Module 1: Why is Assessment Necessary?

Classroom Assessment Within the Alternative Assessment Paradigm: Revisiting the Territory
Michael A. Buhagiar

This article identified what, to me, are the reasons behind the majority of assessments. The identification of what elements the student does and does not know on a subject unites formative and summative assessments with a single purpose. The Gipps (1994) quotation, “assessment does not stand outside teaching and learning, but stands in dynamic interaction with it.” Also, “multiple methods of assessment are needed to cover the full range of achievements targeted – namely, knowledge, thinking, processes, products, and dispositions” supports my idea.

Assessment Methodologies in Transition: Changing Practices in Web-Based Learning
Cathering McLaughlin
Joe Luca

McLaughlin and Luca stated that there “is now a new wave of pedagogy advocating authentic assessment.” I believe them when they say that this is new in the area of web-based learning, but this is new but this is a method those of us who teach young children have used forever. For example,
1. Can the student tie their shoelaces or not? If they successfully tie them, for what period of time do the laces remain tied?
2. Can the student read the selection? Can they identify the sequence of events? Can they summarize the story into one or two sentences? Can they paraphrase the information? Can they tell a story in which they had an experience similar to the one in the story?

In the discussion postings of many students, the focus was on the shared community and interaction between students that permits collaborative working. That was a point that I missed in a lot of the readings.

Jennifer J. Summarized the class discussion postings in the following way:

McLoughlin Article:
- Teachers have a new role as facilitators
- Assessment must align to the learning task
- Students should be given resources that allow them connectivity, computer modeling, and epistemological pluralism (Students are connecting through phones or instant messaging.)
- Peer support and timely feedback is important
- Students need to take responsibility for their own learning (be self-directed)
- Technology has accelerated alternative assessments as Web offers more adaptability and flexibility than traditional assessments

Burhariar:
- Teachers are facilitators, students construct knowledge
- Assessment should relate to teaching and learning within the class
- Need to assess using higher thinking skills
- Need input from all areas when reorganizing needs - involve community in process
- Different types of assessment methods needed
- Traditional pen and paper assessments are unfriendly to learners and instructors
- Need to move away from standardized testing as the only predictor of student knowledge

So far, this group seems to favor wikis slightly over surveys. Both of these types of assessments were preferred more than the interview.

Wiki - 4
- Provides great sense of ownership for student
- Serves as a repository of information for students from many classes
- Can review its evolution
- Collaborative

Survey - 3
- Good for pre-assessment
- Can be anonymous
- Provides instant feedback

Interview – 1
- Great to use in class as students enjoy talking
- Difficult to find a partner in big class
- Connects you with a person that you can contact later if needed
- Establishes community among a group

Holly Jeffrey

Assessment: Teacher-centered or Learner-centered?

I think there were two statements that should not be examined separately. The first is the following: Assessment is used to monitor learning. The second is the following: Assessment is used to promote and diagnose learning.

A definition of the verb monitor is the following: To keep track of systematically with a view to collecting information (http://education.yahoo.com). It is essential to quality instruction that you monitor student progress, especially if you are teaching something like reading that is a continuum. The assessment should consist of all aspects of the area. Therefore, someone dates and records the complexity of the material the student read, at what rate they read it, with how many errors, what strategies the student used when they didn’t automatically know the word, and their understanding of the piece. This assessment information is used to diagnose the student’s strengths and weaknesses. This is monitoring a student’s progress to promote and diagnose learning. The statements identified earlier are not separate entities, they are parts of a whole.