My journey has taken me into the labyrinth called developing an assessment using Moodle using a set of conditions. \u00a0 Gibbs and Simpson\u00a0(2004) specify conditions under which assessments are useful to students learning.\u00a0 These include:<\/p>\n
I tried to keep these criteria in mind as I entered the labyrinth.\u00a0 At first, the way seemed clear and straightforward.\u00a0 All I had to do was create questions that tested grammar acquisition in all four strands (reading, writing, listening, speaking) while applying real-world knowledge.\u00a0 Normally in face-to-face classes, I use formative assessments using presentations, role-plays and writing, listening, and reading tasks.\u00a0 As I started to work with Moodle’s quiz features, my\u00a0 path was suddenly blocked.\u00a0 First of all, if I used multiple-choice questions to test grammar, it really wouldn’t test students’ knowledge of modals as the correct answer would be before them.\u00a0 So, I decided to use a cloze activity instead.\u00a0 Once again, that path was blocked (embedded questions looked like short answers, not fill-in-the blanks) and I had to hunt for a way through to find the correct html coding that would allow me to create a cloze activity.\u00a0 My hunt was successful and I progressed over that hill into a new part of the maze.\u00a0 To ensure that the assessment encouraged productive learning, I created paragraph questions that would force students to use some of the language they had acquired and apply them to real world situations.\u00a0 This path was easy enough to follow, however I still had issues when it came to the multiple choice and matching questions.<\/p>\n
In designing how to use multiple choice and matching questions, I came to the conclusion that they are rarely useful in assessing grammar acquisition.\u00a0 I felt like I had hit a wall, and had to turn around and choose a new path, so I did.\u00a0 I decided that for my assessment to test real-world knowledge and critical thinking skills, the multiple choice and matching questions would need to be based on mastery of listening and reading skills.\u00a0 Questions could be set up so students need to apply skills in identifying main ideas, specific details and new vocabulary.\u00a0 These formats are frequently used in EAL to test these skills, so it seemed like a natural fit.\u00a0 I was disappointed that rather than force students to read through multiple lists, the matching question was just click and select, not actual manipulation of language concepts, like most hot potatoes is.\u00a0 This tests different reading skills than the ones I had targeted.\u00a0 Also, matching questions are primarily used to test vocabulary in EAL, so I found myself thinking outside of the box to incorporate them.\u00a0 I find myself constantly rethinking how to create matching questions to promote critical thinking.<\/p>\n
In designing multiple choice and matching questions, it is possible for students to receive instant feedback and general information on the correct answers.\u00a0 This makes feedback, timely, task related and useful for students.\u00a0 Unfortunately, this type of feedback doesn’t meet all of the conditions set by Gibbs and Simpson.\u00a0 I found it very frustrating trying to think of ways to provide students with personal, detailed feedback that would focus on their individual skills and learning, and not that as a group.\u00a0 While Moodle does have in system email, where I can email students, it would take a lot of time to go through their individual exams.\u00a0 I still cannot find my way around this idea, and have abandoned the search for now.\u00a0 Moodle does allow for manual grading, so I can\u00a0assign individual grades to students, when I wish to grade essays.\u00a0 However, I did discover a small barrier, as Moodle won’t let you build rubrics (a form of grading I frequently use), this\u00a0feature is an add-on,\u00a0and so I have to grade using points, and provide individual feedback later.\u00a0 Fortunately, this is a small boulder and I was able to hop over it and move on.<\/p>\n
I also struggled with the debate of going with either summative or formative assessment.\u00a0 A formative\u00a0 assessment would provide tips to further student learning, while a summative assessment tests knowledge-so how detailed should feedback be and when should I give it.\u00a0 The assignment was to create an assessment, and given the types of questions I had to include, I decided to go with a summative assessment.\u00a0 The time students would need to answer the minimum number of questions, would exceed that of a standard quiz.\u00a0 In terms of when to give I discovered that Moodle had a feature to set when feedback is given, so I chose to have it do so after the exam, so students can review their responses.\u00a0 Once this was set-up, I had completed my assessment and had found my\u00a0way out of the labyrinth and back on my journey.<\/p>\n
Looking back, I realize that while Moodle does provide instant feedback to quiz questions, the type of questions I can create only test limited features of language.\u00a0 I would have to install large numbers of add-ons to be able to use Moodle to assess all strands including speaking.\u00a0 Right now, reading, writing, vocabulary and grammar accuracy are the main skills that can be assessed.\u00a0 Listening can be done, but it isn’t possible to limit the number of times a recording is played in a question.\u00a0 Moodle allows the embedding of audio in units, but not in quiz questions.\u00a0 Because of its limitations, Moodle’s effectiveness in language assessment is in doubt.\u00a0 I decided it would be good for testing as new concepts are being learned, but not for summative assessments.\u00a0 As well, Moodle’s quiz feature doesn’t allow for students to reflect on and use the\u00a0 feedback in their learning after the quiz- a condition Gibbs and Simpson say is critical for a successful assessment.<\/p>\n
As I continue on my journey, I find myself thinking about how to create an activity that will permit students to reflect on their assessment and learning.\u00a0 I also find myself debating the nature of the assessments and rubrics I create in my daily practice, not just the one I designed in Moodle.\u00a0\u00a0 I wonder if by providing specific criteria for assignments, am I creating assessments that create productive learning, or summative learning and what skills am I testing?\u00a0 It seems that language and traditional assessment questions are two very different skills and it is difficult to get them to a point where they meet, especially in Moodle.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
My journey has taken me into the labyrinth called developing an assessment using Moodle using a set of conditions. \u00a0 Gibbs and Simpson\u00a0(2004) specify conditions under which assessments are useful to students learning.\u00a0 These include: students have enough time to study to perform well on assessments timing and spacing of assessment activities are distributed evenly […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3530,"featured_media":0,"parent":130,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-6","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/naomi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/naomi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/naomi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/naomi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3530"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/naomi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/naomi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":137,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/naomi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6\/revisions\/137"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/naomi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/130"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/naomi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}