make learners uncomfortable Physical demonstration of ability Embarrassed Not Realistic Summative Assessment Summative Assessment Demonstration Make learners feel uncomfortable Authentic Realistic Valid The assessment practice starts with initial assessment before the course starts. It may happen at pre- entry, entry or induction stage. The initial assessment will inform you about the learner’s prior knowledge, skills, qualifications, learning styles and any support learner may need. When you have found out the current level of ability you can then set goals, plan future learning and assessment. There are different types of initial assessment: Enrolment Form- shows what qualifications the learner has if they have special needs. Interview when you interview the learner you will be able to ask many questions. Skills Scan the skills scan will tell you if the learner is in employment what there job requires and if they will need additional training. Diagnostic Tests will inform you if the learner has difficulty in reading or writing. You may be able to tell if a person has dyslexia as they will have blurred vision, suffer from headaches when reading and they find it easier to read large print. To help them with reading you can print on to coloured paper or have a coloured overlay. 10% of the British population are dyslexic, 4% severely. Dyslexia is identified as a disability as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 2005. Some of the famous people who suffer from dyslexia are: Albert Einstein Tom Cruise Henry Winkler. Vince Vaughn (British dyslexia Association www. bdadyslexia. org. uk, (11/07/11 I have taught learners who have learning difficulties including deaf people, people who have difficulty in reading and writing and understanding. ILP It states on the ILP what qualifications a learner has, the results of diagnostic tests and if they require additional support, what units they are doing, midway review and exit interview. Learning styles is recognising individuality in your class it is the way in which learners begin to concentrate on and process and retain new and difficult information. There are different types of learning styles: David Kolb’s Converger, Diverger, Assimilator, Accommodator Honey and Mumford’s Having an Experience, Reviewing Experience, Concluding from Experience Planning next steps Fleming Vak/Varks Visual, Auditory, read/write, Kinaesthetic. Wikipedia the free encyclopaedia En. wikipedia. org/wiki/learning styles 11/07/011 Learning style is the way that you absorb information 1 We decode 2 How you store information 3 Recall information Learning style is how we receive and recall information. We can absorb information through our senses, hearing, seeing and doing. In my role I use all of the styles of Fleming. In further education if there is no initial assessment this will disadvantage the learners as they may be placed on the wrong program or course, which will lead to lack of interest and little motivation if any, they may not get additional support and the teacher will have no baseline to assess their progress. Peer and Self Assessment Self or Peer Assessment is a process whereby students or their peers grade assignments or tests based on a teacher’s benchmarks. [1] The practise is employed to save teachers time and improve students understanding of course materials as well as improve their metacognitive skills. Rubrics are often used in conjunction with Self- and Peer-Assessment. [2] http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Self-_and_Peer-Assessment 12/07/11 Peer assessment is when the learners or colleagues assess another learners or colleagues progress. It is used to develop learner’s ability to work as a group and to be critical of others work as well as receiving review and comment. Self assessment is when you assess your own progress. Both methods encourage the learners to make decisions on what they have learnt so far and to reflect on future development. The learners need to know the criteria fully. Advantages Disadvantages Peer Assessment Peer Assessment Can reduce the amount of teacher assessment. All peers need to be involved So planning needs to take place As who gives feedback and to Whom. Learners may accept comments from peers Appropriate conditions and More willingly than from the assessor environment are needed Promotes learner and peer involvement some peers may be anxious, Nervous or have lack of confidence To give feedback. Self Assessment Self Assessment Encourages learners to check Difficult to be objective when Their own progress making a decision Encourages reflection Learners need to fully understand Promotes learner involvement the assessment criteria. And personal responsibilities some learners may lack Confidence in their ability to make Decisions about their own progress What research tells us? * Giving feedback on learning errors and getting the learner to correct them and identify strategies to improve future work is directly linked to significant improvement in achievement rates. (Professor John Hattie, 2002) Assessment should involve both teacher and learners in checking and reflection. Feedback is very important not only to learners but to the teachers from the feedback teachers can decide whether they have to change anything. Feedback and Questioning Feedback is information we give our learners to let them know what they have achieved to date and how they can develop further all learners need to know how they are progressing and what they have achieved. Feedback can be both formative and summative. Formative is ongoing and includes praise and encouragement. Summative is at the end has the learner achieved to specific criteria. Feedback should be a two-way process allowing discussion and questions. Most people need encouragement to tell them how well they have done or how well they are doing when you give feedback you should give praise first then how they can improve then end on a positive note to give them motivation. This is known as the praise sandwich. http://www. google. co. uk/search? q=feedback+sandwichhl=enprmd=ivnsbsource=lnmstbm=ischei=vXQcTsrxHNKwhQepndXdBwsa=Xoi=m 12/07/11 The advantages of giving feedback are: Confirms achievement, success or otherwise Creates opportunities for explaining and discussion Highlights progress rather than failure. Helps improve confidence and motivation Identifies further learning opportunities or any action required. Feedback should be given as soon as possible after the assessment while the information is still fresh. Questioning can be used formally and informally as part of the feedback to ensure the learner understands what has been said. My response should question appropriate questioning skills so the feedback is effective to the learner. Questioning skills include: * Using open questions (usually beginning with who, what, when, where, why and how). * Using closed questions (only requiring a yes or no answer). * Clarifying (for example can you go over that again? ). * Probing (for example why was that? ) * Prompting (for example what about†¦? ) Feedback should were possible be positive negative feedback presents learners with difficult and unachievable targets or naming and making learners embarrassed in the classroom. You should never criticise always praise and if the teacher makes a mistake he/she should be honest and apologise. Record Keeping Accurate records that are taken through out a course enable the teacher and learner to continually assess the effectiveness of the teacher/learner relationship. Records indicate whether pupils are learning what they are being taught and their progression with the course, records can tell you which learners may need a little more help, and whether a teacher needs to refine any aspects of their teaching. Maintaining attendance records can give an idea of where learners may fall behind through their learning. Being able to identify learners attendance can indicate problems which may benefit from referral to other professional bodies, or a learner may be unhappy with the teaching style or the course they have chosen. As well as a register a tracking sheet of all learners names, forming columns starting with a date, the assessment and a column for a pass or refer, in cleaning you are competent or not yet competent. These tracking sheets are recorded and form part of the learner’s portfolio along with any practical tasks and also a guide for the learners to follow through their course. When learners begin their course its good for them to have their own individual learning plan as a teacher its good to have our own individual teaching plan. A session plan should relate to the scheme of work, it helps to record your aims and objectives, assessment activities and self evaluation. It can also help to assess your learners. As a teacher my responsibility is to teach and guide and assess my learners. Records can be used as a guide for learners focusing on their learning strengths and weaknesses, where they do well or could do better. There are organisational records and external records. Organisational records: * Enrolment form * ILP * Learners record of achievement * Peer group feedback * Tutor feedback * Incident report * Observation records. * Contact Logs The types of records I use are: * Enrolment form * ILP * Learners record of achievement * Observation records * Contact Logs â€Å"You need to keep records of how your learners are progressing. If you mark a test or observe a task, how can you prove your learner has achieved something if they lose their work†? (Gravells 2008p88) JOIN NOW FOR FREE RATIONALE METHODOLOGY Wishing to gain a broad balance to my teaching experience, I started working as an assessor at Swan Training Group. The following assignment will cover the following areas: Negotiating with learners Inclusive learning. Integrating Functional skills Communication I have researched all of the above and this written assignment will be a short overview of the main areas using examples from both research and personal experience. Negotiating with learners is a form of communication where cooperation is established so that the learner and tutor agree on the learner’s goals; negotiation is the process of two individuals or groups reaching a joint agreement. When you have got all the information via initial assessment at the start of the course it is important to agree on goals and actions based on the information. The learner should be encouraged through negotiation to take control and responsibility for their own learning by contributing in discussions and decisions about their learning and how this will develop. Also in initial assessment you can include tests for literacy and numeracy to see what level learner is at and if they will require additional help. In my specialist area I integrate functional skills as the learners need to use literacy and numeracy to read labels and dilute chemicals, complete upk questions, order supplies, complete holiday sheets. Inclusive learning is described as recognising, accommodating and meeting the learner’s needs of all of the students and supporting them in the learning environment. All learners are allowed to take part in their chosen subject and should be placed in the best possible environment regardless of their gender, race, ethnic origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation and age. Communication is very important and we not only communicate by speaking we communicate through our eyes, gestures and body language. There are also many barriers to communication such as: Family Commitments Lack of Resources Lack of Support. Peer Pressure Emotional Disability and many more. To overcome these barriers you must be honest with the learners if you do not know something you should tell them you will find out, be positive and enthusiastic, communicate effectively and give constructive and positive feedback. I am learner centred as I pay attention to what the learner is learning, how they are learning, whether the student is retaining and applying the learning. I like to teach this way so all of the learners can participate and differences between learners are accommodated so that all in the group have the best possible chance of learning.