REFLECTION ON FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT’S LEARNING

INTRODUCTION

More than just giving grades and ranking students, assessment is the gathering of evidence-about a student’s knowledge of, ability to use, and disposition towards learning- and then making inferences from this evidence. Furthermore assessment can be used as a tool to make instructional decisions, to support and enhance students’ learning. In continuation, the best instruments for assessment also increase students’ knowledge and understanding. Brown and Glasner (1999) argue that “when assessment is at its best, it can be motivating and productive for students; helping them know how well they are doing and what else they need to do” (p.3).

Swaffield (2003) has made a distinction between assessment for learning (formative assessment) and assessment of learning (summative assessment). Formative assessment helps the teacher to understand what the students know, do not know, and might need in terms of feedback and feedforward. This is supported by Torrance and Pryor (1998) as who are of the view that formative assessment aid learning as it provides pupils with feedback on their strengths and weaknesses. Thus they should be able to improve their performance and achieve more. Additionally, they defined formative assessment as “it is taking place during a course with the express purpose of improving pupil learning” (p.8).

Ideally in formative assessment teacher tries to enable students to succeed in learning on a future occasion. This assessment is going on all the time as the teacher uses the feedback and feedforward to help students to learn better. Lamber and Lines (2000) found “yielding information that is useful in helping to improve learning, helping pupils to understand how they learn and how they have learned”(p.113).

I prepared a unit plan of six lessons. I chose to teach “Average”in Mathematics to students of grade 4. I worked rigorously during planning, data generating process, and teaching the actual lesson in classroom as I had planned it. During teaching I collected data by using formative assessment’s tools. Then I analyzed the assessment according to the following:

  1. Gathering/collecting information.
  2. Describing the phenomena/event
  3. Making sense of what happened
  4. Making meanings
  5. Drawing conclusions and
  6. Making decisions/ recommendations/ actions

In this paper, I will look at the assessment tools I used to collect data, the methods used, reflection and analysis of the findings in reference to how assessment helped students and teachers in teaching and learning process, and finally drawing implications from this experience.

DESCRIPTION OF METHODS USED FOR ASSESSMENT

Broadfoot, Winter and Weeden (2002) assert that teachers must know how to use diagnostic, formative, summative and evaluative assessment. I included the methods for all of them except for summative. Furthermore, I tried to align them with objectives of my unit plan of average. So that were observation, self assessment and questioning. The common reason for usage of these methods is to assess the objectives of my unit plan and to see the implication in the field.

REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION ABOUT OBSERVATION

Observation is direct means of learning about students, including what they do or do not know and can or cannot do. Fine and Evans (1990) state that “observation involves watching, listening and collecting information about what a student say and/or does in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domain”(p. 3). Observation is most effective when it follows a systematic plan. I included observation method, and the tool which I used for adoption of this method was anecdotal record. Reed and Bergemann (1995)define that “anecdotal record are an exact description of a classroom event or incident”(p.5). I prepared the sheet to record all the anecdotes in the class. During all the four lessons I couldn’t find anecdotal records as effective tool of assessment for my objectives. This is not because anecdotal record itself is not effective tool rather it’s because of the following reasons:

First major reason was the time constraint. I didn’t have time to discuss students’ problems with them, which I found as an anecdote in class. For example Roll No. 31 was not attentive from the beginning of the class till end in lesson # 3. She asked three times to go to wash room.But I could not use this anecdote in order to discuss with the student or to take an appropriate action to provide a solution or to know the reason of her ill response. Furthermore I thought that the context in which she behaved may not be representative. For example, this behavior may only be in Mathematics period not in others. Reflecting and making inferences from observation is very important (Reed and Bergemann, 1995). While I could just collected data through anecdotal tool but couldn’t effectively apply it. Contradictory, the key objective of anecdotal record is to make it possible for the teacher to plan ways to encourage students’ strengths and to work on their weaknesses (Fine and Evans, 1990).

Second reason is that the period of time in which the anecdote was recorded may not be representative. Anecdotal record is effective only when there is an acquaintance between student and teacher as Fine and Evans (1990) calls it as “regular observational scan” of all students. Additionally, they go on to say that teacher must understand the character traits of the individual students. So under such a condition it will be quite convenient for the teacher to address and notify any unusual response or happening. In contrast, for unfamiliar teacher it is difficult to distinguish what is anecdote and what is routine of a child. The research project required me to teach only a unit plan of six lessons. It must be used when there is a long term relationship between teacher and student, while I taught only for six days. Teacher must have ample time to discuss anecdote with concern students to find out the ways of solution.

REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION ABOUT SELF ASSESSMENT

Self assessment is the process by which students evaluate their own work, given criteria established by the teacher. Broadfoot, Winter and Weeden (2002) call “self assessment –a new way of thinking” (p. 74) for both teachers and learners. They go on saying that this is important because, ultimately, the responsibility for learning belongs to the student. I used ‘rubric’ for self assessment in the last lesson. I wanted my students to assess themselves about understanding of topic. Furthermore the purpose was to involve students in self assessment. After experiencing self assessment in my teaching, now I think that it’s obligatory to think of students’ prior knowledge and their level. I didn’t realize that students of class 4 are aware of self assessment or not. I was lost when I asked them to do assess their learning by drawing happy and sad faces on the student rubric sheets. I found many of them were enjoying the drawing of happy faces on rubric sheet without answering the asked questions in poster task. When I asked them why you are doing so? The only answer was “Teacher we will write the answer after drawing”. While Black and Harrison (2001) found in their study that most of the students are honest in their own assessment for most of the time. But that was contradictory to my experience and I was confused with the use of self assessment at this class level. I think students had not got across self assessment before and were not aware of its objective. They were just drawing the faces on rubric papers without knowing the reason.

Rubric sheets can be used in class as where the students know about self assessment. Now I think I could have made the students aware of self assessment in prior lessons and then the use of rubric could have been fruitful. For this Ellis (2001) says “there is a need for clear and adequate guidelines and support to be made available to students and practitioners in order for self assessment to be successful” (p. 299). Secondly use of rubric must be accorded to the level of students. I think I could have kept the langue easy as it was difficult for students even to read the questions written on rubric sheets. Despite the challenges Ellis (2001) supports self assessment and asserts that it enables educators to make learning active and critical, challenges issues of power and encourages shared learning.

Two issues to be considered regarding formative assessment:

  • Empowerment of students in self assessment can create problem of balance of responsibility and involvement between teacher and pupils.
  • Who decides how the learning is to be organised: what teaching and learning methods to be employed?

REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION ABOUT QUESTIONING

Torrance and Pryor (19998) suggests “ask a genuine question, get a genuine answer” (p.106). I used questioning throughout my teaching practice, thereby; I used checklistfor my questioning. I found questioning very helpful as I diagnosed students level of understanding about the topic. Subsequently I ascertained prior knowledge of students and taught them accordingly.Questioning not only helped my pupils to think in their own way but also doubled their learning as it invokes both teacher and students to think critically. Besides keeping students alert, it provided opportunity for students to take part in the ongoing process of teaching and learning. As Christenbury and Kelly (1983) say “questioning then help students to discover their own ideas: it gives students an opportunity to explore and argue and to sharpen and to interact among themselves; it gives teacher invaluable information about students’ ability and achievement” (p.3). Questioning helped me to involve all the students in classroom process.AsI allowed students to ask questions from each other during discussion which not only involved but also provided them an opportunity to shine in front of classmates. In addition to this questioning helped me to maintain discipline or stop a student from disturbing the class.It refers to Newton’s study (1999) that teacher’s questionings are usually for controlling the class. Furthermore it was helpful in reviewing and summarizing fundamental points of lesson. When I thought of reasons for the successful use of questioning, I got that questioning was the tool which I used teaching from the beginning. However it was never ever been systematically done for data generation and analysis purposes. As Newton (1999) mentioned different reasons: threat of national curriculum, time constraint and lack of questioning skills due to which teachers do not ask questions and allow students to ask questions. So it is crucial for a teacher to know when, where and what to question in teaching and learning processes.

IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSION

Through this experience, I have come to learn that that formative assessment should be adopted along with summative assessment in order to stimulate students for life long learning. For this, formative assessment must lie at the heart of planning and implementation. Furthermore it implies:

  • Observation should be systematic and focused.
  • Self assessment should be encouraged in our classroom activities.
  • Questions must be as a part of lesson plan to stimulate creative imaginations and critical thinking.
  • Assessment should be aligned with objectives and level of content.
  • Careful planning and selection of assessment methods and tools should be the essential part of teaching and learning process.

As a result of this experience, I have learnt that students should profit from formative assessment and particularly self assessment’s processes and practices. These should surely lie at the heart of their learning in worthwhile degree. From this experience I am firmly convinced that there is the same potential waiting to be harnessed if practicable methods of assessment are offered to students. Furthermore, as a teacher and life long learner, it gave me greater motivation and justified confidence. I found that I need to take a broader view of assessment if my pupils are to be helped to become lifelong learners.

REFERENCES

Brown,S., & Glasner, A. (1999). Assessment maters in higher education: choosing and using diverse approaches. Buckingham: Open University.

Black, P. & Harrison, C. (2001). Self- and peer-assessment and taking responsibility: the science student’s role in formative assessment. School science review, 83 (302), 43-50.

Broadfoot, P., Winter, J. & Weeden, P. (2002). Assessment: what’s in it for school? London: Routledge.

Christenbury, L.,& Kelly, P. P.(1983). Questioning a path of critical thinking.Urbana: NCTE.

Ellis, G. (2001). Looking at ourselves-self assessment and peer assessment: practice examples from New Zealand. Reflective practice, 2 (3), 289-302.

Fine, J. & Evans, M. (1990). Looking at assessment more than just marks: teacher-as- observer: beyond the paper –and –pencil test. Mississauga: Peel Board of Education.

Lamber, D.,& Lines, D.(2000). Understanding assessment: purposes, perceptions, practice. London: Routledge.

Newton, P.(1999). The place of argumentation in the pedagogy of school science. International Journal of Science Education, 21(5), 553-576.

Reed, A.J.S. & Bergemann, V.E. (1995). A Guide to observation and participation in the classroom (2nd ed.). USA:The Dushkin Publishing group.

Swaffield, S. (2003). Assessment: servant or dictator? FORUM, 45(2), 39-43.

Torrance, H., & Pryor, J. (1998). Investigating formative assessment: teaching, learning and assessment in the classroom. Philadelphia: Open University Press.

POSTER TASK

STUDENTS RUBRIC

Student Name Date______

How well do you think you did your work?

Means you think you did very well.

Means you think you did quite well.

?Means you think you need to do better.

Some thing is written in the table about your work. Choose which symbol you think matches your work the best. Draw it in the space on the right- hand side.

My Work / How I did
I defined Average.
I wrote three uses of Average in my life.
I wrote three basic operations of Math used in Average.
I wrote the formula of Average correctly.

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