Student andTeacher Assessment

Assessment

Classroom assessment is simply a means to discover if our students are learning what we are teaching

Instructors need effective ways to monitor learning throughout the language course

The fundamental questions necessary to ask are: “What are our students learning?” “How effectively are we teaching?”

Assessment Improves Teaching The data collected from various assessment

activities is very useful for improving teaching and learning. For example this can: Help students learn how to study Encourage teachers to analyze objectively what

happens in the classroom Guide students in a self-analysis of their own

learning processes

Assessment Improve Learning The purpose of classroom assessment is to

improve both learning and teaching Students are encouraged to focus on

learning the knowledge and skills of the course how well their learning is proceeding

Teachers focus on the success of their teaching

Teachers are given an opportunity to revise their methods

Process

Classroom assessment involves the design phase the assessment activity itself the follow-up to the assessment

Structured feedback should be shared between the instructors and students

Examples

The One-Minute Paper (Angelo and Cross 1993)

Please answer each of the following questions in one or two sentences: What was the most useful/meaningful thing you

learned during this session? What question(s) remain uppermost in your mind

as we end this session?

Assessing for Problems

Structure a short five-to seven-minute writing exercise in which students address these questions in class: What is creating problems for you at this time? Is the source of the problem in the material, in the

manner of teaching, or in your learning effort?

Problems

What would help solve the problem? What can you do as a student? What can I do as the teacher?

Conclusion

Improve both learning and teaching through effective assessment

Make necessary changes to instruction from information collected through the assessment process

Allow students to provide feedback to instructor for what is helping them learn and what more could be provided

Works Cited:

Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching; Classroom Assessment Techniques; Diane M. Enerson, Kathryn M. Plank, and R. Neill Johnson. Penn State University www.psu.edu/celt/CATs.html

Litechy, Larry. CreatingActive Learning. Community College Press, 1998