Initial Assessment

initial assessment in identifying learner needs:
Reference question: Describe ways you could, or do, initially assess your learners. Reflect on what the strengths and pitfalls of these methods might be.

For an initial assessment, I would incorporate a questionnaire and self-assessment task. With the use of questionnaire, I can easily collect the information needed from the learner including the learning support, expectations and the like. On the other hand, questions might misinterpreted by the learners (unclear and open-ended questions) that would led to a failure in the learning process.

Self-assessment task will boost the motivation of the learners and encourage them to participate to the discussion. Also, it will be a good practice to them to do a ‘self-reflection’. On the other hand, the output from this assessment can possibly unreliable in the event that the learner feels ill equipped to carry out the assessment.

•formative assessment in tracking learner progress:
Reference question: Describe ways you could, or do, formatively assess your learners. Reflect on how you can make sure formative feedback is effective for all your learners.

Formative assessment can be in the form of: observation, goal setting and learner’s record keeping.

Observation can be categorise as a formative assessment simply because you can gather evidences of their learning through instructional task. Example, the learners are doing a task and you need to walk around in the class to check their progress; someone can ask question with regards to the task or ask some clarification. In that manner, you can give a direct formative feedback and this can be recorded.

Goal setting can also be use as a form of assessment; with this method we can involve our learners in setting up criteria or goals that they need to
achieve at the end of the course. I will involve my learners in establishing a clear expectation to the course. With that, they will have enough understanding on what to do during the course, where they are (in terms of class standing) and what they are getting.

Lastly, learner’s record keeping will serve as an evidence of their learning progression. With this, learners will be aware on their performance with regards to classroom workload. This is a chance for them to reflect whether they are achieving their learning goals.

•summative assessment in assessing learner achievement:
Reference question: What summative assessment do you use and explain how you can ensure you make reliable judgements about student achievement.

I have 10 sessions on a particular course and what I usually do is to have a ‘midterm assessment’ within the 5th session and ‘end-of-term assessment’ within the 10th session frame. With the midterm assessment, I collated the objectives that we (or they) have achieved during each session (session 1-5) and develop a summative form of assessment. The end-of-term assessment is similar to the midterm; hence, it is arranged on the basis of sessions 1 to 10. These are reliable form of assessment because I can evaluate/determine whether they have learned from a specified sessions (learning at a particular point in time).

References:
Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & Wiliam, D. (2003) Assessment for Learning: Putting it into practice. Berkshire, England: Open University Press.

Francis, M. and Gould, J. (2009) Achieving your PTLLS Award: A Practical Guide to Successful Teaching in the Lifelong Learning Sector, London, Sage Publications