Friday, May 2, 2014

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Alternative Assessments for students with learning disabilities



photo is taken from www.jcpatriot.com


 Reading Alternative assessment for students with disabilities in general

Runyan (1991) mentioned that students with learning disabilities scores are different greatly with students without learning disabilities under timed conditions for reading comprehension activities. Nonetheless, the scores were found not to be dissimilar that much between those groups when they were given extra time (as cited in www.kennesaw.edu, 2009).

Alternative assessments for students with disabilities need to be given additional time to be completed. The followings are examples of additional time allowences suggested by Hartley (1993) :








 Considering Alternative Assessments for Dyslexic university students

Writing difficulties

Dyslexics find that long pieces of written work are hard to organise and structure. They have problems with expression, grammar, sentence structure, spelling, punctuation, sequencing and getting started. The struggles they have with expressing their ideas can often result in assignments showing
  • a lack of logical progression of an argument
  • erratic sequencing and structure
  • irregular and inappropriate use of punctuation, or lack of this
  • poor grammar and sentence structure
  • erratic and irregular spelling errors
  • jumbled thoughts, even in a brief sentence
  • one sentence constituting a paragraph
  • repetition of ideas expressed in various ways
Writing simple sentences can often be hampered by the problems the dyslexic has with basic spelling and grammar. Dyslexics spend a long time trying to get the spelling right and so have a tendency to use the words they feel they can spell, rather than the vocabulary they know. They can also have a tendency to add or omit words, or modify the meaning of words or sentences by imposing their own idiosyncratic spelling pattern.
The complexity of difficulties experienced by the dyslexic in dealing with the printed word makes the writing of essays and other academic tasks longer to complete than the average student. Despite spending a long time on written coursework, and checking and re-checking the content, the discrepancy between what the dyslexic student intended to write and what they actually wrote only comes to light when their work is examined by a third party. The dyslexic student's experience with written work can often be a source of frustration for them. This frustration can often result in de-motivation and diminished confidence in their ability to manage and succeed

Therefore, teachers need to really be creative and patient in assigning alternative assessments to the Dyslexic students.                                   
  ( Edinburgh Napier University, n.d)

# More information on how to review Dyslexic students' work and forms of alternative assessments suitable for them, click here.  
 

Using Web 2.0 Tools for Alternative Assessment of ESL Students



Some of the Web 2.0 tools can serve as alternative assessment tools for student learning.




The overall idea of how Web 2.0 tools can serve as alternative assessment for the students


Examples of some popular Web 2.0 tools which can be used for the alternative assessments.
 

GLOGSTER


Picture is taken from msconneally.wordpress.com

This Web 2.0 teaching tool is a poster-creation tool that allows you to combine text, pictures, graphics, video, and audio into an interactive poster.

An interactive glogs can be used for book reports, math, science, social studies, language arts, poetry, and public service announcements.

Students can upload podcasts that they create to their glogs.

The site also handles video uploads.

Final glogs can be hosted on Glogster or teachers can embed them into a blog, wiki or other web site.

By sharing their glogs with class members and family, students communicate with an authentic audience.



 
Tutorial for producing a glog



WEBDOC


It is a digital scrapbook or rich multimedia blog platform.


Example of a webdoc

# More and more examples of other Web 2.0 tools which can be used as the alternative assessments can be referred to this site.


Source: http://www.web2teachingtools.com/alternative_assessment.html

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Traditional Assessments Vs Alternative Assessments



Comparison and Contrast between Traditional Assessment and Alternative Assessment

by Jon Mueller (2014)


Traditional Assessment

Students typically select an answer or recall information to complete the assessment. These tests may be standardized or teacher-created.  They may be administered locally or statewide, or internationally.

TA is grounded in educational philosophy that adopts the following reasoning and practice:

1. A school's mission is to develop productive citizens.
2. To be a productive citizen an individual must possess a certain body of knowledge and skills.
3. Therefore, schools must teach this body of knowledge and skills.
4. To determine if it is successful, the school must then test students to see if they acquired the knowledge and skills.

In the TA model, the curriculum drives assessment.   "The" body of knowledge is determined first.  That knowledge becomes the curriculum that is delivered.  Subsequently, the assessments are developed and administered to determine if acquisition of the curriculum occurred.

Authentic Assessment

In contrast, authentic assessment (AA) springs from the following reasoning and practice:

1. A school's mission is to develop productive citizens.
2. To be a productive citizen, an individual must be capable of performing meaningful tasks in the real world.
3. Therefore, schools must help students become proficient at performing the tasks they will encounter when they graduate.
4. To determine if it is successful, the school must then ask students to perform meaningful tasks that replicate real world challenges to see if students are capable of doing so.

Thus, in AA, assessment drives the curriculum.  That is, teachers first determine the tasks that students will perform to demonstrate their mastery, and then a curriculum is developed that will enable students to perform those tasks well, which would include the acquisition of essential knowledge and skills.


Who is Jon Mueller?
  • He is Professor of Psychology at North Central College in Naperville, IL.
  • For more than 15 years he has taught a graduate course entitled "Assessment Strategies for the Classroom" as part of North Central's Master's of Education program. 
  • Jon has also consulted with teachers, schools and districts, colleges and universities, on the development, review and revision of assessments and standards/outcomes.
  • Most of the examples shown in the website come from teachers who were students in Jon's graduate course and who graciously permitted Jon to share them with you.

 Interested for more ideas on TA and AA by Dr.Mueller, click here.







Teachers' perspectives on Alternative Assessment

POSITIVE / NEGATIVE PERSPECTIVES

  • According to Nurfaradilla Nasri, Siti Norhidayah Roslan, Mohammad Iskandar Sekuan, Kasmah Abu Bakar and Sharifah Nor Puteh (2010), a sample of 50 secondary teachers in Brunei asserted that the most outstanding implications of alternative assessment is the demands on their time and the increase in the paperwork.
  • According toAkbulut, O.E. and Akbulut, K. (2011), teacher candidates did not have sufficient information about alternative assessments. 
  •  According to Tan (2013) :
          One of the prevailing notions of AA [Alternative Assessment] in Singapore amongst teachers is that it represents an alternative to examinations. However, teachers with a conservative conception of AA focus on preparing students for performing well in national examinations, and in that context AA is understood as a distraction because it does not contribute to better performance in the examinations. Such teachers do not dispute the utility of AA, but maintain that it is a luxury they can afford only if it does not interfere in students’ preparations for their examinations. Consequently, the perception that AA lacks relevance to students’ performance in examinations results in teachers (with
a conservative conception of AA) sidelining AA as a supplement to existing ‘mainstream’
assessment practices. (p.28)

  • According to Akdemir and Oquz (2008), the undergraduate students' scores in the computer-based test and in the paper-and-pencil test show no difference; hence, lead to a conclusion that computer-based testing can be applied as a capable alternative assessment for Turkish undergraduate students.

 
Video is taken from http://www.lretprod.com website

Students' perspectives on Alternative Assessment

  • Students will think more critically and be able to conclude complicated problems by involving themselves in the alternative assessments (Herman,Klein, & Wakai, 1997).  
  • According to Burksaitiene and Tereseviciene (2008):

         The integrated approach to learning English

         for Law was very well accepted by the students due to the following benefits it presented:
           (i) this approach is effective and useful in promoting students’ productive and receptive 
             language skills
           (ii) it enhances students’ satisfaction with their results 
           (iii) it fosters one’s motivation  to learn a foreign language
           (iv) it promotes students’ development as independent learners.     
                                                                                                                                   (p.155)
  • According to Herman, Klein and Wakai (1997):                                                             One claim is that students will find these assessments more meaningful and more motivating than traditional tests. These claims stem from the realistic and complex nature of the problems: All students should be encouraged by these types of tasks to show what they know and can do, rather than just those students who are motivated by the external rewards afforded them in high standardized test scores. Another claim is that these assessments truly stimulate students to engage in complex thinking and thus reflect higher standards of excellence than old-style standardized tests. Their ability to target higher level thinking and problem-solving skills makes these assessments suitable targets for instruction. (p.3)









Monday, April 28, 2014

Alternative Assessment

a) What is Alternative Assessment?

Alternative assessment is a term that being used for different ways of assessing students apart from using standardized tests. This term is derived due to the fact that traditional paper and pencil tests are only assessing certain skills while other skills are being neglected. (Assessment,Articulation, and Accountability, 1999).Apart from that, Brigham Young University (n.d) defines Alternative Assessment as authentic assessment and performance test which assess students on what they can do and cannot do instead of assessing them solely on what they know and do not know.



b) Examples of Alternative Assessment:


-Performance-based assessments 
(projects, exhibitions, role playing, experiments and demonstrations)

-Writing samples

-Interviews

-Journals and learning logs

-Story of text retelling

-Portfolios

-Self and peer assessments

-Teacher observations

-Checklists 


For more examples, click this link :  Forms of Alternative Assessments

For further explanation of Popular Alternative Assessment, click here : Popular Alternative Assessment



c) The rationale of having Alternative Assessment:

1- Alternative Assessment promotes variety of skills
Alternative Assessment does not merely testing knowledge and facts. It promotes life-long skills which are needed for instance creative thinking, problem solving, summarizing, synthesizing and reflecting. All these skills will be gained during the process of completing the alternative assessment.

2- Alternative Assessment provides authentic task
The tasks for Alternative Assessment are based on real-life situation where it gives realistic context to students. Students who undergo the assessment will experience meaningful learning.

3- Alternative Assessment also cater to students different learning styles.
Students in this era are no longer the ones suitable for the chalk and talk methods in learning. They need to discuss, point out their opinion and get others opinion since they themselves loves to discover new things. Alternative assessment promotes collaborative and cooperative learning and these strategies in learning is appropriate for the students.


d) Options for recording students' performance in Alternative Assessment.

taken from Assessment,Articulation, and Accountability (1999)


There are many options that teachers can choose to record students' performance in Alternative Assessment. Among the options are rubrics, checklists, anecdotal records and observations. It is advisable for teachers to look thoroughly on the strengths and weaknesses of each options and to be suited with the types of assessments that they are having.


References

Assessment, Articulation & Accountability (1999). Alternative Assessment. Retrieved from www.ncpublicschools.org/docs/curriculum/worldlanguages/.../altc3.pdf

Brigham Young University (n.d). Using alternative assessment. Retrieved from http://ctl.byu.edu/collections/using-alternative-assessments.