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Module 6: Reporting and Feedback

Assessment data should not just be recorded but it is important that the data should be used to ensure that the assessments are aligned with the learning objectives and instruction.  It is important that actions are done to modify or adapt teaching methods, assessment activities, learning processes involved and other aspects that may affect assessment data.

Thoughts on Feedback

Feedback is a really powerful influence that it can either make or break a student’s motivation to enhance knowledge and performance so I think it is more of a formative nature. We should consider providing ongoing constructive, quality and timely feedback and ensure that it is included on our assessment planning. We should also ensure that our students are aware and prepared for the dedicated timings for feedback. I did not experience much feedback during my previous academic years but this module enlightened me to be fair and unbiased with my future students by providing them feedback so they can be aware of what is expected of them, what is their current progress and how will they achieve what they want to achieve. Feedback will also allow the educators to adjust their teaching strategies including content and delivery, learning and assessment activities and so on to ensure maximum engagement of the students so they will be able to perform better next time. Teachers should be trained and mentally prepared to provide clear, unbiased and actionable feedback to their students which is why the teacher’s mastery of the subject is also essential.

Thoughts on Grading

Grading is a traditional, formalized way to evaluate the progress of the students. It can include letters, numbers, pass/fail remarks etc. which will easily tell a summary on how an individual student has performed for easier reference.

I believe that learning outcomes are more important than nominal grades. Most parents, students and teachers rely on grades or academic ranking to prove that somebody is intelligent or smart. I do believe that excellence is a habit so I barely rely on summative, traditional and evaluative assessments as what I will consider more is the consistency and the attitude of the student towards learning as I believe they are the students who will still remember the lessons and apply it to their actual lives.

Thoughts on Rubrics

Rubrics are mostly used to describe performance to ensure fairness, reliability and validity of the observations made by the teacher or students. It is flexible and can be used by both the teachers and the students. A rubric should match the learning objectives and the students should be made aware of the rubric before doing any activity so they are aware of the expected level of performance depending on the specific criteria that they wish to achieve.

Rubric construction requires in depth knowledge of the topic as the criteria should be clear and well-defined to avoid partial judgment. Training should be provided to the teachers so they can properly construct effective rubrics so they can have a better understanding of the student’s performances. This will also help the students to know what their current progress is so they know how to improve their performance.

References:

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership.(n.d.)Spotlight – Reframing feedback to improve teaching and learning.Retrieved from https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/research-evidence/spotlight/spotlight-feedback.pdf?sfvrsn=cb2eec3c_12

Brookhart, S.M. (2013).How to Create and Use Rubrics for Formative Assessment and Grading. Retrieved from ASCD Org website http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/112001/chapters/What-Are-Rubrics-and-Why-Are-They-Important¢.aspx.

The Room 241 Team.(2013).Grading vs. Assessment: What’s the Difference? Retrieved from A Blog by Concordia University-Portland website: https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/grading-vs-assessment-whats-the-difference/

PERCEPTION

This module gave me a wider and in-depth knowledge of the purposes of assessment. My perception before is that the focus should be on assessment of learning which was practiced by most educators. I would normally wait for the announcement of ranking and academic average every quarter together with my parents and we feel happy if I am part of the honor students and if my academic ranking has improve every quarter. Looking back, I wish I could have aimed better or at least assess myself better than the grades that do not mean anything to me now. I know I learned a lot but for me before I am just doing something because I want to excel or pass the subject at least and not because I really want to learn or if I really understand the purpose of what I am learning.

NEW LEARNING ( arranged in accordance to proposed balance of assessment- restructured assessment pyramid)

Assessment as Learning

I believe this is very difficult to achieve but it can be done. It will need a lot of practice for the teacher to encourage the students to be critical and responsible of their own learning but this will also be the most beneficial form of assessment. Proper guidance and feedback is necessary for the students to develop metacognition and at the same time for them to reflect and practice their knowledge. As educators, our goal should focus on assessment as learning. Some examples I can think of are investigatory projects, laboratory experiments, journals etc.

Assessment for Learning

This can be done by using various types of examination, homework, projects, observation, or whatever suitable to gather information about student’s thinking and learning while on the process of learning and provide descriptive feedback to ensure that the targeted outcomes will be met.

Assessment of Learning

This is mostly summative and are mostly use for decision making with regards to advancement, placement, accreditation or future programs. Since this is mostly summative it can also be used to establish performance communication with the students and their parents.

My new understanding made me realize that there is a much greater purpose of assessment than providing grades and it is also very important that it is aligned with the learning objectives/goals of the course and the student as well. I learned that it is very important to establish the learning objective of each topic to guide the students and the teachers on what is expected of them. I have also learned that performance rubric is one way to provide clear guidance on how the assessments will be evaluated. I also understood now why I have enjoyed Science laboratory experiments before rather than just listening to powerpoint presentations and memorizing each slide to pass the examinations.

APPLICATION

Using all the concepts that I learned on this module which I am sure will always be in heart and mind, I will aim for more practical examinations rather than written one although it will still depend on the subject and learning objective. I would rather have my students learn something that they will never forget rather than forcing them to know a lot of information but they will forget everything after passing the course which is very common with students nowadays. I will focus on the value of assessment as learning so I can encourage my students to learn because learning is something that will be part of their lives and something that they can apply and relate to their daily life and practice. I will work on activities that will allow my students to explore what they have learned rather than spoon-feeding them will all the information that will be part of the examinations. I want them to develop self-assessment and metacognition so they can monitor, reflect and improve on their own thoughts so they can decide on what they want to achieve and how they are going to achieve that. I will also ensure that I provide the appropriate tools for assessment for learning so I will be able to provide feedback while on the learning process and they will be able to measure and track their progress statistically and lastly assessment of learning so I will be able to provide a summative report to reach decision for the student’s learning, placement or accreditation in relation to the expected curriculum learning outcomes. By adapting this process, I believe this will be difficult to achieve as each student have different learning phase. I also believe that we should not allow the students to pass a course if they are not ready as this will just result to them to be unprepared on the more difficult courses which is why it is very important for us educators to monitor their progress and more importantly to develop their skill to reflect on their own development and employ strategies that will improve our teaching method. I believe that as future educators we should concentrate on the quality of the graduates and not the quantity.

References

Manitoba Education, Citizenship and Youth. (2006). Rethinking classroom assessment with purpose in mind : assessment for learning, assessment as learning, assessment of learning. Retrieved from https://www.edu.gov.mb.ca/k12/assess/wncp/full_doc.pdf

Let me start with the most controversial experience I had back in 2006. When I was in high school the policy in establishing final ranking or over-all performance of students was suddenly changed to 70% academic rating and 30% extra-curricular activities right at the end of the course without prior announcements and before I cannot understand this. I have a lot of extra-curricular activities so I did not argue about this and in fact I benefitted from this scheme. A lot of parents and students complained especially those that are running for honours because they believe the basis should only be on the academic rating. I can say that I can understand it now better, the institution is trying to teach us that academic grades is not the only basis for excellence and each student have  unique personality, talents and skills that should be nurtured and should also be accounted for. I also agree that it should have never been announced because other students will just do the activities just to have extra points even though it is not really their passion.

This module gave me a lot of information and different perspectives with regards to assessment cycle and the proper use of multiple sources of the evidences of student learning. I would say that before I was not aware of the qualitative and quantitative methods of assessments and even if I do I would probably think that quantitative is better because as humans we tend to believe exact figures and nominal value and it is also easier to evaluate if we are only dealing with number the number of correct answers rather than analysing essays or interview with our students. I have learned that multiple measures including direct and indirect evidence are equally important and should all be factored to assess a student’s performance effectively.

Some educators are aware of the assessment cycle but unfortunately they are not using it and instead will result to linear progression of learning where there is no continuity of learning and no improvement. It is important that educators practice the cycle on every lesson and assessment. Ann Gravells have summarized the cycle as 1.) Identifying needs- which is knowing about the needs of the institution, teachers and students 2.) Aspects of planning learning-which is planning what you should deliver and how you will assess the students by preparing scheme of work, session plan and group profile. This should promote equality and diversity effectively 3.) Facilitating learning- is all about the teacher facilitating the process of learning to ensure that students are learning something 4.) Assessing learning- to assess the students on what they can do or cannot do and assess only on what you are supposed to assess. We can use initial, formative, summative and holistic types of assessment and we should ensure that concept of assessment should be valid, authentic, current, sufficient and reliable and ensure that we provide constructive feedbacks. 5.) Evaluating learning- this is evaluating the learning program by requesting feedback from peers, assessors, learners and self-assessment. The information gathered can be used to improve your practice and to improve yourself via continuing professional development.

In summary, I would like to emphasize that teaching as well as learning is a process and assessment is a cycle which will all contribute to achieve a better quality education which is a process too and will never achieve perfection, it cannot be achieved by the effort of the teacher alone but it should be worked on by everyone including parents, students, school management and the government. We are all part of the cycle and we should all contribute to improve the process. The teachers should maximize their effort to study and analyse the results of assessments and use them to improve the teaching and learning process and to ensure that constructive feedback is provided to the students.

REFERENCES

Gravells A. (2016, January 2). Teaching,learning and assessment cycle by Ann Gravells [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLLt6OuwVc3L93y-jzutjJH8c8FYFJsO0p