1. CREATIVE ASSESSMENT ASSESS CREATIVELY, CREATE ASSESSINGLY New Perspectives on Assessment in Education May 12-14, 2011 Viorica Condrat Alecu Russo State University
2. What is assessment? Assessment is, and always has been, …………………………….to the whole process of education. Indeed, it is increasingly being called upon to deliver a widening variety of ………………….and ……………………functions, some of which sit uneasily with the accepted principles of assessment practice. Assessment should be ………….to the acts of teaching and learning. fundamentally important educational bureaucratic integral It can be used to ………………student progression, and its findings can be applied to establish educational goals and targets. The impacts of different assessment practices on learning can be positive, negative or benign – serving either to …………….or ..…………….the learner. support encourage demotivate Making Assessment Matter Graham Butt
4. What is assessment for? the teacher It is through assessment that we can find out whether students have learned what they have been taught, so that we can make appropriate adjustments to our teaching. Assessments are used to describe the achievements of students, so that decisions can be made about their suitability for particular jobs, or the kinds of educational experiences that should follow. the parents Parents use the results of assessments to learn about the progress their children are making at school, and to make decisions about the quality of education offered in different schools. And, of course, policy-makers use assessments to provide information about the quality of schools and curricula. Dylan Wiliam the student ?
6. It’s all about weighing… Essentially assessment is about measurement: primarily the measurement of student performance against a particular task, or tasks. Once some form of measurement has taken place we need to do something meaningful with the information that has been gained. This can involve target setting and supporting the student, or simply (for now) recording and reporting assessment data for future reference. What frustrates many teachers is the fact that although they generate considerable amounts of assessment data, much of this is not used to gain any significant advance in student learning, or in their own teaching. Making Assessment Matter Graham Butt
7. What should prevail? Every assessment should be a way of encouraging students to want more, to get better results. Every assessment is a critical evaluation of the student’s progress or stagnation. encouragement criticism Positive criticism + Encouragement-> Motivation I want more…
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10. Assessment 2The Cleverest Today Amiably Systematically Sprightly Enjoyably Spontaneously Seriously creatively This assessment is also based on another show “The Cleverest”. The rule is that the child should answer as many questions as possible within a minute. My suggestion is to add “Today” as this would be more motivating for students. The teacher can assess not only lexico-grammatical topics but also some cultural topics. Another suggestion would be to use very simple words in the questions, the questions should not be long. Make sure there are at least ten questions prepared. For example: What action does present simple indicate? (for grammar) The plural of phenomenon is… (for grammar) Who is Elizabeth II? (for cultural issues) The symbol of the USA is… (for cultural issues) Continue the proverb: Out of sight, out of …(for vocabulary)
11. Assessment 3Letter Writing Amiably Systematically Sprightly Enjoyably Spontaneously Seriously creatively This assessment can be done spontaneously. It is meant to test the students’ ability to write a letter and their capacity to work with the lexis. It is meant to boost their creativity. First, let them read the following joke: teacher / self assessment Dear Father, $chool i$ really great. I am making lot$ of friend$ and $tudying very hard. With all my $tuff, I $imply ¢an't think of anything I need, $o if you would like, you can ju$t $end me a card, a$ I would love to hear from you. Love,Your $on. Ask them what the father reaction might be, then give them the correct variant. Dear Son, I kNOw that astroNOmy, ecoNOmics, and oceaNOgraphy are eNOugh to keep even an hoNOr student busy. Do NOt forget that the pursuit of kNOwledge is a NOble task, and you can never study eNOugh. Love,Dad
12. Then ask your students to ask similar letters only this time they should be addressed to you. They should explain what grade they think they deserve and give argument. As grading is a way of communication you should answer these letters. Here are some examples: Dear Ilana, I can see that you have a lot of enthusiasm for your work. For eXample, you always come prepared to classes. This means that those X hours spent daily while studying English are not spent in vain. Without eXaggeration, you are an eXtremely bright student. If you keep translating the teXts with the OXford dictionary, doing the eXercises, you are sure to succeed. It is ninety-nine point nine percent sure that your exam will be a success. Sincerely yours, Ms. Vicky.
13. Dear Anastasia, I must confess that it is a pleasure to see you atTENding my classes. Let me tell you that I like your TENdency to study very well. I’m afraid not everybody pays inTENsive atTENtion to every word I say but I’m flattered to hear it. I’m aware that you are TENding to do your best. I’m delighted to see that your inTENtion to learn English is so strong. You set up specific goals and I strongly believe that you will succeed in life due to your inTENsive studies and serious approach towards life. Good Luck! Sincerely yours, Ms. Vicky.
14. Dear Nastya, You are a GOOD student; the only reMARK I have to make is: work harder on your pronunciation. It is your weak point, I’m afraid. Besides, you have to improve your spelling. I think you have all the chances to succeed. Sincerely yours, Ms. Vicky. P.S. I am very happy for your mother who has just opened a GOOD superMARKet near the Picadilly Circus. I hope she won’t get affected by the global financial crisis. GOOD Luck!!!
17. Encourage them to begin always with positive things Assessment 4Guess Who? Assign each student to evaluate one of his fellow students. Yet, they should not mention their names in it. The students are supposed to recognize themselves in those description and tell whether they agree or not.
20. Organize debates on whom should get the highest mark? Students should justify their answers. As known, in debates there are two teams: one is pro, the other is against. So you can challenge your students to debate on what grade does a team deserve. Assessment 6Debates
21. Assessment 7Projects teacher / peer assessment Make a discussion on whose project deserves the highest marks. Let them give their reasons. Then tell your impressions.
22. Assessment 8Let the characters assess Choose stories about how fictional characters got assessed. For example, Daddy Long legs, Doctor in the House, etc. Discuss with the students the ways the characters were tested or graded. Let them think how would the characters assess them. You could also challenge students to act out the stories. Encourage them to make it look as it is doene nowadays (this time the characters have to pass the modern tests).In this case you will be able to see what they don’t like in assessments. self assessment
23. Assessment 9The trail of …faults This activity is best to be done at the beginning, as it is intended as a self-record of progress. Ask each student write about his dream. However, be specific. Make sure the students understand, they should write everything they want to achieve in your subject. The let the draw a chart which is divided in five. In the first column they write their achievements, in the second what led to success, in the third – their failures, in the fourth – the causes and in the fifth steps undertaken to improve. The chart should be filled in by the end of every month.
24. By the end you could ask your students to write a self-assessment essay. Make sure they use their statistic date from the chart they were filling in during the year. Tell them they should be critical and bring forth good arguments. Assessment 10Self-Assessment Essay
25. Thank you for your attention and I wish you had students who would tell you: ASSESSMENT ROCKS!!!!
