Abstract
The purpose of this study is to build an analytical rubric for Alternative Assessment for science activities in order to facilitate teachers in assessing multimedia communication skills by inculcating 21st Century Skills. The study attempts to answer a key question i.e. whether the analytical rubric for Alternative Assessment is appropriate to assess multimedia communication skills in science activities in school? The research was conducted by taking into account the advice of 11 experts in science education and five science teachers as assessors to evaluate the reliability of analytical rubric for multimedia communication skills in school. Three round Delphi technique was used to validate the analytical rubric and inter-rater reliability Intra-Class Correlation-ICC was computed to measure the reliability of the rubric. The study found that the rubric has a high validity of 82.0% and high absolute agreement for multimedia communication rubric (ICC = 0.90). Therefore the multimedia communication skill rubric can be adopted and implemented in schools. The study also found that there are a number of issues and constraints in the implementation of alternative assessment, but the construction of the rubric is a shift in assessing student outcomes that are emerging according to the global environment. However, further research on the validity and reliability of the rubric is necessary.
Highlights
Is the Malaysian education system capable of producing human capital which are competent in the 21st century skills? What are the characteristics that are essential to be shown by the students to fulfill the needs of the employment market today? Often, the employees complain about the incompetence of graduate students and in Malaysia there is a shift of mindset of employees in seeking candidates who are balanced in academics as well as possessing softskills like communication skills, problem solving skills, interpersonal skills and have the ability to be flexible in handling problems (Gurinder & Sharan, 2008)
The 21st century skills are directing on the ability in application of technology through digital era literacy and students who have critical and creative thinking along with excellence in interpersonal and social skills (Mastura et al, 2012)
If the percentage is more than 70% the rubric has good content validity
Summary
Is the Malaysian education system capable of producing human capital which are competent in the 21st century skills? What are the characteristics that are essential to be shown by the students to fulfill the needs of the employment market today? Often, the employees complain about the incompetence of graduate students and in Malaysia there is a shift of mindset of employees in seeking candidates who are balanced in academics as well as possessing softskills like communication skills, problem solving skills, interpersonal skills and have the ability to be flexible in handling problems (Gurinder & Sharan, 2008). Is the Malaysian education system capable of producing human capital which are competent in the 21st century skills? Does the assessment in the education system promote such skills and evaluate them in order to produce students with a capacity to endure challenges in the future?. The 21st century skills are directing on the ability in application of technology through digital era literacy and students who have critical and creative thinking along with excellence in interpersonal and social skills (Mastura et al, 2012). The importance to assess the 21st century skills is necessary but how to assess these sets of skills in the science education settings needs to be answered. Alternative assessment or authentic assessment is a wise step to expand individual potential and for promoting generic skills. Does the practice in science education in Malaysia support alternative assessment approach in expanding 21st century skills?
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call