LMS Quiz and Assessment Reflection

The purpose of my Moodle site is to provide a means of communication whereby parents feel engaged in their child’s educational process through regular updates and activities that extend classroom learning to their home environment. Thus, I structured the quiz on my site under the Language Arts section. It is described as a version of a paper and pencil assessment conducted within the classroom. I felt that for grade ones, it was not realistic to believe that they would be able to complete an online quiz without adult supervision at some point. Within the classroom, the added use of iPad technology with the quiz component was too onerous a task with one teacher to help 23 students. As well, in the face- to- face classroom, the essay component of the quiz would have been one stand- alone activity. Thus, I felt that the creation of an online Moodle quiz was a valuable experience because it allowed me to explore the features available within Moodle. However, the actual delivery of an online quiz within a grade one classroom is not completely feasible. Thus, it is created as a practice quiz for students to show parents what they are able to do at the end of term 1.

In their 2001 Master’s action research project, Rhine and Smith focused on assessment of primary grade students.   Using qualitative observations, surveys and interviews with teachers at an American elementary school, Rhine and Smith determined that traditional tests and quizzes were not adequately assessing primary students. In fact, they determined that students did not perform as well on tests due to anxiety caused by the test taking process. They determined that self- assessment, daily work, teacher observations and authentic assessment were a much better reflection of a primary student’s ability and acquisition of knowledge. Thus, to address this issue, I was careful to phrase the online quiz as an activity that they were going to use to show their parents what they had been learning in Language Arts. Similarly, I was careful to note in my introduction that assessments in the form of quizzes is simply one small way that student learning is assessed in grade 1. Particularly for this younger group, I would not use the online quiz function in this manner. I might create practice quizzes as games for students to practice rhyming or to perhaps see what they learned in a science unit. However, the language must be simple enough for 6 year olds to read.

Another issue was to ensure that the instructions were simple and straightforward so that students could begin quickly. The videos at the beginning of each section were one way that students could view instructions and then begin the task in a timely manner.   One issue with uploading a video is that the videos need to be short, otherwise the file is too large. Thus, my instructions needed to be succinct. However, for grade ones, I may require more time to accurately describe the activity and expectations for the completion of the activity. In the end, I had to record multiple videos and attempt to upload them. This was, at times, very time consuming.  After raising this issue in the course discussion forum, my instructor informed me that this issue could be addressed by changing my course settings or saving the video outside of Moodle on a site such as Youtube.  Embedding videos using a link may be one way to more easily include videos and pictures so that subsequent quizzes are more visual.

Through the process of utilizing and experimenting with the available quiz functions in Moodle, I understand what features are available to me to use with grade ones. In particular, this exercise made me think deeply about what assessment methods work well with grade ones. Through my explorations, I was able to consider which features I would actually apply and use. Functions such as matching or multiple choice are an ideal way to provide simple and quick quizzes to students so that they seem more like a game. As well, the content is available for them to choose from. This may take the stress of test taking away from the activity. However, the short answer or essay component is more easily accomplished within the classroom with positive reinforcement from the teacher. Although my test includes all these required components, I would not necessarily believe that all grade one students would feel successful after being tasked with this activity within a quiz. Therefore, the parents would be able provide them with the support that they would need.

As I was creating this quiz, I was always considering Gibbs and Simpson’s contention that “sufficient feedback [should be] provided, both often enough and in enough detail” (2005, p.17). Although this condition is alluding to older student’s essay writing, I feel that it is applicable in terms of student writing in grade one. More specifically, if students are writing, I feel that my feedback is of more value when they read me their writing after they have completed their work. Then I provide specific feedback to students or ask questions to prompt them. This would be a task taken on by the parent in the case of this online quiz.

In the end, this exercise has provided me with a better understanding of how to create various quizzes using available features within Moodle. It has also served the important purpose of magnifying assessment strategies I would use to assess student learning. It has shown me that grade ones need multiple opportunities to share and show their learning. This can take the form of authentic tasks, self- reflection, hands on learning or a portfolio or their completed work. The totality of these tasks better reflect student learning. However, some components of an online quiz could also help students think about what they are learning; this could be in the form of simple multiple choice or matching activities. From this activity, I have come to the conclusion that for any age, online assessment can be a valuable resource in a teacher’s assessment toolkit, if applied carefully.  In the end, the advantage of a blended learning environment is that it allows the educator to leverage the features of both online and face- to- face environments to best serve student learning.

 

References

Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2005). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1(1), 3-31. Retrieved from http://insight.glos.ac.uk/tli/resources/lathe/documents/issue%201/articles/simpson.pdf

Rhine, S. & Smith, Elizabeth. (2001). Appropriate Assessment of Primary Grade Students. Retrieved from ERIC:  http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED456128.pdf