Reflections on Quiz 1

I have always done fairly in my examinations and quizzes. Ever since I could remember, I would spend sleepless nights reviewing for a finals or short quizzes. However, years of working seemed to have rusted my brain. I thought Quiz 1 will be easy but the two attempts with a message that I should try a little harder proved that I need to really understand Assessment and its purpose.

After reading Module 1 readings, my third attempt for Quiz 1 was successful but it somehow felt not good because I knew that I could have done my best the first time I took the test.

The unlimited attempts proved be useful because it sharpens your mind, you get to really study the question and then you realize your error.

I guess as a student though I can understand the instruction perfectly fine, there will still be moments that i will make “kulit” and ask clarifications and directions about activities because I want to be able to do it correctly.

However with short quizzes, demonstrations, examinations, little additional information is given because it’s already stated there.

But the whole experience of answering quiz 1 and 2 were a very humbling experience for me. As an online student, i have to literally juggle my time as a mom, career woman and a student, so my studying in Open University does not come cheap either so I have to study hard and do my activities. But learning is fun and enriching.

Self-Assessment on our group assignment

What lessons did I learn from Assignment 2?

How would I like to have a similar experience in the future?
     Will I want to do this again?  
     Shall I do something like it in a class that I (shall) teach?

The self and peer assessment wherein you need to collaborate with a group was an eye-opening experience. I’ve always participated in a lot of activities whether in school or in work. It was quite easier for me to grasp the whole instruction because I can easily ask them if I did not understand the whole procedure. But doing the self and peer assessment online, I kind of felt uneasy at first because I was kind of studying Module 4 and still contemplating on my grade in Quiz 2 when it was announced that there will be an assignment wherein we will collaborate with a group.

I kind of felt at lost because I can’t easily understand the instruction. And somehow when we were doing the rubrics and assessment, as much as I want to sound intelligent enough with my contributions, it somehow fell short even though I know that maybe my contributions in our assignment 2 were useful.

Somehow it made me realize that if I did not understand something, I should ask right away. Though my group mates were very nice to answer my queries and they did  appreciate my efforts in the activity. Parang I feel like I could have stepped up to my game pero I don’t know, ang galing ng construction ng rubrics and how everything was well-thought.

I guess, if it was an individual activity, probably there was a chance that I could improve more because madidiskartehan ko siya ng maige, mapag iisipan ko siya ng mabuti. I can only do so much, I do my assignments in the office if I have the time because our internet connection in our house sucks big time. So the time that I exerted for the assignment was about giving suggestions on what could be the rubric and some true or false questions.

But I’m happy with my group. They were really smart and i learned from them and yes, this activity has made me understand more about rubrics, grading system and yes I will apply it in my class.

So, yeah, I enjoyed the experience of having an assignment collaborating with my online classmates 🙂

How meaningful have scores been?

That question struck me? Grades have been part of my life and I must admit that whenever I get a low grade or did not pass an exam, that hit me hard. I know I’m not really “smart” smart, but I study really hard and I word really hard to get good grades. They say that age or grade is just a number but numbers can really affect you in some ways.

Like for example, when I took Quiz # 1 and 2, I felt sad that I got a few low grades before getting high score. I guess, on my end, hindi ko pa talaga lubos na ina-absorb yung mga terms/definitions ng assessment. It can be pretty confusing.

But grades are does not really define your whole being. They are motivating factors to keep you going and improve your studying habits.

They’re like feedback but in number forms only. And it’s up to you on how you going to pick up yourself from your high and low scores, you either improve or just leave it as it is. YOU CHOOSE…

Module 4: Creating Assessments and Providing Feedback

EXPLAIN THE PRINCIPLES OF DEVELOPING ASSESSMENTS AND PROVIDING FEEDBACK

The closest type of teaching that I have come close to would be tutoring my nephew who is a Grade 3 student. I grew up being tutored also by aunt during my elementary years and the type of exercises that we did ensured that I learned thoroughly from our lessons. As we look back, assessment is the process of administering of different types of testing methods in order to gather information about a student’s understanding and acquired skills, abilities of a lesson.

According to Casper College’s Comprehensive Assessment Plan Fall 2006 Edition, assessment is the systematic collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for improving the student learning and developing.

When doing assessments now or test exercises for my nephew, I will know what areas of his lesson he is having difficulty with and he excels in.

I tend to gear the traditional type of test/exercises to measure his knowledge of the topic. For school department and teachers, developing assessment should be first and foremost be aligned with the school’s objective and produce learning outcomes to enhance students’ learning.

For a teacher in her class to measure students’ competencies, her assessments should meet what the objectives written in her syllabus to achieve learning. Enhancing Student Learning through assessment defined learning outcomes as statements that predict what learners will gain as a result of learning, so there should be a clear relationship between learning outcomes and assessment.

Dr. Ciara O’ Farrell emphasized that learning outcomes enables the teacher what type of assessment should be given to the students and how the students will answer it may it be trough formative or summative.

Most of the materials that I have read, doing an assessment tests, lesson plans, they follow Benjamin Bloom’s Taxonomy in determining what type of verbs any lecturer should use in writing the objectives to formulate good assessments.

Image from Google and http://avillage.web.virginia.edu/iaas/assess/process/plan.shtm

The whole text was taken from http://www.langevin.com/blog/2012/06/25/how-to-apply-blooms-taxonomy-to-the-testing-process/

Benjamin Bloom introduced Bloom’s Taxonomy in 1956. The initial focus was primarily for academia and now finds a comfortable place in training. Bloom and associates identified three domains of learning:

1. Cognitive:mental skills, intellectual capability (knowledge)
2. Affective:feelings, motivation, behavior (attitude)
3. Psychomotor:manual or physical skills (skills)

These are sometimes identified as “Do-Think-Feel” or KSA (Knowledge, Skills, and Attitude).

In this blog, the focus is on the cognitive domain and the application of the six levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. These levels represent a hierarchy of learning that goes from the simple (level 1) to the complex (level 6). The levels are as follows:

1. Knowledge – to check learner ability to recall basic information
2. Comprehension – confirm understanding
3. Application – use or apply knowledge
4. Analysis – interpret elements; see if the information can be broken into components
5. Synthesis – create or develop plans
6. Evaluation – assess, critical thinking

Now that we have defined the six levels, let’s look at how they can be applied to instructional design. Lynne’s blogexplained how Bloom’s Taxonomy could be used in structuring questions; this blog will add how it applies to the testing process.

1. Knowledge– to check learner ability to recall basic information

This is usually assessed using a non-performance test that checks for knowledge of the information the learner has been taught. This is accomplished through quizzes using assorted multiple choice, matching, or true/false questions. You want the learner to define, repeat, recall from memory, list, etc. the information he/she has learned. (e.g. List the six steps of Langevin’s learning strategy.)

2. Comprehension– confirm understanding

This next level is also a non-performance check for knowledge, but now you want the learner to “put it in their own words” by describing, explaining, discussing, etc. the information he/she has been taught. (e.g. Describe the six steps of the learning strategy.)

3. Application– use or apply knowledge

Here, the focus is on performance-based assessment. You have the learner apply, interpret, practice, etc. the information he/she has been taught. (e.g. Create a brief lesson using the learning strategy that you will present to the group. You must use all six steps.)

4. Analysis – interpret elements, break the information into smaller parts

For this level, you ask the learner to compare, investigate, solve, examine, tell why, etc.

(e.g. This is an outline for a course, which was not received well by the learners. Compare this to the learning strategy, identify which part(s) of the learning strategy were omitted, and how this omission contributed to the course not being successful.)

5. Synthesis– create/develop plans; put pieces together to form a new whole

Here, you have the learner suppose, create, construct, improve, etc. (e.g. This is a handout of a course that is structured according to the learning strategy. It follows the six steps, but is not as dynamic as is could be. What would you add to each step to create a more dynamic course that gets the learner involved?)

6. Evaluation– assess, critical thinking

As we have developed our objectives, we have to know our students as well. It will be much easier to formulate written and practical examinations ones you know your students, their strengths and weaknesses because not all students are the same.

PLAN AND CONSTRUCT EFFECTIVE TESTS/ASSESSMENTS

When I was in elementary and high school, traditional type of tests were usually given to us to measure how the students understood their lesson. Multiple choice, Fill-in-the-blanks, and True or False measures how familiar we are with the terms.  It was only in my college years, that authentic assessments in the form of essays. I enjoyed doing essays because this is where I can fully explain my answers.

According to How to Write Better Tests, A Handbook for Improving Test Construction Skills, we need to know factors first before planning an assessment or tests.

We need to know what is to be measured. If it is an objective exam then do a test with a predetermined set of answers. Example given by Writing Effective Test: A Guide to Teachers: multiple choice, true-false, matching type and fill-in-the blanks. These are type of exams that measures recognition or recall.

But if you want to develop critical thinking, then essays will be a fitting type of exam that can be given to the student. Again, we should know as tutors or educator our objective before formulating an exam so that we can arrive at better answers.

You have to determine the size of the classroom and the time frame in performing /answering the exams. Exams like essays, performance exams, even simple tests like multiple choice may be time-consuming as it requires the students to analyze carefully the questions before answering.

By giving the directions carefully and by providing the exact time limit, students will be able to mind the test only.

For the students to learn be proficient, aside from outlining the goals and objectives, a teacher can also prepare Table of Specification as this will enable the teacher to include important points in the assessment exams.

According to The University of Kansas, table of specifications will help students identify main ideas, key skills, and the relationship among concepts. It is also called a test blueprint which helps the teacher what exactly the topic should begin and end and what important terms should be included in the exam a teacher will make. Table of specification usually occurs in traditional summative tests.

Describe of various way of providing effective feedback

Feedback has always been an important component to me especially in my work. With every aspect of our lives where validation in extremely important, feedback is an effective tool in improving one’s craft. It may be synonymous with criticism especially if there is finish product or output involved. We usually get feedback from formative exercises as the whole process of learning is on-going so you can expect comments from your teachers and peers as well.

According to Grant Wiggins who wrote Seven Keys to Effective Feedback, providing feedback should be goal-references, tangible and transparent, actionable, user-friendly, timely, ongoing, and consistent.

Goal-referenced meaning that there should be a reason why there was an action made. There should be a purpose.

Tangible and Transparent- comments, reactions should be clear so as to rule out any misinterpretation.

User-friendly- feedback should be easily understood by those who are receiving the feedback. Concised and brief.

Timely-for a student to improve his skills and understanding, prompt feedback should be given to the student so that he/she can work re-assess itself and work on the areas that the study is having difficulty with the subject.

Ongoing-the need to improve on the actual lesson, game, demonstration making the learning much easier and you correct your mistakes immediately.

Consistent-feedback should be true and persistent, it does not deviate from what the topic it should be talking about.

DESIGN MEANINGFUL AND EFFECTIVE RUBRICS

Rubric is a set of expectations incorporated by the teachers in their instructional programs and curriculum to provide rating on how a task is done. According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubric_(academic), rubrics are commonly used in rating a performance. For example if one is asked to juggle a two tennis balls during a P.E. Class, the teacher will rate the student according on how he juggled the balls. He can choose rate them using EXCELLENT, COMPETENT, and NEEDS WORK for scoring the student. When a rubric is used, it provides the student a forecast on how will he perform the task.

Source:

http://www.caspercollege.edu/assessment/downloads/assessment_manual.pdf

http://learningandteaching.dit.ie/documents/assessment_toolkit_v41f.pdf

Image from Google and http://avillage.web.virginia.edu/iaas/assess/process/plan.shtm

http://www.langevin.com/blog/2012/06/25/how-to-apply-blooms-taxonomy-to-the-testing-process/

http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/sept12/vol70/num01/seven-keys-to-effective-feedback.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rubric_(academic)

3rd Type of Classroom Assessment (Traditional and Authentic Assessment)

During my elementary and highschool years, my teachers were fond of giving examinations that tests our knowledge and skills. Teachers tend to give traditional forms of assessment such as Multiple Choice, Fill-in-the-blanks, True or False, and Matching Type. In this kind of tests, I made sure that I understood my lessons. I usually prepare for my exam by memorizing terms and their definitions. According to Jon Mueller, school administers these kind of examinations to determine if the students have understood the lessons. For traditional assessment, the driving force in this model is the curriculum. It is where the body of knowledge is form so that teacher and students will base their assessment from.

On the other hand, Alternative Assessment enables the students to perform task, activities that will determine what kind of curriculum will be suitable for all students. Mueller’s stated that authentic assessment drives the curriculum.

These two types of assessment comes hand in hand for the teacher because in answering Math questions in a multiple choice format, we can derive the answer by solving it first manually. In real life situations, we may use Traditional and Authentic Assessment in getting a driver’s license. I took an exam first before getting a driver’s license, I have yet to apply for a driving lessons in A1 Driving school.

When teachers see that students may have the capabilities to answer the test questions, the students should be able to perform meaningful tasks as well. Both Traditional and Authentic Assessment’s main goal is to establish productive and efficient students.

Like me who grew up mainly absorbed in just studying hard for exams to get a high grade, it was rather hard for me to do practical exams. I remember that when answering Math questions, I immediately become nervous and anxious for the fear of not answering it correctly.

In real life situations, I would say that tests are only confined in applying for jobs. What will measure me as an individual is the interview part wherein I will be asked to write a script, edit a video and so on and so forth.

But in all aspects, may it be in school or work, there should be balance because traditional assessments complements authentic assessments.