This term we have been discussing assessments. I remember creating assessment exams while teaching in University and, looking back at it now, I was not that great at it. I tried to mix up the type of questions – MC, fill-in-the-blank, and short answer. I think they were valid and reliable exams but they were not necessarily inclusive of all students. By this I mean, I did not recognize there were ELL students in my class and my exams were not inclusive of them.
I’ve learned a lot of strategies for assessments this term. For example I need to make sure I keep my questions ELL friendly by not being too long or using complicated language. Rubrics seem to be the way to go to assess many different types of assignments including presentations and essays. This is a new way of marking for me but I really like it. I like that it is a visual way for students to gauge their own success. It is very transparent – they know what they need to do to gain the most marks and can easily self-assess themselves when they don’t.
Speaking of which…peer and self-assessments also seem to be popular ways of assessing students. Although, it has been warned to not use these assessment for final marks I can see how they can definitely motivate students to do their best.
Lately we are working on the backward design of lesson plans – planning our assessments first then working backward to design the learning activities. I see this more as a “back and forth design” however, as I think it is most useful to keep adjusting assessments with objectives and the activities as the lesson is built.
I see how important assessment is and I do wish we had more time in this program to learn and practice it. Many of use are having to go back to our lesson plans to redesign our assessment, which feels like a waste of time, but…. I think the “back and forth” is the whole idea.
