Assessing Learning
Peer and Self Assessment
Peer Assessment
One of the ways in which students internalize the characteristics
of quality work is by evaluating the work of their peers. However, if they are
to offer helpful feedback, students must have a clear understanding of what
they are to look for in their peers' work. The instructor must explain
expectations clearly to them before they begin.
One way to make sure students understand this type of evaluation
is to give students a practice session with it. The instructor provides a
sample writing or speaking assignment. As a group, students determine what
should be assessed and how criteria for successful completion of the
communication task should be defined. Then the instructor gives students a
sample completed assignment. Students assess this using the criteria they have
developed, and determine how to convey feedback clearly to the fictitious
student.
Students can also benefit from using rubrics or checklists to
guide their assessments. At first these can be provided by the instructor; once
the students have more experience, they can develop them themselves. An example
of a peer editing checklist for a writing assignment is given in the popup
window. Notice that the checklist asks the peer evaluator to comment primarily
on the content and organization of the essay. It helps the peer evaluator focus
on these areas by asking questions about specific points, such as the presence
of examples to support the ideas discussed.
For peer evaluation to work effectively, the learning environment
in the classroom must be supportive. Students must feel comfortable and trust
one another in order to provide honest and constructive feedback. Instructors
who use group work and peer assessment frequently can help students develop
trust by forming them into small groups early in the semester and having them
work in the same groups throughout the term. This allows them to become more
comfortable with each other and leads to better peer feedback.
Self Assessment
Students can become better language learners when they engage in
deliberate thought about what they are learning and how they are learning it.
In this kind of reflection, students step back from the learning process to
think about their language learning strategies and their progress as language
learners. Such self assessment encourages students to become independent
learners and can increase their motivation.
The successful use of student self assessment depends on three key
elements: Goal setting, Guided practice with assessment tools, Portfolios
Goal setting
Goal setting is essential because students can evaluate their
progress more clearly when they have targets against which to measure their
performance. In addition, students' motivation to learn increases when they
have self-defined, and therefore relevant, learning goals.
At first, students tend to create lofty long-range goals ("to
speak Russian)" that do not lend themselves to self assessment. To help
students develop realistic, short-term, attainable goals, instructors can use a
framework like SMART goals outline shown in the popup window.
One way to begin the process of introducing students to
self-assessment is to create student-teacher contracts. Contracts are written
agreements between students and instructors, which commonly involve determining
the number and type of assignments that are required for particular grades. For
example, a student may agree to work toward the grade of "B" by
completing a specific number of assignments at a level of quality described by
the instructor. Contracts can serve as a good way of helping students to begin
to consider establishing goals for themselves as language learners.
Guided practice with
assessment tools
Students do not learn to monitor or assess their learning on their
own; they need to be taught strategies for self monitoring and self assessment.
Techniques for teaching students these strategies are parallel to those used
for teaching learning strategies (see Motivating
Learners). The instructor models the technique (use of a
checklist or rubric, for example); students then try the technique themselves;
finally, students discuss whether and how well the technique worked and what to
do differently next time.
In addition to checklists and rubrics for specific communication
tasks, students can also use broader self-assessment tools to reflect on topics
they have studied, skills they have learned, their study habits, and their
sense of their overall strengths and weaknesses. An example of such a tool
appears in the popup window.
Students can share their self-assessments with a peer or in a
small group, with instructions that they compare their impressions with other
criteria such as test scores, teacher evaluations, and peers' opinions. This
kind of practice helps students to be aware of their learning. It also informs
the teacher about students' thoughts on their progress, and gives the teacher
feedback about course content and instruction.
Portfolios
Portfolios are purposeful, organized, systematic collections of
student work that tell the story of a student's efforts, progress, and
achievement in specific areas. The student participates in the selection of
portfolio content, the development of guidelines for selection, and the
definition of criteria for judging merit. Portfolio assessment is a joint
process for instructor and student.
Portfolio assessment emphasizes evaluation of students' progress,
processes, and performance over time. There are two basic types of portfolios:
a. A process portfolio serves
the purpose of classroom-level assessment on the part of both the instructor
and the student. It most often reflects formative assessment, although it may
be assigned a grade at the end of the semester or academic year. It may also
include summative types of assignments that were awarded grades.
b. A product portfolio is more
summative in nature. It is intended for a major evaluation of some sort and is
often accompanied by an oral presentation of its contents. For example, it may
be used as a evaluation tool for graduation from a program or for the purpose
of seeking employment.
In both types of portfolios, emphasis is placed on including a
variety of tasks that elicit spontaneous as well as planned language
performance for a variety of purposes and audiences, using rubrics to assess
performance, and demonstrating reflection about learning, including goal
setting and self and peer assessment.
Portfolio characteristics:
- Represent an emphasis on language use and cultural understanding
- Represent a collaborative approach to assessment
- Represent a student's range of performance in reading, writing, speaking, and listening as well as cultural understanding
- Emphasize what students can do rather than what they cannot do
- Represent a student's progress over time
- Engage students in establishing ongoing learning goals and assessing their progress towards those goals
- Measure each student's achievement while allowing for individual differences between students in a class
- Address improvement, effort, and achievement
- Allow for assessment of process and product
- Link teaching and assessment to learning
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