Self-Evaluation

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TESL 0140
Assessment and Evaluation
Unit 4

At the outset of the Assessment and Evaluation course I created a Learning Plan with three personal goals and a description of how I planned to achieve each one. As I review my goals and reflect on my learning experiences over the past four weeks, I can see that I have come a long way in my knowledge and understanding of assessment, but I am still by no means an expert; there is always more to learn!

The topic of assessment was touched on in previous TESL courses that I have taken, however, until taking this course and completing the readings, activities, and assignments, I did not comprehend it to the extent that I now do. As a result of this course, I have a much deeper understanding of such things as the difference between an assessment and an evaluation, how to determine if an assessment is valid or not, and how to create or adapt effective formative and summative assessments.


Goal 1: To gain a stronger understanding of the differences between assessment, evaluation and test, and how the terms are interrelated.

 Beginning in Unit 1 and continuing throughout the course, I came to have a clearer picture of the terms assessment, evaluation, and test, and how they connect and relate to each other. Assessment is used to measure or assess students' learning and provides data or feedback to both the student and the teacher regarding the student's performance on a task. Evaluation, on the other hand, determines whether students have accomplished or achieved objectives or criteria that have been set; it is judgmental and is associated with rubrics or marks. A test is an example of one method of evaluation that a teacher may used to measure a student's knowledge or ability.

It took a while to wrap my head around the difference between assessment and evaluation as the terms are used interchangeably in many contexts. Some things that helped me to differentiate between them were the Language Assessment: Principles and Issues chapter in our textbook, the link Differences between Evaluation and Assessment provided by Ebony, a classmate, the Assessment Scenarios discussions with classmates in the Unit 1 discussion forum, and the summaries of the Tutela discussion provided by classmates Belinda and Allison. I was able to accomplish Goal 1: I have a strong understanding of  the terms assessment, evaluation and test and am able to use them appropriately.

Although I had not set it as a goal, an area that I feel I made great growth in was having a much stronger grasp of formative, summative, informal and formal assessment in teaching ESL. Creating both a Venn Diagram and a Timeline regarding when and how formative and summative assessment could be used in a specific teaching context was eye-opening to me. I had been familiar with these types of assessment beforehand, however, placing them into these two types of graphic organizers in relation to how they are used in as ESL class was very beneficial to me.


What follows is my discussion post on my Venn Diagram and Timeline:

I think that my Venn Diagram and my Timeline tell a very similar story. At the start of a course or a new theme Needs Assessments, Diagnostic Assessments and Goal Setting are done. There is ongoing Formative assessment of learning informally on a daily basis. Summative assessments take place at the end of a lesson, theme, term or course and are more formal in nature in order to assess a student's level of understanding. Both Formative and Summative assessment assess students' progress toward their goals and can help to inform and shape future instruction. Peer assessment, self-assessment and reflection are key components included in the process. Assessment goals are task-based and a portfolio is used to keep track of progress. Students are provided with feedback and error correction with both types of assessment. Rubrics or checklists with clear criteria are provided to the students so that they know what the expectations are for activities and tasks. 

Goal 2: To learn how to determine the validity of an assessment.

 My second goal was more challenging to achieve, and I do not think that I have fully succeeded yet. Test validity is a complex concept to understand and apply when analyzing, creating and adapting assessments. An assessment is considered valid if it accurately measures the objectives or criterion that it is supposed to or intended to measure. Determining whether this is true is the tricky part! Additionally, there are several types of validity to consider: Content, Face and Construct. If a test contains items from the content area being assessed, which is usually observable, then it is said to have Content Validity. This type of validity was the easiest to understand, and through the Productive and Receptive Assessment analysis activity in Unit 3 I came to understand it even further. Face Validity relates to how the test-taker perceives the test. Does the student believe that the test is testing them on the material they have learned? This is similar to Content Validity, but it focused on the learners' perception. Construct Validity is a bit more difficult to define and understand. It looks at a bigger picture, at a theoretical construct and is not as easy to "see." It may be composed of several factors that combine together into a construct. I feel confident in my ability to use and apply my understanding of both Content and Face Validity, however I am not as confident in the use of Construct Validity at this point in time. I think it will require some further research on my part.  The Unit 3 Quiz included several questions on Validity, some of which I had some difficulty with. Therefore, I do not think I have fully succeeded in accomplishing Goal 2; it is a work in progress.


 Goal 3: To learn how to create and integrate effective assessments into lessons in order to promote and measure student learning. 

 My third and final goal took into consideration all that I have learned in the past four weeks in the Assessment and Evaluation course. After completing all of the assigned readings, discussions and assignments, doing additional internet research, discussing my ideas with my classmates, colleagues and PLN, and reflecting on my knowledge and understanding, I feel confident in my ability to adapt, create, and integrate effective assessments into ESL lessons.

Throughout the course I had an opportunity to look at and analyze a wide variety of assessments and rubrics in order to come to a better understanding of what components they should include and how they should be organized and structured. By reviewing, adapting and creating my own assessment and rubric my learning came full circle; I was able to apply all of the knowledge and skills I have learned to the final assignment for this course. Viewing example assessments and rubrics from The Canadian Language Benchmarks, Conestoga College, Tutela, LISTN and realworldtasks.ca assisted me in determining what I would include in my own assessment and rubric. Susan Webb's PowerPoint, Creating Effective Rubrics, also increased my understanding. She outlines a five step process for developing a rubric. She suggests starting with a task, checking the CLBs or realworldtasks.ca for a similar task, checking the competency area, making a list of necessary criteria, and setting up a checklist with criterion/points. By following this process a teacher will be able to create effective rubrics for both productive and receptive assessments.

For the final assignment I had to create an assessment and a rubric based on an activity from a provided lesson plan: Aboriginal Art. I made adaptations to one of the activities, a Journal/Blog post, to change it from CLB 5 to CLB 7. I created the Assessment, Student Self-Assessment, and Student Feedback Form. I am very happy with the end result and feel that my Reflective Journal Applied Exercise demonstrates that I have achieved Goal 3.


Resources and References:

 Brown, D. & Lee, H. (2015). Teaching by principles: An interactive approach to language pedagogy (Rev. 4th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education.

Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks. (2012). Canadian Language Benchmarks. Retrieved from http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/pub/language-benchmarks.pdf
Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (2014). Portfolio-Based Language Assessment (PBLA): Guide for Teachers and Programs. Retrieved from https://listn.tutela.ca/wp-content/uploads/PBLA_Guide_2014.pdf

Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (2017). PBLA Emerging Practices Guidelines. Retrieved from http://pblaepg.language.ca/

Citizenship and Immigration Canada, Centre for Canadian Language Benchmarks (2012). CLB Support Kit.Retrieved from: http://www.language.ca/product/clb-support-kit-pdf-e/

Citizenship and Immigration Canada, LISTN. (2015) Classroom Assessment Toolkit: Literacy to CLB 8. Retrieved from https://listn.tutela.ca/resources/linc-assessment/classroom-assessment-toolkit.html

Conestoga College, Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada Program. Retrieved from https://tutela.ca/user106797

LISTN. (2016). Aboriginal Art Unit (CLB 5). Retrieved from https://listn.tutela.ca/wp-content/uploads/CLB5-Art-SS-2014-07-29.pdf
Webb, S. (2017, April) Creating Effective Rubrics. Powerpoint presented at TESL Peel Halton Etobicoke Conference, 2017, Mississauga, ON. Retrieved from http://www.teslphe.org/uploads/1/5/1/6/15162416/rubrics_pres_swebb_tesl_phe_2017.pdf

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