English
中文Section 1
Explain the Principles and Purposes of Evaluation
Evaluation No. 1
The task that I have selected from my area of expertise is teaching Everyday Communication to students who are speakers of a language other than English. The tasks in the Everyday Communication course are based around the concept of giving non English speaking students an opportunity to develop their language and knowledge in order to make them more comfortable in everyday situations. The topics and tasks reflect this by making students learn information that is related to everyday working situations and scenarios that they might encounter in social settings. This task is focused on developing a high level of competence in speaking, listening, reading and writing in English. These tasks require a competence based evaluation because a candidate’s performance is compared to a previous set standard. The candidates will either pass or fail based entirely on whether they are able to achieve the set standards. Not only does it measure competence, but is also measures what a learner can do, rather than measuring candidates by their performance in relation to other candidates. In short competence-based assessments are able to tell whether or not the candidate has accomplished the tasks that are set out in Everyday Communication.
Evaluation No. 2
I include formative evaluation in several of the stages of in teaching Everyday Communication. I use formative evaluation in order to assess the candidate’s strengths and weakness, which gives me an opportunity to make them aware of areas that they are doing really well in and areas that may need some extra work in order to get a better performance. Since the Everyday Communication course has been constructed to improve everyday speaking, listening, reading and writing in every situation in English, I find it important to use a formative assessment on each one. This also shows me and the candidate where a poor performance in one area can be hindering the progress in another. I only use summative evaluation at the end of the Everyday Communication course in order to verify all the skills that the candidate has learned throughout the entire course. I use one test that shows the skills and that the candidate has learned in speaking, listening, reading and writing in English and whether or not these skills will help them function effectively in everyday situations in the real world. It also gives the candidate a chance to have some concrete evidence of how much they have learned throughout the class.
Evaluation No. 3
The main advantages of using direct evidence in the evaluation process is that the teacher is able to assess the candidates through sources such as tests, projects and tasks, briefs, objective tests and direct observation. The disadvantage of using direct evidence is that these sources of information can be corrupted by situations such as the student’s low performance on a test because of nerves or a student submitting work that they have not completed themselves. Indirect evidence has the advantages of helping the learner to assess their own situations as well as providing them with an opportunity to assess themselves in relation to other students. Indirect evidence can be gathered through a number of sources including self-evaluation, peer evaluation, group evaluation. Evaluation by others, accreditation of Prior Learning and computer based simulations. The disadvantages of using indirect evidence is based mostly on the attitudes of some of the students towards the others, some candidates may be too critical and that it can be very time consuming to complete peer and group evaluations. I use direct evidence in evaluating the candidate’s progress because I am able to gauge how well the student is progressing without relying on subjective opinions.
Evaluation No. 4
The first method of assessing performance that I use is a simulation of experiences that the candidate may encounter on a daily basis. By having the students respond to conversations that they may encounter, it gives me an opportunity to assess their progress in a fair and valid manner. The weakness of this method can be the student’s individual ability levels and their own nervousness about speaking in front of the class. If students are unable to complete the simulation in front of the class, a separate time and location can be arranged. The second method of assessing performance is a quick skills test that requires each student to be able to read and pronounce selected sentences in front of the class. Again this is a good way to gauge the individual student’s progress with the rest of the class but it can have disadvantages if the student cannot read properly or if they are embarrassed to speak in front of the class. As with the first performance test, there is the potential to arrange a private time for the student to take the test. The first method of assessing knowledge evidence is through a project that the candidate must complete halfway through the course. The project includes avenues for the candidate to show the teacher how much they have learned by recording conversations they have had in everyday situations. The disadvantage of this is that the student may have made up the conservation because they are too nervous to use their English outside the class room. In this case, the teacher needs to step in and try to make the student more comfortable. The second assessment of knowledge evidence is the written test at the end of the course. This is used to evaluate how much of the information the student has learned. A problem with this method could be the student’s nervousness about taking tests. The student may have an opportunity to re-take the test, but unfortunately it is the basic method for understanding the student’s ultimate performance.
Section 2
Design Evaluation Instruments for the Collection of Evidence
Evaluation No. 1
The first instrument of evaluation that will be discussed is the use of simulations tests which allow for the assessment of candidates performances. The simulations test will be a chance for the candidate to respond to situations that they may encounter in everyday life. This evaluation should be done twice on a formal basis, once part way through the course and once near the end. The task should be completed in front of the rest of the class, but a private location can be obtained if the student is too nervous to speak in front of the class. The candidates must reach a certain point of coherency in order to pass the simulation. The second instrument of evaluation that I will discuss will be the skills test which will assess the candidates reading and writing skills. Again this task should be set formally on at least two occasions during the course time, halfway through and at the end. The results of the tests will give the instructor and the candidate an opportunity to first gage knowledge and lastly to validate how much progress the student made throughout the course.
Evaluation No. 2
The first instrument for assessing knowledge evidence is a pre-set of oral questions that each candidate must answer correctly within the time limit. These oral questions are evaluated on the candidate’s ability to understand the question and formulate a proper response. The questions are based on situations that the students may encounter in the real world. Oral questioning is a good way to keep the candidates engaged in learning through observation as well as giving them verbal confidence when they get the answer correct. Students, who find it difficult to answer the questions in front of the class, can be taken aside to perform the task. However, it is important that these candidates learn to speak in public in order for their English competency to grow. The second instrument used for evaluating knowledge is the setting of projects and tasks. In this method of assessment it is important to set out a number of conditions and criteria that the student must accomplish in the project in order to get full marks. In the interests of keeping the evaluation simple, I have found that projects should be assigned to either an individual or a partnership but never more than two in keeping with the interests of fair evaluation.
Section 3
Assess Competence
Section 4
Contribute to Internal Quality Assurance Processes
Evaluation No. 1
The evaluation plan for identifying whether candidates have a solid understanding of the elements in speaking, listening, reading and writing English in everyday situations will be based on using both summative and evaluation based evidence. This will be assessed with written and oral questions based on gaining evidence of the candidate’s knowledge and understanding of English on an everyday basis. It will also be assessed using the testing method of simulating the experience of asking and responding to questions that could be posed to the candidate on an everyday basis. By using the knowledge and understanding assessment of written and oral skills as a summative test, once in the middle of the course and once at the end of the course, the candidate and I will be able to assess their progress and achievements at the end of the course. By using the testing method of simulated conversations throughout the course as an evaluation method, the candidate and I will be able to keep updated on their strengths and weaknesses. The evaluation plan will be discussed with the candidates at the beginning of the course with further opportunities to discuss the format after the first summative evaluation. Here, it may be necessary for candidates to complete another summative evaluation if they feel that they are doing poorly.
Evaluation No. 2
In order to evaluate the first learner, I used a simulation test in order to measure the candidate’s progress in listening, verbal and comprehension skills. The test was carried out in front of the class and required the student to make responses to a series of questions. I evaluated the candidate’s proficiency by using a checklist. This candidate did fairly well, but still needed some coaching when thinking of answers. We discussed her performance together, and we decided that she needed to do some extra work memorising standard English responses. However, at that point in the course I deemed that she had satisfied enough of the checklist to be satisfactory.
I have used an example of the simulations test for the second student evaluation example as well. Just like in the previous example, the student was tested on her verbal, listening and comprehension skills, by being asked a series of questions in front of the class. The test was evaluated with the same checklist that was used in the previous example in order to assess the student’s ability. This candidate did fairly well but had problems thinking of her answers and some difficulty with pronunciation. Based on the evaluation checklist, she did not complete the task as well as the first student and we discussed some tasks that would help her improve.
The example I have used for the third learner is an evaluation based on written questioning. This test is meant to measure the student’s ability to read, write and comprehension in English in order to answer a set of questions. This test was taken in a quiet room, with other students completing tests, and had a time limit. The evaluation of the test was based on how many of the questions the candidate was able to answer in the time frame and how correct the answers were. This student did very well, and was able to answer a majority of the questions very well. In our discussion of his results, I told him to keep up the good work.
Evaluation No. 4
It has become very important for academic institutions to have an internal moderation system, not only to make sure that the students are receiving value for money, but also to remain competitive in the academic industry. It is also important to have a measurement of how the class is progressing in accordance with the guidelines set out by the school and to make sure that if students are falling behind it is not because the quality of teaching is lower than usual. It is important to have a standardised measurement of the class’s progress, as well as an experienced mediator. I have always maintained consistent written records with clear instructions for internal and external assessors. I have always tried to take on board feedback from these assessments and recorded the results for future reference. I have also, when called upon, acted as a moderator for other teacher’s classes, and have tried to provide the best possible feedback for both the teacher and the administrators but using standardised assessment sheet. This means that all the classes that I have assessed have the same reference and guidelines for understanding the evaluation.
