What is the role of assessment in learning? Is assessment a tool for the teacher or student? How can assessment be both?
Assessment is important to the process of learning because it is the tool used to determine whether learning is actually taking place. Most people think that it is a tool that can only be used by the teacher, and is only important to the student in that they "need a certain grade". However, I think that it is important that students understand how assessment can be more than a means to a grade and that it can also be a tool for them to gauge their understanding in the learning process.
Many instructors (some of which I have encountered myself) use only summative assessments, which come at the end of the lesson (and sometimes the end of the semester). This behaviorist approach to teaching has its place in assessing the knowledge gained by students in the course, but doesn't give the students much to learn from the assessment process itself. It just gives them a grade and some possible feedback, but coming at the end of the lesson (or semester), it doesn't give the students opportunity to go back and learn from their mistakes or misunderstandings, and doesn't give the instructor the time to address these same things before either moving on to the next lesson or the next semester.
I like the idea of formative assessment, which can take place all through the semester and doesn't necessarily have to be a quiz or traditional short-answer/multiple choice format and is more constructivist by nature. By doing this type of assessment all along, students can gain feedback to determine if they should be asking questions or changing their study habits in order to improve their understanding of the lesson. It's also a great tool for the instructor to determine if all students are "getting it", and if not, allow time to re-visit lessons before moving on to the next. In previous discussions, we've talked about how instructors can go about determining the different levels of background/knowledge of students. Formative assessments can be useful to an instructor for helping to determine which students need more help than others. I like the idea of the "one-minute essay" as described by Wiggins and McTighe (p. 169). This is a simple assessment tool that can be utilized to determine levels of understanding and offer each student the opportunity to ask questions that they may not be willing to raise their hand to ask in front of everyone for fear of embarrassment in front of their peers. The instructor can look at the essays and then address the questions in a way that the questioner(s) remain anonymous.
I don't think that there is really one perfect way to assess student learning, and that all instructors have to follow the same way. However, I do feel that assessment isn't just about the grade, and instructors should try to instill an understanding of this to their students in order for the students to be successful in understanding what they learn and how it will help them beyond just getting the grade and passing the class.
P.S. This is just something I wanted to mention. It's relevant to the topic, but didn't really fit into my post. I've always preferred the essay examination to the multiple choice/true and false/short answer type of exam. I seem to perform better and walk away knowing I really understand the material when I'm given the opportunity to write essays for assessment. Maybe because it's easier to approach the big idea of the lesson when discussing it in essay form. I also like to be able to explain my thoughts and understanding, which you can't really do in a multiple choice format. Granted the essay exam isn't the right format for every subject (ie: Math), but I always seemed to do better in classes that assessed in this manner.
5 comments:
Tracey, I think that your p.s. is very important as it pertains to assessment. I agree that an essay examination allows both expression and reflection on learning for students which is more important than multiple choice or true false questions. I think that being able to write and really discuss a big idea within a lesson is the best way to show what you have really learned and to determine whether or not you have further questions about what you are learning. I believe that the actual thought process of writing the assessment essay not only shows what a student has learned, but also is a further extension of learning. :)
I have to agree with your last statement. By writing the essay and expressing your ideas and thoughts on the big ideas and what you have learned and understood is a further extension of learning. Most people think that writing essays is only learned in English class, and it probably is. However, being able to write a well developed essay that describes your understanding of what you've learned in your History class is showing that you've transferred the skills and learning from English to another facet of your learning. So essentially it is an extension. :)
Yes, absolutely, but additionally, the process of thinking about and writing about what you have learned by answering an essay question allows students to express their viewpoints and opinions on the topic which in turn shows if they have a clear understanding of the lesson. It also gives them a chance to possibly explore and reflect upon ideas within their writing that they might not have felt comfortable bringing up in a class discussion.
“Changing their study habits in order to improve their understanding of the lesson.”
I never thought about the way studying habits could affect the learning process. Of course if they do not study, they do not learn but if they have the right studying habits they are more likely to understand more and get more out of the lesson.
I like the “one-minute essay” as well and believe it could help the teacher understand the students a little bit more. I believe that an assessment where the students can explain their answers or their understandings is more beneficial than just a multiple answer test. Even in math if the students are allowed to show their work and how they got to the answer it would allow the teacher to grade the test differently. They can give partial points for the wrong answer versus no points for the wrong answer. I loved these tests because I did not have to stress out about getting the right answer. If I showed my work I could still get partial points and have the teacher help me to find the right answer.
In the British education model most assessment is based on essays. Even in a technical subject like Economics, essay writing is the principal assessment tool. An Economics student would be expected to outline mathematical models within an essay explaining them line by line. An essay demands that a students organizes their thoughts and relates them in a coherent way. This means that a student has to understand the big questions to write a good essay. However an essay also allows students to be vague or avoid areas of weakness. Assessors need to have a clear idea of what to look for in the essays they are reviewing, and the essay questions need to be carefully crafted to draw out the understandings sought by the assessor.
As you point out we need to use a range of assessment tools. I agree that the one minute essay is an excellent tool to get a general picture of a classes understanding of a topic.
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