Formative assessment free essay sample

Assignment overview Unit 007: Principles of assessment in lifelong learning There are three learning outcomes to this unit: 1. Understand types and methods of assessment used in lifelong learning 2. Understand ways to involve learners in the assessment process 3. Understand requirements for keeping records of assessment in lifelong learning Each learning outcome contains assessment criteria against which the candidate will be assessed. For more information on the unit outline and assessment criteria please refer to the qualification handbook. Assignment coverage Task| | Evidence required| | Assessment criteria covered| A| | Guidance document| | 1. 2, 1. 3| B| | Short-answer| | 1. 1| | | Questions| | 2. 1, 2. 2| | | | | 3. 1, 3. 2| Tasks Task AGuidance document There is a new teacher in your team who is finding it difficult to fully appreciate the range of assessment methods available and how to use them. Produce a guidance document which explains all the relevant points for the best use of assessment methods in lifelong learning, and include: a) an explanation of six assessment methods, identifying when and how they would be used (ref. We will write a custom essay sample on Formative assessment or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page . 2) b) a clear explanation of four of those assessment methods that are the most appropriate to your skill specific area, with a comparison of their strengths and limitations for meeting individual learner needs. (ref. 1. 3) Task BShort-answer questions Complete the short-answer questions. Task a 1. Practical A Practical assessment method is a â€Å"Hands on† way of assessing learner’s abilities. It shows that a learner can complete a pre-specified task in practical terms given the right guidance, tools and equipment. An example of this is it would be a good tool for learners with disabilities such as dyslexia or who may find only academic(written) testing difficult. Also it would be beneficial when the subject matter has been discussing a technical subject. 2. Assignments Under this approach, the learner is required to hand in a piece of written work on the basis of an assignment or a case study. Possible formats are:- a paper on a specific course topic, a case study report, a report on a practical assignment, etc. Written assignments allow the lecturer or assistant to assess the content-related competencies as well as the writing skills of the learner. The learner may also be given an opportunity to defend the written assignment orally as part of the final assessment. This could promote Demonstration or development of higher level thinking writing, oral presentation and let the instructor Observe collaborative and interpersonal skills. 3. Role Play Role-playing activities help introduce student to â€Å"real-world† situations (Oberle, 2004). Van Ments (1983) identified three general advantages to role-playing Activities they are positive and safe in dealing with attitudes and feelings, they provide a Safe venue for expressing personal and sometimes unpopular attitudes and opinions, and Role-playing is highly motivating as the majority of students enjoy these types of Activities and become more inspired learners. This method could be used in a group setting that based around a subject matter where playing out specific details helps open the learners mind in to ‘how and why’ the events occurred. 4. Questions Questions can take many formats and be either oral or written. Examples of questions used in assessing learners understanding are directed questions, call out questioning etc. These can challenge your learner’s potential and could help test critical arguments or thinking and reasoning skills. This could be used as an informal session to find out the academic level of the learners or as an initial assessment before producing the lesson plan. Open questioning is a quick and easy way of assessing learners understanding at the end of a topic or subject within a larger unit. Care must be taken to ensure all learners are questioned in this case. 5. Peer Assessment Peer-assessment is that students are making assessment decisions on other learners work or being assessed by their peers. Learner peer-assessment can be used for almost any aspect of student performance, including essays, reports and so on, or exam scripts. It is more usual, however, to use learner peer-assessment for evidence relating to presentations, performances, practical work and so on. Learner peer-assessment can be anonymous, with assessors randomly chosen so that friendship factors are less likely to distort the results. learner peer-assessment can be single or multiple, and is usually regarded as working most effectively when more than one assessor assesses each element of work, so that consistency can be demonstrated (or lack of consistency can alert tutors to problems with the assessment criteria, or the commitment of students to peer-assess fairly). 6. Work Product A work Product can take many forms. It produces evidence that a learner can produce a specified item when given guidance and the necessary tools and equipment. An example of this is a learner completing a wood working course covering joints, sawing, nailing etc. That learner could then be asked to produce a ‘Bird Box’ which would demonstrate all the skills and knowledge learnt. Care must be taken when setting a â€Å"work product† as homework when using this as an assessment method. Learners may be tempted to have the work product completed by someone else. Practical AssessmentObserving/assessing students doing a practical activity| Authenticity of work-able to see the work happenValidity- Enable skills to be seen in actionReliability-Watching the job, able to verify Currency-Job specific training being shownSufficiency-It is enough to see the training given being put into practice| Time consuming Job specific| AssignmentsActivities or tasks to cover both theory and practice| Can help promote learners potential or help with trainingCurrency- Able to track the workReliability – Able to judge the learning level of the learners. Authenticity- If the assignment is set for the learner to complete in their own time there is a risk of plagiarismEach learner has to be individually assessed and written feedback given| Peer AssessmentLearners giving feedback to each other| Helps with learner involvement and mistakes can be rectified between the group without the need or the teacherCurrency- Assisted learning from their peers helps progress ion| Sufficiency- May need assistance from the instructorLearners may need help on how to give feedback to the groupReliability | QuestionsA technique for judging understanding and to promote thinking| Reliability- Able to see knowledge expressed in the answers given and expand if requiredValidity- Proves what has been taught is taken in by the learnerCan test thinking and reasoning skills also could challenge your students potential| Learners could share the answers with each other if questions aren’t changed| Candidate nameDate Assessor nameDate 1. Explain briefly the key features for each of the following types of assessment: (ref. 1. 1) a. Initial assessment †¢A skills check to establish current skill levels †¢Identify an appropriate starting point for each student †¢Ensure the student knows what is expected of them †¢Identify an appropriate pace at which each student will progress †¢Inspire and motivate students †¢Identify any Additional Learning Support requirements b. Formative assessment †¢Ongoing process †¢Highlight any learning issues †¢Feedback to enable students to develop further †¢Can be used to identify the requirements of intervention prior to the final summative assessment c. Summative assessment * End of unit check Learners complete assessment which marks the end learning, i. e Final exam pass/fail * Normally to meet criteria of the examination board 2. What activities or stages make up the assessment cycle? (ref. 2. 1) †¢Initial Assessment †¢Assessment Planning †¢Assessment Activity †¢Assessment decision and feedback †¢Review of progress 3. Explain how learners can be involved in their own assessment during each stage of the assessment cycle. (ref. 2. 1) Initial Assessment| Self-Assessment/Peer Assessment| Assessment Planning| Sit with the learners to produce an ILP. Negotiate assessment strategy| Assessment Activity| Projects, Written tests, Quizzes| Assessment decision and feedback| Sit with the learner to discuss results and give positive feedback on results/improvement’sComplete learners ILP| Review of progress| One on one basis to show how the learners are progressing against assessment criteria and update ILPOne-to-one tutorials and reviews| 4. What is peer assessment? (ref. 2. 2) Involves a student assessing another student’s progress or being assessed by their peers and helps to have a less formal discussion between groups of people at the same learning level 5. What is self-assessment? (ref. 2. 2) This is a student assessing their own progress to see where they need to be within the criteria laid out in the plan 6. For each type of assessment explain how learners can benefit from taking part in these activities within the assessment process and give examples. (ref. 2. 2) Benefit| Examples| Peer Assessment1 Pick-up best practices2 Can reduce the amount of teacher assessment3 More open and easier discussion(safe environment)4 Can identify development areas that the teacher has not identified | 1 Share ideas with each other 2 Helps promote peer interaction 3 Students may accept comments from peers more readily from peers than from the assessor4 Can help produce better learning ability’s within the group| self-assessment1 Encourages students to check their own progress (take ownership)2 Mistakes can be seen as opportunities 3 Promotes student involvement and personal responsibility| 1 Promotes self-checking to assist with any mistakes made during the work 2 Mistakes can be used as a learning tool 3 Keeps the student on track with work, Keeping up to date with learning and monitoring there progress| 7. Explain the need for keeping records of assessment of learning as on-going tutor records. (ref. 3. 1) To track the work and identify the need for intervention if the learner’s quality has dropped, giving ample time to turn things around before the summative assessment. Tutor tracking/monitoring of learner progress 8. Summarize the requirements for retaining records of assessment in an organization. (ref. 3. 2) Assessment records must show an audit trail of the learner’s progress from commencement to completion and are usually kept in the company for 3 years (as stated by awarding bodies). Records are used maintained for Quality assurance purposes. Records must be kept up to date and stored manually or electronically. All documentation must be stored in accordance with the data protection act (2003) Assessor’s use only Grade: (Please delete as appropriate)Pass/ Fail: