Assesing Young Learners
In this task, you will be working individually to write a blog post of no more than 300 words reflecting on assessing young learners. Begin by briefly describing your experience (or anticipated experience) with assessment in your teaching context, including any challenges or successes. Discuss the role of standardized tests for young learners, considering their relevance and effectiveness in your context. Highlight three key factors that are important when assessing young learners and explain their significance. Reflect on the potential of using portfolio assessment in your context, outlining possible activities or challenges. Lastly, discuss the benefits of self and peer assessment for young learners, providing specific examples of how these methods could be applied. End your post with one or two open-ended questions to invite your peers’ comments and perspectives.
Assessing young learners can be both hard and fun. Quizzes don’t always work because they can be stressful, but I’ve had success using games. Games help kids show what they know while having fun and staying relaxed. Standardised tests are used a lot but I don’t think that they show what a student can really do. When assessing young learners we should keep in mind the child’s level and age, use activities like role playing or projects that connect things children do in their real life, and also, have in mind that games and hands-on activities keep children excited and show what they truly understand. I think portfolios are a good way to assess kids, because they show how much the children have improved over time. They could include stories, drawings, and other projects. The only problem could be that it can take a lot of time to check everyone’s portfolio in a big class. Self and peer assessment could also be helpful, as they help them learn and work together. However, I don’t know how objective someone can be assessing themselves, or it could lead to fights between students.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever used portfolios in your teaching? Would you try self and peer assessment?
My experience with assessment was primarily shaped by my ten years in the high school classroom. The successes were, in part, due to my students’ independence and I was able to develop complex portfolio assignments which actually increased their engagement. They appreciated being able to show their mastery of standards using a variety of tasks, learning modalities, and final products. They also used portfolio work as a means of developing professional skills as well. I fear that designing this type of process for young learners would be difficult, but perhaps it would simply be more teacher-led. In reference to standardized tests for young learners, I don’t think they are always accurate indicators of student progress, but they are sadly an inescapable reality of language learning, so early exposure is not a bad thing. However, it needs to, in order to be successful, be incorporated into actionable feedback for the student. This is one key factor for assessing young learners- it should be a benefit to their learning process. A second key factor is that it is a reliable and accurate tool, and thirdly that it is suited to their developmental level and experiences. I feel a portfolio could be used to do all these things, but as I mentioned, the challenge could be in project management. In my current teaching context with adult refugee learners, sustained projects are nearly impossible considering the sporadic attendance of the learners due to significant challenges and barriers. Shorter, more standard assessments are a practical choice. However, I could apply some self- reflection tasks and add more components to the standard assessments that I design. I believe self-reflection and metacognition are critical skills for all learners, including young people. A learning journal, test correction exercises, peer discussion, feedback surveys and more could help young students develop ownership of their learning. That is, to me, should be the goal of assessment in general.
ReplyDeleteAh, and the questions... How do you think portfolios could be scaffolded for young learners in a way that also teaches them project management skills? How could portfolios be adjusted to account for sporadic attendance of learners?
DeleteI do not have experience assessing (or teaching) young learners, but it is important to keep assessments age-appropriate and engaging. With my learners, they have limited education experience since they have left their countries and do not have access to education in the native language. As such, assessments need to be tailored to their needs. Challenges include lack of previous education and lack of resources.
ReplyDeleteStandardized testing is good for seeing where students are in a normal-referenced context. However, in my context, it is less relevant. My learners need to learn English for practical purposes. Standardized testing is better for academic purposes.
When assessing young learners, it is important to ensure that the assessments are engaging and interactive. YLs typically preform better in more active and creative ways than sitting down for a long traditional test. It is also important for the assessments to be explained clearly and in a way that YLs will understand. It should be tailored to their age and their proficiency/level. Finally, individual differences should be considered when assessing in general, but also in young learners. Portfolios are a useful way to ensure individualization in assessment as learners are able to choose the projects/types of assessments and the work they do. However, portfolios should also cover all skills and areas of learning in some way to ensure that learners can be assessed fully.
Peer and self assessment are good ways for learners to feel empowered and motivated in their personal learning. We used to “grade” or give feedback on our classmates’ papers at times, and that was always a useful way to practice our own language. What are other useful ways to incorporate self and peer assessments?
In my experience, even though it is not young learners, the harderst thing to assess are things that you can not measure (for instance critical thinking, culture and values, etc.). Standardized tests for young learners can measure progress and compare performance, but their effectiveness is debatable, since these tests often emphasize fixed outcomes rather than individual growth, which can demotivate students with low self-esteem or limited speaking proficiency. They may also fail to assess real-world communication skills effectively, so it is also hard to assess students of different intelligences that learn in differently, or have learning difficulties.
ReplyDeleteThree factors I would mention are engagement, relativity and personal growth. Assessments must suit learners’ cognitive and emotional levels. Interactive, low-stress activities like role-plays or games can better reflect learners' abilities while keeping them motivated. Finally, constructive feedback encourages improvement and fosters confidence, vital for learners with lower self-esteem.
As we talked about, portfolio assessment, which tracks progress through work samples like writing, audio recordings, and projects, offers a holistic view of development. However, it may face challenges such as time demands, ensuring consistent contributions, and gaining parental support and/or create confusion if the instructions are not clear enough.
As a final input, self and peer assessments further support growth, like keeping a diary with checklists after speaking tasks or peer reviews in writing activities help with developing critical thinking, collaboration, and autonomy. In my own teaching I incorporate one on one chats with the students to talk about the journey and the student's likes and goals since they can change as time progresses.
My target learners will be 11/12 year olds. I anticipate that my experience in assessing my learners will have it's advantages for both the parties. It will help learners to improve or get motivated. It will create an environment where I can talk more about my learner's shortcomings and assist them to reach their potential. Moreover, as for me it will help me rethink my teaching methodologies. I believe in assessing children, some of the most important factors are to calculate and evaluate their social skills and peer adjustments, content learning and language knowledge. The possibility of portfolio assessment in my teaching context will be very high because I believe keeping track of learner's progress throughout the course provides wider range of overview. Furthermore, benefits of self assessment ( in my eyes ) breeds more knowledge. It enables to rectify the mistakes which second party could've overlooked and it is the best way or type to assess your progress. However, peer assessment is something I am not really sure I would use in my classroom for my learners because it can bring a sense of discomfort. In some cases it might be of good use because children benefit in learning with and through their peers but personally I would not apply it in my class.
ReplyDeleteAlso I have a question
ReplyDeleteHow do we create an environment where assessment doesn't create a sense of anxiety or worry?
This is Natalie's post
ReplyDeleteAssessing young it's own learners presents unique issues. Especially in testing intensive environments the effects of negative wash back can be quite pronounced, in these environments parents also play a huge role in the perceived importance of tests, so not only do students put pressure on themselves so do parents.As teachers epically in a public school system is is important to try to prepare students for the test while also trying to mitigate the negative effects of wash back. Many students will cram before the test and forget about the information shortly after the test is complete. One way to mitigate testing anxiety is to acknowledge the test in a low stakes environment. For examples some of methods of testing will be unfamiliar to students, replicating this in a game while acknowledging that some parts of the game will be part of the test helps learners be less self conscious of the test itself. For example the Cambridge exam has a coloring portion for young learners, and while it may be obvious to us these children are taking the test entirely in their L2 so trying to mitigate the stress is important. I would have coloring games in class where the students would put a dot of one color the first time they heard an instruction and color the next Tim, this way students were forced to slow down and check their work. In the tests students would get anxious and either speed through of be so focused on the coloring they'd miss other instructions so even if I knew they knew something they would not perform as well on the standardized test. Students for some tests must perform do dictation so we would do dictation writing races in class to train some of these skills in a way that was fun for students. In an ideal works I think much of the large exams and Norm referenced testing would be lessened in importance because of the negative washback they tend to produce but in the world we live in at this moment trying to bring testing like activities I to the classroom while still making it a game I think is a good option. I think the more dynamic our feedback the better but this obviously adds extra workload on teachers shoulders.
For Hannah
ReplyDeleteMy experience with assessment as a teacher is limited. I’ve either worked as an au pair or a freelance tutor, and assessment isn’t a foundational part of either of these contexts. In some cases I’m preparing a student to take the IELTs or the CAE, in which case they’re being assessed in that way. In terms of anticipated experience, I would like to one day teach English to students at the university level. These are just outside of the range of young learners, but I think some of the techniques and truths surrounding teaching teenagers still apply for some students. In this case, I will likely be preparing students to pass some form of CEFR exam for a degree or diploma in English. This would mean that a baseline level would need to be established, all 4 major skills would need to be regularly assessed in various ways, and there would be an “end goal” of language ability rather than just a goal of general improvement. For young learners, I believe that standardised tests are discriminatory in many ways. They allow very little accommodation for different learning or intelligence types, are harsh on students with learning differences, and I believe they test memorisation abilities more than true depth of understanding of a subject. For example, it’s possible to earn a 5/5 on the Advanced Placement French or Spanish test in America, without having any true practical communicative abilities. While I understand that the role of standardised tests is to set benchmarks, measure progress, and assess needs at a large scale- I don’t believe that they truly measure the knowledge on a particular subject, especially for young learners who have had less time to develop test-taking skills and strategies.
In terms of key factors for assessing young learners, I think three important aspects are 1) breadth and diversity of assessment strategies, 2) ensuring each student has evidence of their progress, and 3) ensuring parents/caretakers have evidence of the child’s progress and learning needs. I think these three factors are key to 1) assessing a range of skills and for a variety of intelligence types to ensure that no one is being “left behind” or overly favoured- this also encourages longevity and motivation in learning, 2) provide regular opportunities to motivate students by showing them evidence of growing skills 3) provide reassurance to parents/caretakers that their child is progressing, or that the child may need additional support in this area. For portfolio-style assessment, in my context, I think that students who are preparing for CAE or IELTs would benefit from a compilation of their written work. One challenge could be reviewing their work and marking areas where phrases or words are repeated. After doing this, they would be tasked with diversifying the language. Finally, I think that self- and peer-review are great opportunities to assess learning in a less intimidating way, and in a manner where the dynamic between the language originator and the reviewer is equal.
Do you think that self review is less effective than peer review?
Assessing young learners is different from assessing teenagers or adult learners. As a teacher it is important to keep in mind that young learners should be assessed in a child-friendly way. A challenge I have faced is with standardized tests that encourage comparison and competition among the students. On the other hand, something I like about assessing young learners is that you can be creative. There are several key factors in assessing young learners. To begin with, the teacher should maintain consistency between what is taught, in what way it is taught, and what it is asked for in the assessment. In addition, helping students prepare is very important as they will do better with the appropriate guidance. Finally, every learner should be able to show what he have learned, hence there should be a variety in each assessment.
ReplyDeletePortfolios are a rather effective way of assessing young learners. As an approach to assessment, portfolios are very engaging, they promote individualized learning while they encourage students to have control. I would definitely consider using portfolios in my teaching but I find it challenging as the teacher should devote a lot of time in each student separately.
Finally, peer and self assessment are also two very promising methods of assessment. Self assessment encourages learners to reflect on their own work and learn how to evaluate their performance. In the same vein, peer assessment fosters collaboration and communication creating a supportive learning environment.
What are your thoughts regarding the challenges of assessing young learners through a portfolio? How do you believe peer assessment would be applied in your teaching?
I taught EFL to 8-11 graders, and culture studies to 4 graders.
ReplyDeleteFor the 4 graders we used a portfolio assessment: each class they would add to their binders and receive a star stamp in a special little book. In the one hand, seeing their binders fill with all sorts of things such as maps, song lyrics, drawings etc motivated the learners. On the other hand, they were already used to a standard system with marks, and without that they felt that these classes weren’t “real” and it affected their behavior.
For my 8-11 graders, I used a lot of standardized testing, both included in the course book pack and my own. This was a school policy, and the learners were used to this kind of assessment. In the one hand, standardized testing is good because the rules and criteria are clear, so the learners feel more or less confident approaching the test. On the other hand, standardized testing doesn’t cater to needs of learners with different learning styles, so some students who excel at other skills or aspects of the subject might get an unfairly low mark based on the testing. I also used games to assess progress. These were board games based on grammar and vocabulary, word games, and quizzes with buzzers. I was once confronted by the head of department who claimed that games are a waste of time and I use them far too much. I invited her to attend a quiz on British trivia and she was amazed when she saw their knowledge of said trivia.
Peer assessment goes with the theories of social constructivists and is an important part of the learning process. In my view it is especially beneficial for the more advanced peer as giving advice on a subject helps them understand it even better, and boosts their self esteem.
Self assessment is also important as a skill for further learning. The very idea of reflecting on one’s ability and progress is not obvious, so it’s a good chance to teach young learners something that will be beneficial for just about any learning they will do in the future.
The three factors that are inportant when assessing young learners are as follows:
- the purpose of the assessment should be clear to both the teacher and the learners. As I said earlier, reflection on one’s progress is an important skill, so assessment should develop it rather than being a built-in sort of transactional part of the learning experience.
- The procedure should be appropriate for the age and proficiency of the learners. It’s easy to discourage learners by giving them a test that is confusing and/or very different from what was done in the classroom (e.g. in the classroom it was games and songs, and then suddenly they get a grammar test)
- Assessment of young learners should go beyond linguistic skills and touch upon metacognitive skills and learning skills. This is the time when a basic understanding of the learning process is formed, so it’s important to ensure that the learners learn to study successfully.
How can we assess young learners’ learning strategies?
DeleteHow do we balance negative washback with preparation for tests?
Assessing young learners can be a necessary evil, much like getting on the scale to see if your diet plan is actually working after you binged through Christmas break, Santa-style. The experience itself may be unpleasant, but it would be impossible to track tangible progress otherwise, wouldn’t it? Standardized forms of assessment are required in most after-school language programs in Greece; nevertheless, they often cause tremendous and undue anxiety. For example, in the 6 classes I am currently teaching, the course books contain multiple choice quizzes at the end of each chapter (grammar and vocabulary), and these quizzes are essential for demonstrating progress to the children’s’ parents. Personally, I do find the quizzes helpful, but they leave out the other key skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing. Therefore, I test these areas in other ways, such as grading individual lessons or giving supplementary materials. What is the best way to analyze the progress of young learners without causing our precious young ones to convulse in anxiety attacks, you might wonder? Well, there are a myriad of other options available, such as testing through game-playing, portfolio submission and self-assessment, to name just a few. I snuck in a writing assessment just yesterday disguised as a table-top RPG game, where students had to write a backstory for their characters. After laying out the world map and having a lively discussion about wizards, witches and magic, I found it was the first time my learners wanted to continue writing and in fact, lamented the ending of class time. How can we make assessment more creative and fun overall? Is role-play an acceptable form of assessment?
ReplyDeleteWhen assessing my young learners in the past, there was a specific rubric we were required to follow, as the company was a private pre-school and certain classes were under the Department of Education's rules. For instance, making sure to meet with each student one on one at the end of the year and present them with different learning tasks that they have encountered throughout the year that would indicate what they have taken away from the school year was one form os assessment. One key factor was reading comprehension; since the students were between the ages of 3-5, their level of comprehension would vary on the class so we would sit with them and have them read a few pages from a picture book aloud, helping with pronunciation along the way as needed. Another key factor was recognition; we would place multi colored paint brushes and number puzzles in front of them and see if they could identify what the correct colors and numbers were when asked. If they were incorrect, we would provide clues or suggestions to help them find the correct answer. A final key factor was memorization; we had so many routines and used different songs that were intended to drill key concepts such as the days of the week, seasons versus the weather, and how to read a calendar and clock. Therefore, assessing what they were able to memorize from a year of repetition was key in determining what they have retained.
ReplyDeleteWhen previously using portfolios for students, it would be a collection of the work they have done throughout the year, from projects to journals, and they typically were indicative of how the student performed overall for the year. However, for such young learners, some challenges that could arrive include how to make it well rounded when they are still developing a lot of new skills and aspects such as reading and writing as still underdeveloped or difficult.
Peer assessment definitely makes the experience more collaborative for young learners who are used to speaking everyday with their peers and enjoy asking questions and testing one another on their knowledge. At their age, individual assessment might be more preferable.
Questions:
- Would individual assessment be more productive for younger learners who are still developing their own skills or would peer assessment be deemed more beneficial?
- How many times a year would an assessment be deemed appropriate and indicative of progress for each student?