Assessment

In addition to 'normal' testing, we need to pay attention to the basic moral purpose of education: promoting the self-actualization of every learner, to the fullest. (Van Lier 1996:120)

It is quite possible that the deepest, most satisfying aspects of achievement, and the most profound effects of education, both in positive and negative terms, are entirely unmeasurable … What if we held educators accountable for the quality of the memories they gave to their students, rather than for averages on national tests? (Van Lier 1996:120)

Lier, L. Van (1996). Interaction in the Language Classroom. Harlow: Longman

The emphasis in this course is on continuous assessment (promoting a self-directed reflective cycle of assessment in students), so there will be no mid-term or final examinations. However, this means that eveything that happens inside and outside of class will be important in terms of assessment. Course participants will therefore be expected to:

    1. attend regularly (10%)
    2. complete necessary assignments (20%)
    3. contribute actively to each lesson (20%)
    4. work on their own learning journal (25%)
    5. design, prepare and present a sample classroom-English language lesson (25%).

In addition to teacher-based evaluation, Self-Assessment and Peer-Assessment are effective, valid and reliable evaluation tools, both feasible and practical for the language classroom.

Please check out these links if you are interested in assessment

Course participants will be invited to evaluate their own progress and that of their classmates, particularly for Presentations (peer- and self-assessment), and Class Participation (self-assessment).

1. Attendance (10%)
In accordance with University policy, attendance will contribute 10% to the final grade.

A good deal of the course will be concerned with development of teaching skills, so attendance and active participation is a valuable indication of proficiency, attitudes and motivation.

 

2. Assignments (20%)
Students will be encouraged to undertake various assignments in their own time.

There are a number of assignments suggested for each week. Some of these are necessary, and will be responsible for 20% of the total grade.These assignments are underlined in the assignments file. Please make sure you do these.

All the other assignments are suggestions to help you in getting the most out of the course. Look upon them as ideas which can take you further in your investigation of classroom language.

Assignments will also help the Presentation, since these will benefit from individual, self-directed study.

3. Active participation in the lessons (20%)

We learn by doing, and in a skills-based or performance-based course, development is dependant on regular practice, as with learning to swim or to play a musical instrument. It follows therefore, that if we come to every class and paricipate actively, we will develop and improve our materials design skills, teaching skills and performance skills.

Q: What does "active" participation mean?
A: It's what happens when everyone is on task (concentrating), getting involved in the activities, using the target language (English), thinking about what is going on in the lesson, discussing with classmates, asking questions and thinking critically.

Q: What does non-"active" participation look like?
A: Some examples of non-participation include:

      • being late for lessons
      • "forgetting" to bring resources (books, pens, notepads, portfolios)
      • using the mother-tongue (Korean, L1) excessively
      • not communicating with classsmates
      • not preparing assignments

Q: So "active" participation really means going to class and doing your best?
A: That's right. Language learning is largely about beliefs and motivation. Positive beliefs (e.g. "I will do my best" "I am a good language learner" "I will be a good teacher") lead to positive results, so let's do our best for ourselves and for everyone else!

4. Learning Journal (25%)

Everyone will complete a Learning Journal as an ongoing record of what we have done inside and outside of the classroom.

This journal is a textbook, a personal diary, a learning journal, and a collection of integrated, interactive, reflective activities. It can be useful for all learners, but especially for those who are (or who are thinking of becoming) teachers. Self-reflection on educational ideas and practices helps us to refine our ideas and to adapt them to the needs of the most important people in the classroom - the learners.

The learning journal has two focuses of interest:

  • One focus is on interactive questionnaires, surveys, discussion topics, quotes, and other awareness-raising activities. The purpose here is to encourage everyone to talk, listen, read and write about learning. These activities can be performed best in the classroom.
  • The other focus is on reflection about individual ideas, feelings, observations, and thoughts about learning. These activities can also be done in class, but they are even more fruitful when performed at home, at the end of the day. There are no correct ideas or "answers". In this part. Our opinions about learning are all that matters

The purpose of this journal is to raise awareness of the learning process, and to foster self-confidence, motivation, and autonomy. If we respect ourselves as learners; if we trust ourselves as responsible human beings; and if we have the skills to control what we learn and how we learn it, we will have found an invaluable jewel - the love of learning. This jewel will serve us for the rest of our life, helping us to take on new situations, new skills, and new ideas.

Learning how to learn is life's most important skill ~Tony Buzan~

5. Presentations (25%)

Starting as soon as possible (e.g. week 3), two people each week will give a presentation. This will take the form of an English language lesson which uses classroom language.. The people giving the presentation will:

    • choose the lesson content
    • design and produce appropriate materials
    • prepare the lesson (talk with the professor about this)
    • present the lesson (with handouts)
    • provide a written description, in which they explain the lesson aims and methods

The presentations will be Self-Assessed and Peer-Assessed.

 

Assessment: discussion

This course is about exploration, investigation, and development. Evaluation is therefore based on continuous assessment of student work inside and outside of the classroom. Grading will reflect progress during the semester in terms of performance skills, thinking skills, attitude change, effort and motivation, rather than relative proficiency in any of these fields.

There will therefore be no "one-off" examinations. Instead, evaluation will focus on assessment of the participants by the participants. This reflects current educational thinking on the part of the Ministry of Education and sociolinguistic scholars:

- The traditional norm-referenced system should be replaced with a new system of criterion-referenced evaluation;
- The students grades for each subject should be recorded in order of rank for each individual class, but the total grade point average should not be ranked; and
- The aim of the record is to give not only a cumulative evaluation but a diagnostic and formative evaluation.
- Beginning in 1998, a variety of assessment techniques have been introduced in the name of the overarching concept of performance assessment: essay tests, oral tests, discussions, demonstration, experiments, interviews, clinical observations, self-evaluations, peer evaluations, written reports, research papers, portfolios, etc.

Diversifying the Methods of Student Evaluation, Ministry of Education website http://www.moe.go.kr/eng_26/

For more information and discussion on the role of assessment in the classroom, check out these links (click):

Most recently updated on February 1, 2002