Art Of Teaching

Question: How to assess the students during COVID??

Whether to follow the traditional pattern of Examination or to find a new strategy to assess the students? Somewhere there is a need to bring about a change in our assessment pattern.

We are aware of the two main types of assessment each occurring at diverse points in the learning process: formative, which occurs both before and during the learning process, and summative, which occurs at the end of a learning cycle or the end of the learning process.

We usually follow a general pattern where all are involved in the assessment. The need of the day is to personalize the assessment keeping in mind the fact that the assessment will not be carried out in a classroom situation but online.

How do we do that???

1] The Teacher has to elicit evidence of learning through …..

• Pre-assessment
• Discussion & dialogue
• Questioning
• Tasks
• Observation
• Writing
• Digital tools
• Self & peer assess

2] Interpret Evidence of Learning Self & Peer Assessment …..

• Self/peer feedback helps intensify their understanding of learning goals
• Involves students in thinking meta-cognitively about their learning
• Support students’ ability to internalize learning goals and self-regulate their learning

3] Interpret Evidence of Learning ……

• Pinpoints path on knowledge progression
• Tightly allied with knowledge goal and achievement criteria
• Exact, actionable, appropriate
• Does not include grades, scores, or comparisons to others

4] Act On Evidence Responsive action .……

• How far along are students towards mastery?
• Who needs additional support?
• Have my daily coursework supported students to meet up the learning goals?

5] Contingent teaching & learning …..

• How can I regulate instruction?
• What content/skills require supplementary coverage?
• How can I assist students in selecting apt knowledge strategies?

6] Collaborative Classroom Culture ……

• Teachers and students are associates in learning
• Students feel at ease taking academic risks
• Students are vigorous agents in their own learning

“Personalized learning is a progressively student–driven model where students deeply engage in meaningful, authentic, and rigorous challenges to demonstrate desired outcomes.” – Zmuda, Curtis & Ullman (2015)

Therefore it is important for the teacher to formulate personalized questions/assessments based on application skills to understand the grasping of the child during every stage of teaching and learning process.

Every student is seen as a respected and valued participant.

In personalized learning, every student is seen as a treasured and cherished participant. Empowerment comes from an atmosphere in which students are aware of the power of their own thoughts and identify the transfer that can happen by being open to the elements of others’ ideas.

Projects and Co-creation – Final assessment

Students assume a noteworthy design in the expansion of the idea, challenge, problem, or inquiry. They are being invited to co-create a personalized plan

 The student works with the teacher to……. 

• Develop a challenge, problem, or idea, clarify what is being calculated (learning goals), 
• Imagine the  performance (assessment) 
• Outline an action plan to be doing well on that performance to achieve the desired results

Self- Discovery:

Our eventual aim is for students to become independent learners who know how to manage themselves in a multiplicity of situations.

For Students – Goal

Students build ideas through associations with others as they conceive, examine, and widen in search of a universal objective. There is a genuine influence in feeling that you are not alone, a sense of camaraderie when you are working to cause a change, create a performance, or build a prototype.

For Teachers – Goal

For teachers looking to create a learning community that provides opportunities for voice, co-creation, social construction, and self-discovery.

Online Analytical Personalized Assessment – Need of the Hour

Finally, we have to highlight that an evaluation alone does not improve the quality of learning. Its practical impact depends on how the information it provides is used to modify teaching and learning processes. 

To better use the power of feedback, the idea of classroom teaching should in essence be altered. There is a need for new models of teaching and learning, where students’ individual needs are better served. 

Such models have existed for decades, but the lack of suitable apparatus has delayed large-scale use. In the most universal terms, online pre-tests and post-tests, may put on a new momentum.

 The time students use on certain activities [PROJECTS and HANDS ON LEARNING] when completing online tasks, time-on-task analyses, among other methods, may point to students’ attention and motivation. Some item types like two-way problem-solving activities allow the footage of more exhaustive information on students’ way of thinking. 

So in simple words, more application-based questionnaires for pre-testing and post-testing after content teaching and application-based projects and activities to activate personalized assessment and cognitive development is the need of the hour instead of the traditional method of pen-paper testing.