EVALUATION
Theoretical introduction
Evaluation is continuous information on a student’s learning progress and achievements. The purpose of assessment is to help students learn and develop, provide information about their learning experiences, achievements, and progress. It also determines whether teachers have been able to convey knowledge successfully.
The transition from classroom to distance education does not change educational goals and learning outcomes but it involves significant changes in the organization of the teaching process as well as relevant learning outcomes. Teachers choose assessment methods that encourage students to get involved in learning and allow each student to achieve highest possible outcomes. During distance learning, teachers and students pay special attention to communication and the ability to respond flexibly to a variety of learning situations. E-learning allows the search for non-traditional assessment methods to achieve the quality of on-line teaching. Inclusive and motivating assessment methods which are used not only provide feedback to students on their work, test knowledge, but they also provide guidelines for further improvement. The advantage of technology is to provide personalized and meaningful feedback. The learning process is developed and improved through the accumulation and analysis of learning data.
Exercise I: MY INDIVIDUAL VOCABULARY
Moodle
During the semester
This exercise is continuous and may be applied over the entire period when a particular topic is taught. Students work independently, and the result of their work is evaluated as assessment of the study subject.
Online
Asynchronous
The aim of this exercise is to activate student’s independent work, to arouse their desire for cognition, to reveal their professional and personal qualities.
The student, guided by the teacher, will fill in his/her individual vocabulary and phrasebook according to the consciously perceived and assessed needs. Activities (reading of the book, choosing unclear terms, filling the vocabulary, doing the research on every chosen term, visualizing terms) are organized in such a way that individual needs will be aligned with the needs and expectations of other students in a targeted way, thus involving students in joint activities, sharing experiences and ideas.
STEP I
When starting to study the subject, the teacher explains the essence of the method and the evaluation criteria. The essence of the method is as follows: from a recommended list the student chooses a scientific or professional book from the subject and reads it throughout the semester. The student chooses terms and concepts from the book that are new to them. The student accumulates terms and concepts in a personal dictionary. The dictionary is designed so that the student analyzes each concept (term) by given template: sense of the term (1), origin of the term (2), collocations with the term (3), equivalents in other languages (4), phrases with the term (5), synonyms (6), derivates (7), associations (8), visualization (9).
The teacher explains the structure of the vocabulary (template) and provides the reliable list of on-line sources that students can use to gather information (databases, encyclopedias, dictionaries, language resources, culture infrastructures (like www.babel.net), etc. Nota bene: wikipedia is forbidden.
This allows the student to better memorize and understand the chosen terms and concepts, broadening his or her professional and personal horizons.
The dictionary is designed so that the student analyzes each concept (origin, collocations, equivalents in other languages, phrases, associations, visualization).
STEP II
After about half the semester, each student submits their personal dictionary for mid-term evaluation by uploading it to the Moodle system. The teacher evaluates the vocabulary, provides comments on its improvement, and sends the information to each student in a short message.
STEP III
The students correct and expand the vocabulary based on the teacher’s comments.
STEP IV
At the end of the semester the students upload the vocabulary to the Moodle system for the final assessment.
STEP V
The teacher evaluates the vocabulary and sends the assessment results and detailed comments to each student individually.
The dictionary is evaluated according to the following criteria:
- Complexity of professional terms
- Accuracy of the analysis of professional terms (in order to fill in the vocabulary fields correctly, students must complete the term concept)
- Reliability of the selected sources used to analyze the term.
This method develops students’ professional and personal horizons. Enriching the vocabulary means:
- realizing self-expression and creativity, linking it with environmental observation, evaluation, self-reflection, text comprehension,
- developing a conceptual apparatus,
- learning the formal requirements of text creation and genre,
- learning the basics of creative thinking.
Students experience the pleasure of independent research.
Students develop their critical reading skills.
– The risk of this evaluation method may be that students may not understand the task and perform it incorrectly. For
example, by choosing fiction to scientific or professional literature, not choosing words and concepts that are complex and unknown, but simple, everyday words. They can also use unverified resources to expand their personal vocabulary. As students search for material for term research online they get a list of reliable sources, but there are still those who use wikipedia and various obscure sources that can be misleading.
– Another risk is that students will not be motivated to work regularly throughout the semester.
+ Students are instructed to evaluate sources according to a very simple criterion: institutional and/or personal authorship. If there is an author and/or institution (higher school, research center, etc.), such sources are reliable and, in the event of errors, the authors assume responsibility.
+ Mid-term evaluation in the Moodle system and individual communication with students help to avoid these risks.
Of course, it is necessary to explain the task very well, to show what its benefits are and what risks await if the task is performed irresponsibly. It is necessary to make sure that all students have a good understanding of the task. Therefore, a reflection method can be included. It is very important to encourage students to consult their work whenever needed.
Exercise II: EVALUATION BY COLORED SHEETS
Zoom, Teams or any digital learning environment, Google Classroom (Digital Interactive Notebook), Sticky Notes, possible Messenger. More information on sticky notes is available online:
Sum up
This exercise can be applied at the end of a seminar or exercise.
Online
Synchronous
The aim of this exercise is to help students self-evaluate the work, to help the teacher evaluate student’s work, to activate students’ learning awareness and responsibility.
By assessing and self-assessing learning activities and outcomes, students respond to others and themselves as well. By learning to evaluate the work of others and their own according to the given criteria, they better understand the requirements of good work or its proper performance, learn to see the strengths of their own and other students’ activities, performances and areas for improvement.
STEP I
A smart board is prepared on which the evaluation criteria of group work during a seminar are listed. Criteria may include:
- excellent knowledge of the topic;
- good examples;
- effective communication;
- innovative theme presentation.
More information could be found on the Internet: https://alessonplanforteachers.com/how-to-use-sticky-notes-for-assessment/
STEP II
At the beginning of a seminar, students are divided into two (A, B) or three groups (A, B, C) which will evaluate each other’s work.
The teacher introduces the assessment criteria and assessment methodology.
STEP III
During the seminar, students perform tasks such as presenting topics, raising problematic questions, and providing examples, etc. Each presentation of a student from group A is evaluated by students of group B who virtually put sticky notes on the smart board on sector marked with one of the prescribed criteria. Sticky notes are collected for the whole group (not for the individual student). The task of the teacher is to lead the seminar according to a pre-arranged plan. Each group can communicate via Zoom or Teams platforms or create a group chat on Messenger and communicate through.
STEP IV
At the end of the seminar, it is visually visible according to which criteria each group collected the majority of sticky notes. These results are discussed. The best-rated group receives points which are later used to evaluate each student’s work throughout the semester.
- Students participate in the process as partners.
- This method helps students to participate more actively, using their creativity, knowledge, and experience. They learn the ethics of teamwork, the expression of constructive criticism, and improve critical thinking.
- For the teacher, this evaluation exercise provides opportunities to see the problem areas of a discussed topic and get to know the students better.
– The most important risk is that students may not have the skills to express constructive criticism.
+ The teacher should explain to the students the principles of expressing constructive criticism. It also helps to avoid this risk that this method of assessment has elements of gamification, as it is presented as a kind of competition. By drawing students’ attention to gamification elements, they express their opinion more explicitly.
Exercise III: DIALOGUE SIMULATIONS
iSpring TalkMaster (a part of the iSpring Suite eLearning toolkit)
Last class
Sum up
Online
Synchronous
To train students for real-life conversations with customers, colleagues, and others.
When creating a conversation activity based on a situation that a student may face in a workplace, let students know what to expect, and provide them with a safe place to practice their reactions and responses.
STEP I
The teacher prepares a scenario, chooses a character and location from the built-in library. Then, students create a dialogue with iSpring using the language/topic that were discussed so that we can assess our students’ progress. Dialogue consists of questions simulating a real situation.
STEP II
The student answers the questions. Since it is a quiz-like activity, each student gets or loses points for their correct or incorrect answers.
STEP III
The teacher and students discuss the results and together highlight the problem areas (if problems arise).
- This is a highly effective method of student assessment.
- The student perceives how valuable their professional preparation is in real life.
– This method requires extra time from the teacher because the dialogue simulations need to be mapped.
+ Creating dialogues can also be used to delegate this task to students. In this case, the teacher acts as a supervisor.
Exercise IV: E-LEARNING BLOGS
Any free blogging platform (WordPress.org.
Web.com; Wix; HubSpot CMS; Gator by HostGator; WordPress.com; Blogger; Tumblr, etc.) and Zoom, Teams or any e-learning virtual environment.
During the semester
Main body
Online
Asynchronous
To regularly monitor and evaluate the teaching process. To develop students’ creative writing skills.
Qualitative eLearning assessment allows gauging the depth of an online learner’s understanding. As a result, the teacher can improve students’ proficiency and productivity by identifying areas for improvement.
STEP I
The teacher prepares a schedule according to which their students write blog posts. The schedule includes suggestions, questions, word count, and upload deadlines.
STEP II
The blog writing criteria are discussed with the students. There are a variety of free blogging platforms to choose from. Thus, the teacher should set some ground rules and provide a list of suitable tools.
STEP III
The teacher reviews the blogs periodically to assess online learners’ progress and identify areas for improvement.
STEP IV
The results are discussed with the students at the end of the semester and a final grade is given.
- Students use a modern tool that is attractive and unconventional.
- Non-traditional assessment reduces learning stress and allows the student to show the best results.
- Promotes mutual trust between teacher and student.
- Improves creative writing and thought expression skills.
– There may be students who do not want to write blogs on a regular basis. In this case, it will be difficult to assess them in the final grade.
+ This risk can be avoided by noticing such a student as early as possible. He or she needs to be talked to and he or she may clearly understand that if he or she does not write the blog on a regular basis, the teacher will not be able to evaluate him or her in the same way as other students. So, he or she must know that he or she will have to take a written essay.
Exercise V: RUBRIC
Moodle
Sum up
After first class
Online
Asynchronous
To evaluate a student’s test or project according to specified criteria, making grading and ranking simpler and more transparent.
A rubric is a scoring guide used to evaluate performance, a product, or a project. It has three parts:
- performance criteria;
- rating scale;
- indicators.
For a teacher and their students, the rubric defines what is expected and what will be assessed.
For more information: https://facultyinnovate.utexas.edu/sites/default/files/build-rubric.pdf
STEP I
The teacher determines the criteria to assess their students’ work. Students and teacher discuss what areas matter for the quality assessment of a given task (whether it’s an essay, a project, a digital story, a test, or a presentation).
STEP II
The teacher (as supervisor) and students develop a rating scale. Rating scales can include either numerical or descriptive labels. Usually, a rating scale consists of an even number of performance levels. If an odd number is used, the middle level tends to become a catch-all category.
STEP III
The teacher (as supervisor) and students develop indicators of quality starting with the highest level of the scale to define top quality performance.
STEP IV
The teacher creates a rubric and presents it to students for evaluation on the Moodle platform. He or she answers all questions and accepts constructive suggestions (on Moodle platform as well).
STEP V
Students upload completed tasks on the Moodle platform which are then evaluated according to the created rubric.
- Pre-planned and discussed criteria of evaluation optimize the teaching process and make it more efficient.
- Pre-discussed teacher’s expectations help students create a personal learning plan, articulate their personal learning goals, and generate tasks.
- This reduces stress of studying and helps to avoid emotional problems.
– There may be a risk that not all students will get acquainted with the set criteria (rubric).
+ To avoid this risk, it is necessary to ensure that each student reads the proposed rubric in advance and expresses their opinion in writing via Moodle communication channels.
