This volume showcases assessment in its myriad forms: classroom assessment, formal testing, program evaluation, curriculum renewal, and self-assessment of teaching and learning. The studies, set in Egypt, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States, document and analyze assessment design and development, implementation, and review. This volume will interest teachers, testers, and language educators alike.
Assessment is an essential part of teaching and learning, but too often it leads to misleading conclusions—sometimes with dire consequences for students. How can educators improve assessment practices so that the results are accurate, meaningful, informative, and fair? Educator and best-selling author Myron Dueck draws from his firsthand experience and his work with districts around the world to provide a simple but profound answer: put student voice and choice at the center of the process. In this engaging and well-researched book, Dueck reveals troubling issues related to traditional approaches and offers numerous examples of educators at all levels who are transforming assessment by using tools and methods that engage and empower students. He also shares surprising revelations about the nature of memory and learning that speak to the need for rethinking how we measure student understanding and achievement. Readers will find sound advice and detailed guidance on how to * Share and cocreate precise learning targets, * Develop student-friendly rubrics linked to standards, * Involve students in ongoing assessment procedures, * Replace flawed grading systems with ones that better reflect what students know and can do, and * Design structures for students' self-reporting on their progress in learning. Inspired by the origins of the word assessment—derived from the Latin for "to sit beside"—Dueck urges educators to discard old habits and instead work with students as partners in assessment. For those who do, the effort is rewarding and the benefits are significant
This book examines the principles and practice of authentic assessment. It seeks to answer the following questions. What is authentic assessment? How is authentic assessment different from 'performance assessment' or 'alternative assessment'? How can authentic assessment support learner-centred education, especially when a performance-oriented culture favours pen-and-paper examinations? The book is structured into two major parts. The first, 'Principles of authentic assessment design', provides readers with a conceptual explanation of authenticity; the principles for designing quality authentic assessments for valid evidence of student learning; and guidance about how to develop quality rubrics to structure assessment tasks. The second part of the book, 'Theory into practice' provides examples developed by teachers to demonstrate an understanding of authentic assessment. The subject areas covered include humanities, languages, mathematics, sciences, character and citizenship. Two case studies are discussed to demonstrate how authentic assessment can be used to comprehensively address key learning objectives in a variety of curriculum contexts. This book provides practitioners with concrete examples on how to develop authentic assessment to suit their context and also enhance their students’ learning. The book will also enable teachers to face assessment challenges present in our changing world.
This unique book focuses on how to provide effective instruction to K-12 students who find writing challenging, including English language learners and those with learning disabilities or language impairments. Prominent experts illuminate the nature of writing difficulties and offer practical suggestions for building students' skills at the word, sentence, and text levels. Topics include writing workshop instruction; strategies to support the writing process, motivation, and self-regulation; composing in the content areas; classroom technologies; spelling instruction for diverse learners; and assessment approaches. Every chapter is grounded in research and geared to the real-world needs of inservice and preservice teachers in general and special education settings.
Both educators and their students are involved in the process of assessment – all parties are expected to meet and exceed expectations in the face of competing conditions. New practices are being developed to enhance students’ participation, especially in their own assessment, be it though peer-review, reflective assessment, the introduction of new technologies, or other novel solutions. Though widely researched, few have measured these innovations’ effectiveness in terms of satisfaction, perceived learning, or performance improvements. Innovative Practices for Higher Education Assessment and Measurement bridges the gap between political discourse, theoretical approach, and teaching practices in terms of assessment in higher education. Bringing new insights and presenting novel strategies, this publication brings forth a new perception of the importance of assessment and offers a set of successful, innovative practices. This book is ideal for educators, administrators, policy makers, and students of education.
The development of translation memories and machine translation have led to new quality assurance practices where translators have found themselves checking not only human translation but also machine translation outputs. As a result, the notions of revision and interpersonal competences have gained great importance with international projects recognizing them as high priorities. Quality Assurance and Assessment Practices in Translation and Interpreting is a critical scholarly resource that serves as a guide to overcoming the challenge of how translation and interpreting results should be observed, given feedback, and assessed. It also informs the design of new ways of evaluating students as well as suggesting criteria for professional quality control. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as quality management, translation tests, and competency-based assessments, this book is geared towards translators, interpreters, linguists, academicians, translation and interpreting researchers, and students seeking current research on the new ways of evaluating students as well as suggesting criteria for professional quality control in translation.
The field of TESOL encompasses English teachers who teach English as an additional language in English-dominant countries and those teachers who teach English as a foreign language in countries where a language other than English is the official language. This range of educators teaches English to children, adolescents, and adults in primary, secondary, post-secondary, popular education, and language academies or tutoring centers. The diversity of learners and contexts within the TESOL field presents a unique opportunity for educators to address varied educational and societal needs. This opportunity calls for TESOL educators who can support the whole learner in a range of contexts for the greater social good. There is an urgent need for readily reproducible and step-by-step research-based practices and current standards in TESOL that bridge the gap between critical scholarship and equitable teaching practices. This book would serve as a critical addition to current literature in TESOL. TESOL Guide for Critical Praxis in Teaching, Inquiry, and Advocacy is an essential reference that provides practical and equitable step-by-step guides for TESOL educators through the current best practices and methods for effective and equity-minded teaching, critical inquiry, and transformative advocacy. This book is of particular value as it bridges theories to practices with a critical look at racial and social justice in English language teaching, which will lead to the integration of social justice-focused practice across the new curriculum. Covering topics such as integrated language instruction, equity and inclusivity, critical consciousness, and online learning, this text is essential for in-service and pre-service TESOL educators, education students, researchers, administrators, teacher educators, and academicians.
With foreword by Cassandra Erkens The assessment process can be a rich experience for you and your students. With Softening the Edges, you'll discover how to design and deliver differentiated instruction and assessment to address learners' diverse intellectual and emotional needs. By creating an effective assessment architecture, you can ensure your students are invested in their own learning and have the confidence to face any learning challenge. Examine how to use self-assessment, formative assessment, summative assessment, and preassessment in ways that cultivate a positive culture of learning. This book will show you how to use assessment responsibly to build enriching relationships among teachers and students: Spot the indicators of hard and soft edges in classroom practices to differentiate instruction and assessment for learning. Learn how to educate for the whole child to meet students' cognitive, physical, and ethical development needs and support their social and emotional learning. Examine the importance of a learning continuum to smoothly guide students and increase student engagement and positive learning experiences. Visualize the qualities of a shared space that supports students' learning targets. Contents: Foreword by Cassandra Erkens Chapter 1: Assessment and the Whole Person Chapter 2: Instruction and Assessment Planning Using a Learning Continuum Chapter 3: Preassessment Chapter 4: Formative Assessment and Feedback Chapter 5: Self-Assessment and Goal Setting Chapter 6: Summative Assessment Chapter 7: Systems of Reporting Appendix: Sample Learning Continuums
