Katha 2014: Part 2 Course Assessment and Student Learning Outcomes

Minutes of the Workshop Transcribed. Speaker Dr. Maricar Prudente.

KATHA 2014 Batch 2: Day 9

Science Track: Course Assessment and Student Learning Outcomes Part 2

Dr. Maricar Prudente

Science Education Department

De La Salle University-Manila

September 27, 2014

Minutes of the Workshop

5. Characteristics of an Exemplary Assessment Task. 1) Valid, which yields useful information to guide learning 2) Coherent, which should be structured so that activities lead to desired performance product 3) Authentic, which addresses ill-defined problems that are emerging 4) Rigorous, which requires the use of declarative, procedural and metacognitive knowledge 5) Engaging, which provokes student interest and persistence 6) Challenging, which provokes and evaluates student learning 7) Respectful, which allows students to reveal their uniqueness as learners and 8) Responsive, which provides feedback to students leading to improvement. The speaker also shared most of her experiences in teaching students using the simple context in their classroom, like introducing problems on pimples and oral bacteria that the students are able to relate to. One teacher raised the issue of using technology for more exposure to the students. The speaker agreed with utilizing technology as much as possible for them to be more engaged and interested in the lesson. She introduced internet learning and gave samples of online modules. She also emphasized that the lessons to be taught should be challenging to the students and not easy to accomplish. Asking the students on the project they could come up with may also help in improving the lesson at hand, the speaker added. She again emphasized the issue of finances when applying these methods.

Teaching in the context of assessment depends on providing effective feedback to students, encouraging students’ active involvement in their own learning, adjusting teaching to take account of the results of assessment, recognizing the profound influence of assessment on students’ motivation and engagement and ensuring that students assess themselves and understand how to improve. One thing that the teacher must be in the classroom is unpredictable, the speaker emphasized, so that the students will be engaged and interested in class. The teacher should also be techy in their own way to be able to enter their world which already started in the technology era. The speaker also shared her techniques in manipulating the students’ addiction in technology by utilizing it in her topics and lessons in Science. The speaker also suggested the use of a progress chart with regards to the quizzes of her students to see their learning development in class. As teachers, they have to be open to their students, the speaker added, by giving them the element of choice to make them feel responsible and empowered.

6. Implications for Learner-Centered Assessment. The students 1) are clarified in the learning outcomes at the course planning stage 2) are shared with the learning goals throughout the semester 3) ask appropriate and effective questions 4) focus oral and written feedback n the learning outcomes of lessons and tasks. The teachers on the other hand 1) encourage students’ self-assessment against the learning outcomes and 2) organize individual student target setting that builds on previous achievement. The speaker emphasized that the teachers should enter the students’ world of digital age so that there is more productive learning in the classroom.

7. Rubrics. The speaker said that there should be a question and an action in rubrics. There should be a criteria or essential elements in the rubrics, with a clear description of performance at each achievement level. There are also task-related rubrics for specific assessments by indentifying the skills and abilities needed in the context of the lesson. The teachers may also add the teamwork rubric, with expectations from group members and their level participation. She presented a sample teamwork rubric for the teachers, where it involves creativity, cooperativeness and skillfulness. This entails a more objective process of making a rubric for the students. This must be continuous and ongoing as a feedback to the students that should be focused on quality feedback. She paralleled the use of feedback in a classroom with a panel of judges, who first comment and provide suggestions to the students for them to be guided in their activity. Feedback should be 1) specific 2) descriptive 3) be offered ASAP after the event 4) offer alternative or ask the learner to do so 5) Encourage and plan for opportunities for the feedback and 6) involve the learner wherever possible to improve the chance of feedback being understood and acted upon.

The teachers should also encourage students for self-assessment to create a supportive environment where students are willing to share and discuss on their work in pairs, groups and with the whole class. The speaker shared some of the online resources for assessment as a final note.

8. Workshop 1. The speaker grouped the teacher-participants and asked them to construct conceptual test items. The teachers presented their questions and the speaker and other teachers critiqued and commented on their work.

9. Vee Map. This provides the students with questions to help them with assessment, which includes skills that should be developed such as planning, conducting and reporting. This is also to give students a focused question. Concepts are related to each other through a concept map, while finding out more questions lead to state claims. This shows the template to the rubric to evaluate components and a chart to map out results and feedback.

10. Dynamic Assessment. This is driven by self-assessment which is trust-worthy. The speaker also discussed the advantages and disadvantages of dynamic assessment. The speaker also shared some of the complaints of the students with regards to this type of assessment: 1) the test did not assess what they learned 2) students have difficulty recognizing which strategies to use 3) tests are beyond their level 4) there is no way of assessing learning processes and 5) passed the test but did not understand. However she said that the teachers should always challenge the students when it comes to exams.

11. Static Assessment. There are three types of questions for this type of assessment: 1) recall 2) algorithmic 3) higher order, where it includes conceptual questions, translation of the information, interpretation of info, extrapolation and evaluation 4) misconception, i.e. identifying a common misconception and generating a question based on it.

12. Authentic Assessment. This involves direct evidence on the performance of the students through their tests. This is also about how students monitor their understanding in the classroom. The speaker suggested a progress chart. This also entails a meaningful learning in the classroom, where the students do science experiments, conduct social science research, write stories and reports and read and write literature. The teachers on the other hand first determine and measure the students’ ability to apply the knowledge. Between traditional and authentic assessment, teachers can use both. Rubric making is still required. Such tasks may include performance assessment tasks and portfolio. Advantages of this assessment include the promotion of creativity, encouragement of collaboration and emphasis of integrated learning. However this is not applied in real time teaching nowadays the speaker said. The students should also have a self-assessment to evaluate their own participation. Disadvantages on the other hand include time-intensive process.

13. Metacognition. Students both have declarative, procedural and conditional knowledge which comprises of metacognition. The speaker asked the participants about the relationship of these three concepts, which includes authentic assessment, constructive feedback and self-regulated learning. One of the participants said that this will give them more idea on how to address the problems they encounter with their students with regards to self-regulated learning. Another said that the teachers can diversify on the students’ knowledge and explore their inclinations to produce self-regulated learners. The speaker then asked the participants to use the three concept in a single sentence. One said that authentic assessment opens the students to a world of new concepts, constructive feedback for students to realize their strengths and self-regulated learning for students to give them the drive and the motivation to a certain topic or lesson. Another said authentic assessment gives the students the opportunity to learn more and with teachers to have constructive feedback for the students to appreciate the lessons better and become self-regulated learners. The speaker asked more participants to make their own summarized statements about the three concepts. She then asked about the constructive feedback which would come from the teachers while the self-regulated learning comes from the students. She said that authentic assessment give evidence to how students learn in which the teachers will provide constructive feedback to make students self-regulated learner.

14. Workshop 2. The speaker asked the teachers to make a performance task and an authentic assessment based on the questions they made from the previous workshop. They also have to articulate the idea using a rubric. Each group presented their performance task and the speaker commented on their work.

Katha 2014: Course Assessment and Student Learning Outcomes

Minutes of the Workshop Transcribed. Speaker Dr. Maricar Prudente.

KATHA 2014 Batch 2: Day 9

Science Track: Course Assessment and Student Learning Outcomes

Dr. Maricar Prudente

Science Education Department

De La Salle University-Manila

September 27, 2014

Minutes of the Workshop

1. Introduction. The speaker introduced the topic as an integrated course, and aimed to define the relationship between course objectives and assessment of student learning. She provided an overview of the session, starting with course assessment, intended learning outcome and achievement outcomes. She emphasized the need for the students to think critically and the use of proper rubrics in a classroom setting which can be developed by the teachers along with the students. She also aimed for the teachers to create a workshop on performance task and classroom assessment techniques.

2. Overview of Assessment. The speaker first discussed the origin of the word “assess” and how it should be taken to the student. She said it is something we do to and for the students. Assessment should be looked as an art and not just a result of the students’ output, which would not help the student realize how much time he has to take to fully comprehend and understand the lesson. It is an art and a science of knowing how much has the student learned. It also provide evidence of the skills developed by the students, which is not measured only by pen and paper in a card of their grades. She asked the participants the need to know the science teachers how far has the students learned and discovered their potentials in their learning skills. One teacher said so that they will know when to proceed with the next lesson. The speaker also said that such practice should be proactive, not just active. The process of assessment ends when the students have improved their critical thinking skills through the output of their tests. The speaker aimed to redefine the meaning of assessment to the teacher-participants.

3. Course Assessment. The speaker asked the teachers what guides them in determining whether their students have learned their lessons. One teacher said by the results of their exams. Another said by the quizzes every after the lesson, when the students are able to restate the topic of the lesson on their own. She further asked what is their basis of their evaluation of the students’ learning, which is rooted in the objectives of the teachers, not just by giving tests. The course objectives must guide the teachers because it is an integral part of the lesson plan. They should ask how the student will gain maximum outcome and learning in the one hour of the Science topic. The teacher must work backwards starting from the learning assessment technique that shall measure the skills the students must gain at the end of the lesson. The course objectives tell the teachers the learning outcomes of the students which should be actionable, the speaker emphasized. Learning outcomes or outcomes actually means what the students need to learn, know and discover in their skills. The achievement outcome of mastery of the students should be above 60%, which also applies in all subjects, according to the speaker. The success of the learning outcomes is reflected in the skills developed by the students and achieves the standard of the tasks of the course.

3.1. Elements of Learning Outcomes. The teachers should first formulate students of intended outcomes, then develop or select assessment measures through direct assessments of student learning such as projects and exhibitions. These activities yield a comprehensive information that needs to be analyzed and evaluated by the teachers with the students as their measure of their performance and knowledge acquired and skills mastered. Another is to create experiences leading to outcomes, such as service learning, field work and internship. This is where we give feed back to the students for them to realize their potentials.

3.2. Classroom Assessment Techniques. This is a systematic collection and analysis of information which includes analysis of the information to improve educational practices. It is also a method for understanding student learning. It is also based on the belief that the teacher knows more about the students and how they learn, they can better plan the learning activities and structure their teaching. The speaker emphasized that the teachers should not look at the scores, but on how they answered the question. This will give light to the knowledge skills of the students and how they learn. Benefits of proper learning assessment include an ongoing communication process between the teacher and the students, clarification of the teaching goals and what the teachers want the students to learn, credible evidence regarding whether or not learning objectives have been achieved, specific feedback on what is working and what is not and finally increased understanding about student learning in the classroom. The speaker shared that she felt bad every time the students could not answer the quizzes because of the wrong way of teaching. She said she used to treat students who succeeded in learning the topic of the lesson for the day. She pointed out that most teachers seem to consider that assessment is a punishment and a benchmarking of the students’ incapacity of their knowledge skills. The role of assessment should be on focusing on the students’ improvement of their knowledge so that they become self-regulated learners. The feedback should not be about complaining to the faculty about their students’ incapacity to analyze and synthesize but about talking about it to their students and evaluating them personally. One teacher complained how her students could not learn simple topics despite their grade level. The speaker suggested peer teaching and heterogeneous groupings and lesson bodies in class. She said that the more intelligent students are also willing to share their knowledge to their fellow classmates and the teachers should market on such practice. The speaker shared that cognitive psychologists said that mastery takes a long time to develop and that the teachers should maximize their time in making the learning process of the students productive and worthwhile.

One teacher raised the issue of the lack of time for teaching more topics to students, where one concept may require more than a day for mastery. The speaker said that the teachers first have to find out what their students know and give them the extra work that they can bring home to study. They could also remediation. But the teacher shared the sad reality of students not doing the extra work home because they have other problems at home that they bring to school.

The speaker shared the life of the students in Leyte where the group of teachers really teach their students and they have the highest scores in NAT. She said she would like to believe that the teachers in the urban areas can do the same. The teachers should motivate them to learn. They should also invite scientists, mathematicians and not artists to school for the students to learn more outside the classroom and from other more intelligent people. For the economy to grow, science education should be developed, studies have shown according to the speaker. This has been proven by Singapore, where connections of learning science and math and other subjects in the proper way are the key to success. The teachers should encourage the students not to look and be absorbed by their problems and develop an intimate relationship with them to make them understand about the lessons and about life better. She said that teaching and mastery of Science is already rescued by the K to 12 program in a spiral and integrated mode of teaching.

The speaker emphasized on heightening the interest of the students in learning science and providing constructive criticisms to guide them to the right path of learning the subject. She also shared her experience with her granddaughter on how she teaches her to understand the topics better and guiding her instead of feeding her the answers to the problems at hand. This entails student appreciation, the speaker added. The speaker also suggested that the teachers should put their shoes in the students and research has shown that with positive emotions towards the students in a classroom setting lead them to do more work.

3.3. Samples of Classroom Assessment Techniques. 1) One minute paper. This provides a quick and simple way to collect written feedback on student learning, with questions like what is the most interesting topic they learned during class on that time. It is important for the teachers to read the assessments of the students and share it to the students to help them and evaluate whether they learned or not. Stop complaining, do the work, the speaker emphasized to the teachers. 2) Muddiest Point. The teacher may ask the student what was the most difficult topic for him. 3) One sentence summary. This challenges the student to answer the questions “Who does what to whom...” This will encourage the students to appreciate the lesson and teacher better, the speaker added. A teacher raised the issue of students cheating in the classroom. The speaker said that if the teacher have good classroom management skills there would be minimal cheating in class and the students are more motivated to learn in class. She suggested “learning contract for the year” for the students, like not being absent for the year that the student should not break. She emphasized the use of positive climate for the students and consistency so that they will appreciate the subject better.

The speaker shared some websites about classroom assessment techniques. She also clarified the use of one sentence summary techniques and it is important for the teacher to let the student understand that the activity is not to be graded but to have a worthwhile evaluation of what they have learned during the day.

4. Learning Assessment. The point of assessment is to find out if the students think critically and solve problems properly. The teachers should ask themselves on how students develop critical skills and solve problems. She said that the teachers should contextualize the concept and apply them in the students’ lives. In a class of 45 are 45 different concepts and different contexts, and it is the job of the teachers to get in to them. There are conditions: 1) the teacher should convince that their prior concept is wrong by giving them problems to solve which are contextualized and relevant to their lives to achieve a cognitive equilibrium in their brains. 2) the teacher should avoid short term memory by giving meaning to the topics of the lesson using their own contextualized environment. This is the reason why most students don’t remember most of the scientific lessons because they are not used in real life and contextualized in their own lives.

4.1. Essential Components of Critical Thinking. The speaker said there are three types of knowledge: 1) declarative knowledge, which is knowing the facts and concepts 2) procedural knowledge, which is knowing how to reason, inquire and present knowledge and 3) metacognition, which are cognitive control strategies such as setting goals and assessing the fruitfulness of a line of inquiry. Metacognition is the most important skill the students should learn that would make them learn by their own will. Motivation should be intrinsic, the speaker emphasized. There should be an internal drive on the part of the student for them to learn better. She shared again her experience in teaching her nephews and nieces about making them more motivated in studying. It is also important to make stories out of the lessons especially in science because it is always effective for the students.

4.2. Standardized Tests and Alternative Assessments. The summative standardized tests in pen and paper, the speaker said, does not really capture the learning assessment for the students. She said the students tend to have the attitude that the students study not because they want to learn but because there is a test. This goes the same with the achievement tests where even cheating is tolerated. One teacher raised the issue that indeed it is a pen and paper evaluation but the speaker said that if the tests were concept tests it would be good for the students. The speaker also said that formative assessment is more appropriate for student evaluation, where it is carried out frequently and is planned at the same time as teaching. It also provides interactive and timely feedback and response, which leads to students recognizing the learning gap and closing it. It also includes self-monitoring and fosters life-long learning. Formative assessment entails success for student evaluation with appropriate guidance. Their achievement also reflects the learner’s perceptions and beliefs about their capacity to learn. The speaker shared that their individual works are not graded but their portfolio reflecting on how much they have learned during the semester.

4.3. Samples of Formative Assessment. This includes paper, written composition, projects, experiment, development of a product, performance and community-based experience and exhibition and portfolio. This entails consideration of a costly effect of this type of learning, but there can be solutions for this, like making a one summative portfolio for the students to make at the end of the semester, where there is evidence of learning. When developing an effective assessment task, the three types of knowledge should be involved—declarative, procedural and metacognitive knowledge. The teachers should also ask  questions like what real life settings do they use the knowledge taught in school, which task best exemplifies the characteristics of an exemplary assessment task and what criteria should the students and the teachers use in shaping and critiquing student work. The speaker shared her techniques of contextualizing the topics the students need for them to appreciate the lesson better. The dominating culture of the classroom should be followed so that the students will better appreciate the lesson and the learning environment better.