Design_and_Evaluate_Assessment_Activities

Design and evaluate assessment activities The use of formative assessments plays a crucial role within the education process. It determines much of the work students undertake, effects their approach to learning and it can be an indication of which aspects of the course are valued most highly. Taking this into account I had to look at a credible assessment that would fit into the basic skills syllabus and also carry functional skills capabilities. Petty (2004:p450) states formative assessment is informative feedback to learners while they are still learning the topic. But to be truly formative this information must be used by the learner to improve. Taking this into account I felt I had to create an assessment that would continue to assess the learners current skills, have a functional element that they could knowing relate to and show that using this formative assessment would show progression. Working with five male adults, held within HMP Birmingham brought its own problems and concerns. I was not able to use the full range of learning materials and ICT as access was very limited. All learners had less than six months left on their sentence and due to the restrictions it was important I blended current knowledge with a formal and informal assessment that would be “fit for purpose.” and be part of their current learner programme. It was important to complete the assessment as an intrinsic part of the learning process but embedded enough to make it formative. It was therefore seen as a vital part of the design of my assessment. I had to decide on the attended learning outcomes, what underpinning knowledge & understanding will the learner have to complete the assessment tasks and how to devise the assessment (due to the environment I was teaching within.) In the early stages of the planning of the assessment it was important I understood the relevance and transferability of the tasks I was going to create. I understood that not all individuals would find it easy to transfer skills from one context to another but using learners prior knowledge they would be more successful when the context in which they are being developed are similar. To make sure I provided the best possible assessment I had to use the principles of assessment in the correct format but also realise that some of the principles may not be fully obtainable. The validity of the assessment was very important as I was trying to use a functional skills assessment within a basic skills lesson. I had to be confident the tasks actually assessed what I wanted it to do. The marking was set for formal and verbal within the informal assessments. When creating the assessments I had to have prior knowledge of the learners kills within the functional skills area and the ability to use ICT effectively. All learners had already completed numbers and money exercises prior to the assessment so was the banking assignment would form an integral part of the programme and relate directly to the common measure aim and learning outcomes. Finally timely feedback from all learners within the formal assessment will improve any future assessments and will also show how the learners felt about completing a functional skills exercise. The final part of creating the assessments was to follow the correct relevant learning theory. Scales (2008:p57) writes, different people learn in different ways; some may have a preference for a particular style of learning and teaching. Learners will become more effective if they extend their range of learning styles and experiences. Due to the environment I am teaching in I felt Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs model was not appropriate because he explains each of us is motivated by needs. Our most basic needs are inborn, having evolved over tens of thousands of years. Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs explains how these needs motivate us all. Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs states that we must satisfy each need in turn, starting with the first, which deals with the most obvious needs for survival itself. Only when the lower order needs of physical and emotional well-being are satisfied are we concerned with the higher order needs of influence and personal development. Conversely, if the things that satisfy our lower order needs are swept away, we are no longer concerned about the maintenance of our higher order needs. All learners completing the assessments are held within a secure unit against their wishes and are being deprived of at least four of the five steps. Taking this into account I felt Blooms Taxonomy was the correct theory to use as Blooms Taxonomy is based on Cognitive: mental skills (Knowledge) Affective: growth in feelings or emotional areas (Attitude) Psycho motor: manual or physical skills (Skills). The Bloom's pyramid shows the different levels of thinking we use when learning and how each level builds on the foundation that proceeds it. It is required that we learn the lower levels before we can effectively use the skills above taking all this into account this theory would be more relivent to undertake when designing the formal and informal assessments. I chose to use a written feedback within the formal numeracy assignment,I continued with the functional skills theme and was able to incorporate this within banking. All learners had worked through and completed whole numbers and common measures within previous lessons (this included using numbers, place values, addition, subtraction and using sums of money) Formal assessment (see appendix 2) I produced a marking scheme for this assessment, each learner completed ten questions and marks were given for correct answers. Answers required were in the form of written format, number amounts, identification answers and functional knowledge. On completion of the assessment I produced individual scores and completed a one to one results and feedback. Incorrect answers within this assessment were revisited by learner and myself and any additional requirements or needs were placed on learners individual learning plans. All learners were then asked to complete a learner evaluation form (see appendix 3), where I then evaluated the assessment from the learners perspective. This was a very valuable exercise as this showed me how the assessment was received by the learners and if required changes to the assessment. All learners completed the formal assessment and the scores were very similar (except one learner) all learners had used banking in one form or another although three out of the five had not accessed banking for five years or longer. Having this prior knowledge when creating the assessment, I was able to ask questions that would be fully inclusive to the these learners within the class. I chose to use verbal feedback within the informal ICT assignment. All learners had previous use of the basic computer system and were all able to navigate between different screens. Informal assessment (see appendix 2a) The informal, ICT assessment had to be created under very stringent guidelines within HMP Birmingham. Online security within the prison is very high and because of this I had to plan the informal assessment outside the normal boundaries. The assessment created was with learners that were due for release with the next six weeks and as all learners were looking to continue their basic skills learning I produced a step by step informal assessment to locate a learning centre where they could continue their learning. This assessment had no formal marking scheme but success was determined on the producing of a printed centre location. I was aware that due to the restrictions of internet security within HMP Birmingham and the created informal assessment reflected this. Each step of the assessment was read out by myself and then completed by the learners individually (I was required to check each stage of the assessment due the internet security built into the computer systems). On completion of the assessment the results and feedback was given verbally within the group, all printed results were checked and any questions were taken, discussed and answered. All learners felt that as they have very little access to the prison computer system it was a very welcoming change to the classroom environment they were used too. Having used both assessments in the formative mode, I was able to blend basic skills learning into a functional skills scenario. Although all learners have no current access to banking or contact with learning centres, all had previous practical encounters they could relate to when answering the assessment questions. Using numeracy in the formal mode was my only viable option due the security restrictions but all learners felt using the banking functional skills assessment was very effective and was able to assess their abilities to relate to a scenario they are familiar with. All previous short term goals were assessed and any new learning targets were set. On completion of the assessments I evaluated my own ability to create and deliver the assessments and using the learner feedback as a tool to assess my delivery.