MOODLE QUIZ ASSESSMENT REFLECTION
Having already created several quizzes in Moodle in the past, the challenge for me in this assignment was not technical. Rather it was to create a self-assessment quiz that emphasized the important big picture aspects of the practice of Lesson Study and clear up misconceptions without stifling the thinking and creative potential of the learners.
The objective of the formative self-assessment quiz on Lesson Study was:
- to strengthen the knowledge they had acquired in the lesson and subsequent readings
- to emphasize the most important aspects of the module’s material
- to provide answers and feedback
- to give students a report on their learning progress
- most importantly, to support active learning and encourage reflection.
(Gibbs & Simpson, 2005)
Essentially, Lesson Study is one big constructivist exercise in learning about learning, an authentic experiment in teaching, not unlike a scientific study. I wanted to continue the constructivist theme in the quiz by making the questions and answers open to individual interpretation and even morphing certain questions into a discussion. Using this method, learners could first determine their own perspective and understanding of the practice before they negotiated its meaning with their peers.
My prior knowledge of Moodle allowed me to look at each important area of Lesson Study and plan the best implementation of the question using all of Moodle’s affordances. One of the affordances of Moodle’s matching question is the ability to choose the same answer for various questions. I used this affordance to show that each participant had various responsibilities that often overlapped with other participants. In the short answer questions, I had them fill in the blank with the missing word which allowed me to give a range of appropriate responses for automatic feedback. In the essay questions, I used the linking affordance to provide scaffolding (extra relevant articles) or guide participants to Forums for discussion of a question. My experience in Lesson Study and Moodle’s quiz module had a considerable effect on my final product which contains questions that are unrestrictive yet still beneficial to the learner. I believe that it was my ability to see that every goal has an infinite number of viable paths and that there is no “right” way of conducting lesson study that allowed me to reflect this in the quiz.
One of the challenges I faced when creating this quiz was effective allocation of my resources. As Lesson Study is such a broad and open practice, it was difficult to decide which questions were the most important. One of the areas that I focussed on was roles and responsibilities of participants since it was an area of confusion for past teams. I also faced the fear that participants wouldn’t receive comprehensive feedback since the quiz was largely assessed by computer. After much thought, I addressed this issue by including essay questions that directed students to post their essay answers in a forum for peer review and discourse. As stated by Gibbs & Simpson (2005), the learning process provided by group discourse is as or more important than formal assessment feedback.
Upon final evaluation of the quiz, I believe that I was able to create a quiz that provides a constructivist assessment and learning environment. This decision to keep the quiz constructivist in nature persisted through the development process and resulted in questions that correct general misconceptions, engage students in discussion, promote reflection on their knowledge and perspectives, and encourage further study.
References:
Gibbs, G. and Simpson, C. (2005). “Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning.” Learning and Teaching in Higher Education Accessed online 26 June 2011 http://www.open.ac.uk/fast/pdfs/Gibbs%20and%20Simpson%202004-05.pdf