Jan 09 2010
Assessment
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After several attempts I finally decided to give my exam in three parts and with the instructions in English and Spanish in the weekthe 10th to the 16th of april. This was because I found that some of my ideas worked better in “Hot Potatoes” than in the quiz function of the Moodle platform and I felt that a forum would inspire some of my weaker students to try a short piece of writing. I also think that it is very stressful and tiring for less able students to attempt a long exam, especially online and it is more motivating for them to feel that they are making progress as they successfully complete each part of the exam.
Most tests of a foreign language are not designed to be user friendly and I think that rather than evaluating how much language a student has learned they concentrate on finding out what a student cannot do. Many teachers argue that the instructions on an exam are part of the learning process. I would argue that with time and familiarity that may be true, but not on their first exams and not online. I want to evaluate what they can do and to encourage them to work online, rather than invent tricky questions which often confuse students and do not give me a realistic idea of what they can or cannot do. Most tests of a foreign language are not designed to be user friendly and I think that rather than evaluating how much language a student has learned they concentrate on finding out what a student cannot do. Many teachers argue that the instructions on an exam are part of the learning process. I would argue that with time and familiarity that may be true, but not on their first exams and not online. I want to evaluate what they can do and to encourage them to work online, rather than invent tricky questions which often confuse students and do not give me a realistic idea of what they can or cannot do. I based most of my decisions on the following literature investigation.
The use of constructivism as a major teaching method has become an essential part of the modern curriculum in many educational institutions around the world. Underhill (2006) sums up one of the biggest challenges facing online teachers using constructivist teaching methods when he warns us that “The pedagogy of constructivism and in particular socio-constructivism is underpinning much of the online learning and teaching developments currently being developed. The developments in online learning and teaching however are not being matched by developments in computer based assessment.” (P.1). In my personal experience this is true as in my university I have been given guidance and training in how to change my teaching methods and in the use of technology for online courses, but many teachers continue to assess and grade students using non constructivist methods. I have been investigating for a while and although I have found some interesting theoretical arguments, there seems to be a dearth of practical guides for teachers in this field.
Brockbank and McGill (2007) explain “Learning objectives, that is, expressing what students are expected to learn during a given module, course or programme, are only half a century old, as are the assessment methods which mirror them.” (P.194) Therefore it comes as no surprise that in many educational institutions there are anomalies between teaching methods and forms of assessment. Brockbank and McGill (2007) also mention the need in modern education to evaluate both “product” and “processes” the latter being an area which many teachers fail to take into account. Hewitt (2008) adds another dimension to this when he states that “A constructivist assessment system recognizes the learner as an active collaborator, and that learning is a social process. Moreover, ‘Assessments which reflect this perspective provide a means for engaging students in self-reflection’ (Murphy 1994: 190).”(P106) In practice this means we need to design assessment tools which as Gibbs and Simpson (2005) explain “The trick when designing assessment regimes is to generate engagement with learning tasks without generating piles of marking.”(P.8) This form of assessment requires that teachers find a way to design online quizzes or tests which can be graded electronically, however this can often lead to a lack of feedback Gibbs and Simpson (2005) warn us that distance learning students “ can cope without much, or even any, face-to-face teaching, but they cannot cope without regular feedback on assignments. (P.9). One method which can be used to overcome this drawback is to design short online quizzes with immediate electronic feedback. Another idea is the “Student Café” where students can feel free to share their doubts or ask advice from more experienced students. The use of Teaching Assistants is yet another option, but unfortunately the ones I have had, lacked training in the art of constructive feedback.
Underhill (2006) mentions that “A constructivist view sees education as student-centred; the students construct knowledge for themselves, building upon what they already know. Within this broad label ‘constructivism’ are a number of different perspectives.” (P.4) Underhill (2006) further explains the need for teachers to distinguish between the different types of constructivism and to be aware that “Although commentators primarily discuss social constructivism when considering computer mediated learning, elements of cultural constructivism are equally important in that learning and teaching that is mediated by information technology will generate or reinforce skills and knowledge of the medium as well as the subject being taught or studied.”(P5). Our work in the forums, on our blogs and on the Moodle platform has been a classic example of this. Our work is graded on process as well as product and our feedback is constructive in that it motivates us to continue learning and to reach our goal.
References
Brockbank, A. and McGill, I. 2007. Facilitating Reflective Learning in Higher Education. Open University Press. Buckingham, GBR. p 194.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/urse/Doc?id=10197011&ppg=209
Gibbs, G. and Simpson, C. (2005). “Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning.” Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Accessed online 7th March 2010 at:
http://www.open.ac.uk/fast/pdfs/Gibbs%20and%20Simpson%202004-05.pdf
Hewitt, D. 2008. Understanding Effective Learning : Strategies for the Classroom. Open University Press. Buckingham, GBR. p 106.
http://site.ebrary.com/lib/urse/Doc?id=10229809&ppg=117
Underhill, A. 2006. Theories of Learning and their Implications for On-Line Assessment. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE January 2006 ISSN 1302-6488 Volume: 7 Number: 1 Article: 15
http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICDocs/data/ericdocs2sql/content_storage_01/0000019b/80/27/f7/6e.pdf
Clare Roche