How We Assess - Assessment Methods
This chapter was an eyeopener and it was really tiring to read through all the information presented. The assessment cycle comprises of 1) Teaching and learning, 2) Gathering evidence of the learning taking place, 3) Giving feedback to the learners, and 4) Reflecting and planning.
There are numerous ways to go about assessing learning. These are heavily dependent on the nature/purpose of assessment, i.e. whether its formative or summative in nature. Formative assessments focus on gathering evidence of learning and giving feedback to learners as the course is in progress. Summative assessments focus on testing the learners at the end of topics, units or courses, and often aim to provide a numerical grade that reflects the learners' achievements.
Some types of formative assessment methods include peer assessments where learners assess each other's work, self assessments where learners assess themselves, and group assessments where group work is assessed in various ways.
These types of assessment help learners to understand and gain skills in how to critically analyze work and how to give and receive feedback. They afford learners with a window into the diversity found in learning and thinking between students. They also gain insight into their own performance and develop a sense of ownership in the assessment process. All of these foster lifelong learning.
Rubrics and checklists I now view as invaluable assets in the assessment process. Rubrics give the learner very clear breakdowns of what is expected in order to achieve certain standards and further, gives assessors a more clearcut measure by which to assess students' work, especially in areas prone to being very subjective. Checklists on the other hand, can provide simple, straightforward lists of what is to be achieved by the student either during a direct task or general observation. Both rubrics and checklists can be factored into numerous assessment tools such as self, peer and group assessments.
In completing the activities for this chapter, I found the course content severely lacking in deep information and templates for guidance. To get around this constraint, I did a great deal of online research which helped me get a deeper understanding of the topic and the wider assessment options available to a tutor such as portfolios, journals, observation, projects, writing assessments and more.
