Workshop at PG College, Secunderabad. Tools for assessing language learning.

1. “Mistakes are the best teachers”:
How to make mistakes do half our
job in the classroom
Assessment for learning (AfL) using technology

2. We are having a test in school
tomorrow and there is no way I can
pass it!!

3. Need for assessment practices

4. Need for sound assessment practices

5. Link between assessment and
pedagogy
• Tests constructed by teachers to see whether
learning has occurred, and determine extent
of learning progress
– Decide future teaching/learning objectives
– Reflect on results to change methodology
– Determine direction of future learning
opportunities

6. Redo

8. Instructional scaffolding through
‘convivial assessment’
If improvement is the objective, the learner must
know the purpose of the task and how far this has
been achieved. Gipps (1994)
In order to do this teachers need to:
• Share learning intentions (affirm)
• Involve learners in self-evaluation
• Provide feedback which leads learners to
recognise the next steps, (inform) and how to
take them (guide)
Black and William (1998)

9. Snapshot of excellent assessment
practices
• Make testing meaningful by making testing
goals clear
• Give constructive feedback to affirm, inform
and guide learning of students
• Develop individual learner profiles, showing
the progress made by individual students
• Encourage self and peer assessment
• Foster reflective practices

10. Assessment for Learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use
by learners and their teachers to decide where learners are in their learning, where they need
to go and how best to get there. Assessment for Learning is best done through formative
assessment.

11. Collecting information for AfL
Observations (LSRW)
Conversations (student
conferences, self-
assessments, constructive
feedback)
Products (portfolio, response
journals, posters, projects)

12. Benefits of feedback
• A scaffolding mechanism
(Tharp and Gallimore; 1996)
• Feedback has more effect on quality
of learning achievement than any other factor (John
Hattie; 1999)
• Found to add the equivalent of two grades to
students’ achievement if done very well (Black and
William; 1998)
• Effective feedback should include both medals
(affirm) and missions (inform and guide)(Geoff
Petty; 2004)

14. Constructive feedback
• Relevant: addresses student specific
achievements, interests and learning
behaviours.
• Immediate: provided as soon as information
about student performance is available
• Factual: based on actual student achievement
• Helpful: provides suggestions for
improvement of learning
• Confidential: given directly to students
…contd

15. …Constructive feedback
• Tailored: designed to meet individual student specific needs
• Encouraging: shows how to increase learning efforts
• Reflective: fostering reflective practices by linking prior
learning to new learning
• Valence: positive/ negative
• Amount: Goldilocks principle
• Mode: oral/ written, multimedia,
• Focus: mechanics and content (Adapted from Ovando, M. 1994)
affirm what is achieved
inform what should be achieved, and
guide how it should be achieved

16. Sample feedback Features
You told us about the most important thing that happened
in the story.
Relevant: Addresses student specific achievements
Try to give more details about why the man looked scary. Helpful: Provides suggestions for improvement of
learning
I am concerned about your spellings. I’d like you to use the
list of words presented in class this morning and identify
wrongly spelt words in this paper.
Tailored: designed to meet individual student
specific needs and learning behaviours
This essay would convince a reader who already agrees
with your topic. To make it an effective argumentative essay
what else could you add?
Encouraging: Motivates student to increase learning
efforts
When you read aloud you pay more attention to sounds of
words. Would you like to do that to find spelling errors in
your paper?
Reflective: fostering reflective practices by linking
prior learning to new learning
You have added details to the points we discussed in class.
Now make your own additions like the effects on the
environment and the cost of recycling, etc.

17. Digital natives students

19. Digital immigrants teachers

20. Technology for collecting information for AfL
Observations (LSRW)
Conversations (student
conferences, self-
assessments, constructive
feedback)
Products (portfolio, response
journals, posters, projects)

21. Observation: technology for scoring
performance
• Scoring and storing examinee performance
• Computer adaptive testing; automatic response analysis
 http://www.breakingnewsenglish.com/1601/160127-bananas.html
 http://www.english-zone.com/reading/spider.html
 http://literacynet.org/learningresources/1_superfoods_folder/lr_su
perfoods_home.html
 http://www.rong-chang.com/easykids/ekid/easykid007.htm
 http://www.rong-chang.com/easykids/cloze/ek_cloze007.htm
 http://school.discoveryeducation.com/quizzes/cc_riveraa/civil1.ht
ml

22. Conversation: technology to make
assessment more efficient
• Constructive feedback to affirm, inform and
guide
• Provides individual scaffolding
• Self-assessment and reflection
• Peer assessment

23. Promoting conversations in Reading assessment
Non interactive
Step into a modern shoe store and look
around. Shoe stores have changed over
time. High-heeled and platform shoes,
boots, sandals, moccasins, and wooden-
heeled clogs provide quite a variety for
today's shopper. Recent fashions? Not
really. Not one of the footwear fashions
you see today is less than 400 years old.
Every shoe style has a history.
Which sentence does NOT belong in this
paragraph?
• Shoe stores have changed over time.
• Step into a modern shoe store and
look around.
• Every shoe style has a history.
Interactive
Step into a modern shoe store and look around. Shoe
stores have changed over time. High-heeled and
platform shoes, boots, sandals, moccasins, and wooden-
heeled clogs provide quite a variety for today's shopper.
Recent fashions? Not really. Not one of the footwear
fashions you see today is less than 400 years old. Every
shoe style has a history.
Which sentence does NOT belong in this paragraph?
• Shoe stores have changed over time.
• Step into a modern shoe store and look around.
• Every shoe style has a history.
Hint: Read again to understand what is the text talking
about? About shoe stores? About customers in a shoe
store? About shoes? About latest fashions?
• SHOE STORES HAVE CHANGED OVER TIME, belongs
in a paragraph about the history of shoe stores.
• STEP INTO A MODERN shoe store and look around,
is a good introduction to a paragraph about the
history of shoes.
• EVERY SHOE STYLE HAS A HISTORY belongs in a
paragraph about how long modern shoe styles
have existed.

24. Technology tools for conversations in reading
assessment
hotpotatoes
Socrative
Zaption

25. Promoting conversations in Writing assessment
My lunchtime is loud, almost
everybody in the lunchroom is
making noise. We have very good
food and nise cooks. We have 35
minutes to eat lunch. My lunchroom
is big and has a lot of tables. We
have milk and a sald bar for the
teachers that is what my lunchroom
is about.
TASK: Describe what lunchtime is for you on a school day. Be sure to tell about your
lunchtime so that someone who has never had lunch with you on a school day can
understand where you have lunch and what lunchtime is like.
Teacher’s notes:
• Meaning is clear
• Sentences are complete
• More details would make this
more interesting
• You gave one reason for the
noise. Can you think of others?
• Can you describe what the noise
sounds like?
• Can you give some examples of
the "good food" besides milk and
salad for the teachers?
• What kinds of food do you eat at
lunch? What foods do your
friends eat?

26. Technology tools for
conversations
in writing assessment
VoiceThread
• http://voicethread.com/myvoice/#thread/193074/1021528/1055695
• http://voicethread.com/about/library/4th_Grade_bookreading_discussion_from_
Krystina_Kelly/
• http://voicethread.com/myvoice/#thread/34182/180809/181722
• http://voicethread.com/#thread/6015545/30897797/32395790
Practice: https://voicethread.com/myvoice/#thread/7572068/40808251

27. • Padlet
http://padlet.com/wall/rjzba0v3kd
http://padlet.com/amalul_umam/yf2qmxcs2s
http://padlet.com/wall/tz87bv7erf
http://padlet.com/wall/7akyjb4ms4
• Linoit
http://linoit.com/users/kshema/canvases/language%20arts

28. Technology tools for creating
portfolios
• Portfolios: storehouse for projects, writing pieces, art, and
performances. Used to document what you are doing, think
about what you are doing and see the progress made.
• Collection of student work that exhibits the student's
efforts, progress, and achievements in one or more areas.
• Demonstrate work towards meeting specific learning goals
and requirements.
• Gives students a sense of accomplishment
Some tools
 Evernote
 Googlesites
 wiki

30. Tools for collaboration
• Spiderscribe
https://www.spiderscribe.net/app/
http://www.spiderscribe.net/app/?c082fd545fbb1de35d910402fd8d3f38
• Webquests: inquiry oriented, most resources from the internet, collaborative, shared rubrics
http://questgarden.com/52/36/4/070612201403/index.htm
http://questgarden.com/63/12/0/080417124513/index.htm
http://questgarden.com/52/41/5/070613164641/
http://questgarden.com/126/41/7/110512074451/index.htm
• ed.ted.com
http://ed.ted.com/on/UorKlphS
• wikispaces
https://ele-ppt.wikispaces.com/
• docs.google.com
• voxopop
http://www.voxopop.com/group/e4b09615-2fc1-4274-8f49-605f3e6c6ba7
http://www.voxopop.com/topic/3b4a9362-42be-46e2-8f18-cef72772e685
http://www.voxopop.com/group/2c5ef1ef-a566-4d71-91d1-e2bc98d6d288

31. Products: technology to develop new
literacies
• Add more types of skills/ knowledge that is
assessed
o Collaboration
o Multimedia
o Visual literacy
• Learner profile: evidence of actual student
achievement through portfolio, journals,
projects, tasks, posters

32. Tools to create using multimedia
http://www.pimpampum.net/bookr/
https://penzu.com/

33. Here are some more
• www.storybird.com
• http://www.artofstorytelling.org/
• https://literably.com/
• https://www.mystorybook.com/
• https://www.tikatok.com/
• http://www.storyjumper.com/

34. Thank you
Kshema Jose
kshema@efluniversity.ac.in