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Assessment
Approaches
Assessment is an essential component of the teaching and learning cycle. Assessment for,
assessment as and assessment of learning are approaches that enable teachers to gather evidence
and make judgements about student achievement. These are not necessarily discrete approaches
and may be used individually or together and formally or informally.
The principles of assessment for learning and assessment as learning strategies have some
common elements. Assessment for learning and assessment as learning incorporate:
strategies for students to actively monitor and evaluate their own learning
feedback, together with evidence, to help teachers and students decide whether students
are ready for the next phase of learning or whether they need further learning experiences
to consolidate their knowledge, understanding and skills.
Assessment for learning and assessment as learning approaches, in particular, help teachers and
students to know if current understanding is a suitable basis for future learning. Teachers, using
their professional judgement in a standards-referenced framework, are able to extend the process
of assessment for learning into the assessment of learning.
Assessment for learning involves teachers using evidence about students' knowledge,
understanding and skills to inform their teaching. Sometimes referred to as formative
assessment', it usually occurs throughout the teaching and learning process to clarify
student learning and understanding.
o reflects a view of learning in which assessment helps students learn better, rather
than just achieve a better mark
o involves formal and informal assessment activities as part of learning and to
inform the planning of future learning
o provides effective feedback that motivates the learner and can lead to
improvement
Assessment as learning
Assessment as learning occurs when students are their own assessors. Students monitor
their own learning, ask questions and use a range of strategies to decide what they know
and can do, and how to use assessment for new learning.
Assessment as learning:
o involves teachers and students creating learning goals to encourage growth and
development
o provides ways for students to use formal and informal feedback and self-
assessment to help them understand the next steps in learning
Assessment of learning
Assessment of learning:
Your classroom arrangement is the physical foundation of where your students will learn. This
means that every square foot of it needs to be used for activities that support learning. The spatial
structure of the classroom; where students will be seated, how the students will move about the
classroom, and the whole classroom atmosphere needs to be considered, as well as how the
classroom will be structured to address the academic, social, and emotional needs of the students.
The physical arrangement of the classroom should also be reflective of the student body and
must be consistent with the needs of all learners.
In addition to the way your classroom is physically arranged, the classroom environment as a
whole needs to be considered. What you put on your walls, the classroom materials you will use,
and where, and how you will set up your activities. All attributes of a structured learning
environment need to be considered when setting up your classroom.
Top 5 classroom management ways that you can stay healthy fit this school year.
Students will learn which behaviors are acceptable and expected in each
specific location in the classroom. For example, when in the classroom library,
students need to be quiet, but while in the classroom play area, students are
allowed to talk.
Students will learn to anticipate which activities will occur in specific areas of
the classroom. This helps students be mindful of how they need to behave for
each specific area they are in.
Students learn to respect boundaries. For example, there are Teacher only
areas as well as the boundaries of space a student has around his/her
personal desk.
The answers to these questions will help guide you to structure an effective learning environment
for your students. Depending upon what furniture is readily available, you will also need to
structure your classroom so that every student has a home base (or an individual learning area
like their own desk), a whole group instruction area, a dedicated teacher area, as well as a
transition area where students can wait for the next activity or lesson to begin, or at least have
your space arranged so students can move about easily and comfortably without bumping into
one another.
Essential Areas
As mentioned above, there are a few required areas that you must have in your classroom: A
Home base, group instruction area, teacher workstation, and transition space. Here we will take a
closer look at how you can arrange each of these specific areas.
Home Base
Each student needs a space to call her own. Have it be an individual desk or her own space at the
table, they need something to call their home base. This space is a place where students can do
their independent work or go to when you are transitioning in between lessons.
Two factors need to be considered when deciding where students home base where be; if the
student has any behavior issues, and the size of your classroom. Once you factor in these issues,
then you are ready to clearly assign each student a home base.
Group Instruction
The next essential area that you need to set up is where your group learning will take place. Will
students sit at their desks in rows or a circle, or will they sit on the carpet? You may need to
consider finding two spaces for group instruction. One space where students are able to work
within a small group independently, and one space where students can get messy and work with
different art materials which would likely be by the sink. Within each area, you will need to
figure out where you will put your learning materials so that they can be easily accessed by the
students. The back table near the sink would be ideal for small group work, and the front carpet
would be ideal for large group work where all students can find a seat.
Transition Area
The transition area can be a specific location like the carpet that students go to while waiting for
the next activity, or to go home or to a special like gym or art. Or it can be the students home
base or a specific location in the classroom. What this space looks like and where it is located
will depend upon your students needs as well as their ages. No matter where the space is, it is
important that your students know where to go during transition periods.
In short, specific classroom features are relevant to what students are learning. Research shows
that students benefit from a well-designed, well-structured classroom. Most importantly, if you
find that your students are struggling with the design of your classroom then you must consider
rearranging it.
When does a class become large? It depends on the class. Writing classes become large quickly
because of the need to give written feedback. A speaking/listening class can seem large, and the
same size reading class can seem small. Young students make a class larger than older
students because of shorter attention spans. If your classroom is very small and desks dont
move, a few students can become a large class. Diverse classes become large sooner than
homogeneous classes. However, in a survey done in 2008 covering more than 30 countries,
regardless of how many students the respondents typically taught (anywhere from 20 to 150),
most felt that a class became large with about 30 students (Brady, 2011).
Teachers dont like large classes. But if you have a large class, you have a large class. You can
struggle and complain (of course [grin] some people find complaining has a certain therapeutic
value), or you can make the commitment to make your large class as effective as a normal
class. When a class is large, you have to overbuild your classroom management structures. You
can do almost everything in large classes that you do in smaller ones; you can make them as
student centered as smaller classes, but you have to do it more explicitly and routinely.
A. Classroom Management. When you talk to one group, another group is goofing off.
Learning everyones name is hard. Its difficult to get students to pay attention. Cheating
can become a problem when you cant be everywhere at once. In a large class, theres
more chance that making one student happy will make another student unhappy.
Everything takes more time. Space and a sufficient amount of materials become
classroom management problems: Teachers cant monitor groups if theres no space to
walk around the room, and if you have 100 students, can you regularly make 100 copies?
B. Assessment. Assignments and giving written feedback take much more time. Grading
can be more complicated. With oral activities, it may be hard to know who is succeeding
in a large class because it may be hard to know what mistakes are being made by whom.
C. Differentiation. How do you keep good students occupied if they finish quickly? What
about the struggling student who cant keep up? You cant spend extra time with that
student when you have so many others to pay attention to. How can the student be
allowed to participate according to her or his abilities?
2. Routines rock. To do in large classes what you do in small classes, structures must be
much more explicit and consistent. If the routines are the same every day, students need
less specific guidance and can operate more independently. Classroom management
problems can be solved with clear, consistent rules. Some common large class routines
include having predictable sequences for every class; emphasizing the goal and steps of
instruction at the beginning of every class; establishing patterns for how students move in
and out of groups; and having fixed activities appropriate and engaging for each student
if a group should finish its task early.
NOTE: Teachers may need to use local language in class more (at least initially) to make
sure students are clear on all rules and instructions of classroom routines.
3. Increase student responsibility. This leads to better learning and more class discipline.
Because teachers do not have enough eyes to monitor every group of students, it is
important to create routines in which students monitor themselves and students monitor
(and support) each other. Assigning regular team leaders who liaise with the teacher, and
assigning other team members ongoing roles in carrying out learning activities helps
make everyone more accountable.
5. Peer and self-assessment are musts in large classes. Peer and self-assessment do not
ask students to grade each other. They provide checklists to reinforce and implement
practices that the teacher wants students to adopt. This way, when assignments arrive on
the teachers desk, they have at least been reviewed twice and may have fewer errors to
correct.
When approached in this mindful manner, large classes have the potential to become teachers
most memorable classes. In requiring transparency (we have to be clear on rules, expectations
and means of assessment), in showing respect (students will not take on added responsibility if
they are not going to be appreciated for their effort), and in operating in trust, (students have to
become the teachers eyes and ears and the students need to know that the teacher wont
suddenly change the rules), we create a state of balance between autonomy and collaboration
where learning and community can flourish.
As busy teachers it is easy to get stuck in a rut. Our Teaching Tips are aimed at those of you who
are teaching and are looking for some new ideas or activities to use in their classes. Our teaching
tips will feature in the Language Teacher Education (LTE) newsletter and will be posted on the
Teachers Resources page on the Wits Language School website.
Teaching Mixed Ability Classes
Georgina MaWhat are mixed ability classes?
Mixed ability or heterogeneous classes are terms used to describe classes made up of students
of different levels of proficiency. These terms are misleading as no two learners are really alike
and homogeneous classes do not actually exist (Ur, 1991). All classes are to some degree made
up of learners who differ in many ways. They may have different strengths, weaknesses and
approaches to learning. They may respond differently to various teaching methods and classroom
situations.
In this article, I cover mixed ability factors, the problems with and advantages of teaching mixed
ability classes as well as strategies for teachers who teach mixed ability classes.
Age or maturity
Learning style
Language aptitude
Language levels
Mother tongue
Learner autonomy
Cultural background
According to Ur (1991: 303), some of the challenges teachers of mixed ability classes may
face include:
Discipline - Teachers may find their mixed ability classes are chaotic or
difficult to control. Discipline problems occur when learners feel frustrated,
lose concentration, get bored, or behave in a disruptive manner. Some
reasons why mixed ability classes may be more difficult to control may be
because different learners may find the subject matter easier or more difficult
to grasp, weaker learners may require more assistance from the teacher, or
more advanced learners may dominate aspects of the lessons.
Materials Materials are usually rigidly aimed at a certain kind of learner and
may not offer teachers options or flexibility.
Individual awareness Teachers may find it difficult to get to know and follow
the progress of all learners in a class. In classes where there are many
differences, teachers are not able to devote time and attention equally to all
learners (imanov, 2010).
Learning to learn Teach learners about different learning styles and the
different learning strategies for visual, auditory and kinaesthetic learners.
Teach learners how to be resourceful so that they know where to find help if
they get stuck. Provide learners with the goal for the lesson and encourage
learners to review and assess whether they have achieved the goal by the
end of the lesson.
Pace Teachers must be mindful of the pace of their lessons. Teaching a class
too slowly or too quickly may lead to boredom or frustration. A teacher must
be aware of his/her learners abilities and pitch the pace of the lesson
accordingly.
In reality, every class can be described as a mixed ability class as it is made up of learners who
are different in terms of their knowledge and ability. This article aimed to outline mixed ability
factors and the advantages and problems associated with teaching mixed ability classes. Studies
have shown that teachers who view their learners differences in a positive way and embrace
strategies for teaching mixed ability classes are better equipped to teach in mixed ability
classroom contexts.