Classroom Assessment Tools Research Articles

Development and validation of a scale to assess the frequency of using classroom assessment tools and methods for mathematics teachers

The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to assess the frequency of using classroom assessment tools and methods for mathematics teachers. This study was conducted on 320 Turkish mathematics teachers. The data were analysed using the SPSS 17.0 and LISREL 8.8 statistical software packages. EFA and CFA, item-total correlations, and convergent and discriminant validities were used to assess the construct validity. EFA and item analysis were performed with 170 mathematics teachers. After EFA, a four-factor scale with 25 items was identified, explaining 52.38% of the variance. The CFA was carried out with 150 mathematics teachers. The first and second-order CFA results indicated that the scale model had good fit indices, and the convergent and discriminant validity of the scale was confirmed. The Cronbach's alpha and composite reliability (CR) coefficients were satisfactory. The results of this study showed that the scale is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing the frequency of mathematics teachers’ use of classroom assessment tools and methods.

To Assess Students’ Self-Awareness in Moral Education in China: Classroom Assessment Tool Design and Use

Although the comprehensive application of various assessment methods is emphasized in the curriculum reform, the old traditional assessment mode is deeply rooted in the minds of most moral teachers, so the current teaching assessment still tends to be single. Through the pilot study in grade 1 of a middle school in Hangzhou, China, it is found that the self-awareness of middle school students has a strong correlation with gender, class cadre tenure, family background, and achievement, and there are some problems in the process of middle school students’ self-assessment Angle is single, self-assessment is lower than others’ assessment. Teachers should use reflective tools to improve teaching, adjust students’ psychology, strengthen communication between home and school, expand the influence of moral education, realize the integration of teaching, learning, and assessment, and make moral education classroom truly full of life vitality.

Classroom assessment model suggestion for community service practices course: PROFESS T

Community service practices course is a compulsory course aims to provide pre-service teachers with a sense of social responsibility theoretically and practically, and aims to develop cooperation, collaboration, effective communication and self-assessment skills during practice. In the context of current studies, the measurement and assessment system of the course should include process assessment, the introduction of the assessment system at the beginning of the lesson, presenting a standard assessment tool example, individual assessment as well as group assessment, use of alternative assessment tools. This study aims to examine the opinions of social studies pre-service teachers regarding an exemplary classroom assessment model developed for the community service practices course. In this context, the action research method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. Fifteen social studies pre-service teachers participated in the study. The data were collected through a semi-structured interview form and analyzed with the descriptive analysis technique. As a result of the study, an example of a classroom assessment model, in which each one is a significant component, has emerged for pre-service social studies teachers within the scope of the CSP course. The name of this model is PROFESS T. PROFESS T is a classroom assessment tool derived from the words processfolio (PRO), formative evaluation (FE), service-learning (S), self-assessment (S), and transparency (T). It also means professional transparency. In evaluations, it means “we are not transparent; we must be transparent.”

Improving of Placements, Higher Studies and Entrepreneurships of Civil Engineering Students through Quality Circle Activity

Abstract—Outcome Based Education (OBE) system is playing a vital role in engineering education as per New Education Policy 2020. In OBE, different types of active learning tools, varying from a simple, class room assessment tools like one-minute paper, thinkpair- share, flipped classroom, to a more complex technique like problem based learning, cooperative learning, peer supported independent study are used so that the engineering graduates get equipped with required skill sets to make them industry ready. In India, nowadays the quality of education provided by the institutions and the programs run by these institutions is evaluated by two major bodies namely NBA and NAAC. Accreditation of the programs and institutions by NBA and NAAC is based on some criteria and it has become an essential requirement to ensure the quality technical education. In NBA and NAAC, students’ placements, higher education, entrepreneurship, industry internship and connect with industry are considered to be the key indicators for ensuring quality technical education and a higher weightage has been provided in the evaluation process. In this paper, an attempt has been done to improve students’ placement index (i.e. placements, higher studies and entrepreneurships) by implementing the concept of Quality Circle (QC) activity for the students of civil engineering department of Rajarambapu Institute of Technology, Rajaramnagar. The results indicate that implementation of QC concept could improve placement index by 10% for last two batches and could maintain progress even during COVID pandemic. Thus, study concludes that implementation of QC concept helps in enhancing placement index of department. Keywords— NAAC; NBA; Outcome Base Education; Placement Index; Quality Circle;

Https://www.asianinstituteofresearch.org/EQRarchives/Development-of-the-Physical-Activity-Plan-for-Physical-Education-Instruction-in-Public-Senior-High-Schools%3A-An-Exploratory-Sequential-Mixed-Method-Inquiry

Physical education (PE) develops students’ motor skills, knowledge, and behaviors for active living. As such, individuals need to participate in various physical activities (PA) which contribute to a healthy lifestyle. But many PE programs fail to bring the actual value of a lifetime PA and fitness. Therefore, there should be extended scientific research that promotes participation level as a health intervention that will promote health and wellness. Through this, an exploratory- sequential mixed method inquiry was utilized to gather insights of senior high school PE teachers towards the development of physical activity plan (PAP). Likewise, the remaining senior high school PE teachers in the province assessed the degree of alignment of the PAP in the most essential learning competencies in PE, and the degree of the practical application of the developed PAP in PE instruction. The qualitative results summarized the general ideas of PE teachers regarding the PAP. They have specific suggestions on what topics, PA, and classroom assessment tools should be included in the plan related to the competencies in PE 1, PE 2, PE 3, and PE 4. As such, a series of performance rubrics have been attached to the plan. Moreover, the quantitative results revealed that the developed PAP has a high degree of alignment with the current competencies in the senior high school PE curriculum. Likewise, the developed PAP has a high degree of practical application in PE instruction. Integrating the data in the two phases of the data collection, showed that the developed PAP can be implemented in the senior high school PE curriculum. As such, the PAP may be utilized as the baseline for PE teachers for implementation. Moreover, future researchers may address the limitations of the conducted study.

Developing Classroom Assessment Tool using Learning Management System-based Computerized Adaptive Test in Vocational High Schools

Computers have taken on a large role in education, including testing and evaluation. Traditional tests that aren't comprehensive and don't distinguish between students' beginning talents lead to measurement findings that aren't representative of their true abilities. This study aims to develop and test assessment tool eligibility class that is used as an LMS-based adaptive. This type of research includes development research. The respondents of this study were experts who assessed the validation and students of SMK Electrical Power Installation Engineering Expertise Competencies. The data analysis technique used item response theory, classical test theory and descriptive statistics. Item analysis using the Rasch Model showed 10 items were not fit and the remaining 50 items were fit. Classical test theory analysis items with less validity there are 0 items, moderate there are 55 items, and high there are 5 items, with an Alpha reliability of 0.934. The attitude questionnaire developed consists of 8 items. There are 0 items with less validity, 6 items being moderate, and 2 items high, with an Alpha reliability of 0.731. The developed observation guide contains 16 observations. Items with less validity have 0 items, while there are 15 items, and 1 item high. The use of CAT-assisted learning management systems on research tools greatly facilitates teachers in conducting research accurately and practically.

COPUS, PORTAAL, or DART? Classroom Observation Tool Comparison From the Instructor User’s Perspective

Classroom observation tools are used to evaluate teaching and learning activities, and to provide constructive feedback to instructors. To help instructors with selecting a suitable tool based on their needs and available resources, in this study, a group of observers assessed lectures of an introductory biology course using three, broadly cited classroom assessment tools in the STEM field: the Classroom Observation Protocol for Undergraduate STEM (COPUS); the Practical Observation Rubric to Assess Active Learning (PORTAAL); and the Decibel Analysis for Research in Teaching (DART). From a user’s perspective, we evaluated 1) the type and extent of information each tool provides, and 2) the time investment and difficulty of working with each tool. The assessment result of each tool was compared, with a list of expected outcomes generated by surveying a group of college instructors and with the result of a self-teaching assessment tool, Teaching Practices Inventory (TPI). Our findings conclude that each tool provided valuable assessment with a broad range of outcomes and time investment: PORTAAL offered the most detailed information on the quality of teaching practices and students’ engagement, but it demanded the greatest time investment. DART provided a basic estimation of active learning proportion with the least effort. The level of assessment outcome and the time investment when using COPUS was found to be less than PORTAAL, and more than DART. The TPI self-assessment outcome was found to be slightly optimistic regarding the proportion of active learning practices used in the studied course. This comparative study can help instructors in selecting a tool that suits their needs and available resources for a better assessment of their classroom teaching and learning.

Kahoot – A Game- Based Formative Assessment Tool During the Covid-19 Movement Control Order

The rapid development of technology has influenced the current system of education. The existence of various digital learning platforms online enables the teachers nowadays to implement them in teaching and learning as well as testing and evaluation. Kahoot is one of the digital learning platforms that mostly used by higher institutions students to assess their learning. Thus, a research conducted to investigate the usability of Kahoot as a formative assessment tool in ESL primary classroom during Covid 19 Movement Control Order period. The research employed mixed method approach whereby semi-structured interviews and survey questionnaire used as data instruments. There are 20 Year 4 pupils participated and responded to the questionnaire, while three of them and an English teacher responded to the interview. The findings show that most of the respondents coincided that the application of Kahoot enables them to learn English in a fun way, increase their English knowledge, capable to do the sharing of English knowledge to other people and increase their motivation and engagement during this pandemic period. In a classroom context, Kahoot has high potential in supporting and enhancing teaching and learning for both teacher and pupils with its outstanding features, especially during the pandemic period.

Challenges, benefits & drawbacks of chemical engineering on-line teaching during Covid-19 pandemic

Distance learning demand has increased and turned into an obligatory educational system during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Within this period, students need exceptional support and assistance to be adjusted to the Online framework environment. The current study investigates distance learning on chemical engineering students' educational performance during this pandemic period. This study addresses many issues related to distance learning, such as the household setting suitability with the internet connections, Online lecture activities, Online classroom experience and assessment tools, and student's perception of the Online graduation projects. A comprehensive survey was organized and structured to observe and evaluate these associated issues to distance learning. The study targeted the third, fourth, and fifth-year students. The responses of the students revealed positive and negative assessments of the Online teaching during this Pandemic. Generally, the participated students did not experience significant technical obstacles to acquiring all the Online activities. Most of the contributed students expressed some difficulties concentrating during the Online sessions with limited student-instructor interactions. Graduation Project students encountered problems in performing technical discussions with their academic advisors, coordinators, and teammates compared to the face-to-face approach.

One minute paper: The reflective way to teach and learn in medical education

One minute Paper is the quick and simple classroom assessment tool. It is benefited to both students and teacher to understand the must know learning points. This tool was applied to the undergraduate students to assess the understanding on the content of lecture as per learning objective, their feedback and perception on one minute paper. At the end of the session, one minute given to answer -What are the most important things you learned today from lecture? What question (s) do you still have in your mind? and Is there anything you did not understand? More than 90 percent were responded for one minute paper. Sixty eight percent of the students appreciated that it was done nicely and fairly done. Thirty two of the students perceived the technique of one minute paper utilization as learner centred and 11.6% as thinking centred. Few apparent responses that were obtained were the liberty to ask questions (15.9%), better understanding of the topic (26.1%) and mutually beneficial (15.9%). One minute paper is an inexpensive, instant, insightful and informative classroom assessment tool. Involvement of students in the teaching learning process with active participation were the learning outcome. The writing activity in the form of one minute paper focused the students to give their thoughts, perspective and pinpoint their questions before leaving the class.

Development of Adaptive Class Assessment Based on Learning Management System for Electrical Engineering Expertise Program in Vocational School

This study aims to develop a classroom assessment tool that can be used in LMS-based adaptive assessment and test the appropriateness of the classroom assessment tool. This research is development research. The development research model used is the scale construction process with the following steps: articulate construct and context, choose response format and assemble initial item pool, collect data from respondents, examine psychometric properties and quality so that a final scale is obtained. Respondents of this study were experts who assessed the validation and students of the Vocational High School of Electrical Power Installation Engineering Expertise. The data analysis technique used is instrument analysis using classical test theory and descriptive statistics. The results of the study are: the construct of selected class assessment tools is easy to implement in a computer program. Multiple choice questions with 5 alternative answers. The attitude questionnaire is made in the form of a case assessment with 4 alternative answers, while the observation guidelines are made in the form of a short entry with numbers between 1 and 4. The questions developed have 60 items. Items with less validity are 0, moderate there are 55, and high is 5 with Alpha reliability of 0.934. The attitude questionnaire developed consists of 8 items. The items with less validity are 0, 6, and 2 with high Alpha reliability of 0.731. The observation guide developed contains 16 points of observation. Items with less validity are 0, the medium is 15, and high is 1.

Incorporating feedback in online cognitive diagnostic assessment for enhancing grade five students’ achievement in ‘time’

Time is a difficult topic for many elementary students. We evaluated the effect of the feedback incorporated in online Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment (CDA) on students’ achievement in this topic by conducting a sequential explanatory mixed method case study which involved 125 Grade Five students from the six classrooms in six Malaysian elementary schools. Simple feedback and detailed feedback were delivered to the participants in the control and experimental groups, respectively as intervention through the online CDA. The findings indicated that the detailed feedback was more effective than the simple feedback in enhancing the participants’ achievement in the topic of time. The findings of the follow-up interviews suggested that the comprehensiveness of the feedback, the usefulness of the feedback and the ability of feedback to engage students were the main factors which explained the effectiveness of the detailed feedback. This study sheds light on the advantages of incorporating detailed feedback in the online CDA. Thus, teachers may be encouraged to use it as a classroom assessment tool for providing instant detailed feedback in supporting students’ learning of the topic of Time.

Validez y confiabilidad en la evaluación del aprendizaje mediante las metodologías activas

Las exigencias en la educación universitaria demandan cambios en las estrategias de enseñanza y en las técnicas y los instrumentos que contribuyen a evaluar el aprendizaje estudiantil. Las metodologías activas, como parte de estas estrategias, facilitan el desarrollo de determinados aprendizajes o competencias, mediante situaciones o problemas vinculados con el mundo laboral y social. Esto requiere replantear, planificar y orientar la enseñanza centrada en el estudiantado y utilizar técnicas e instrumentos para recoger información que conduzcan a emitir juicios apropiados, certeros y justos de los aprendizajes. Sin embargo, no se ha prestado mucha atención a la validez y la confiabilidad de las interpretaciones de las puntuaciones o la información recopilada con estos instrumentos para el uso propuesto, según se desprende de las publicaciones revisadas. El propósito de este trabajo es aportar a la discusión de la validez y confiabilidad de las puntuaciones o la información recopilada con los instrumentos aplicados en las aulas universitarias. Se consultaron varias publicaciones especializadas y se presentan algunas recomendaciones acerca de las fuentes de evidencia para sustentar la validez y la confiabilidad. Como mínimo, se sugiere la evidencia relacionada con el contenido y la consistencia de las puntuaciones o la información, al emitir juicios y tomar decisiones que afectan al estudiantado. Se concluye que se necesita mayor prudencia en las interpretaciones e inferencias de los aprendizajes, si no existe suficiente evidencia de la validez.

Just One More Thing: Getting the Most Out of One-Minute Papers

The one-minute paper (OMP) is an easy-to-implement classroom assessment tool that is particularly well-suited to the familiar one-shot library instruction session. This article explores the ways that the one-minute paper can benefit academic librarians. Examples from the literature on teaching & learning and the author’s own experience are used to illustrate potential benefits, including individualized outreach to students and program planning.

The CURE for Cultivating Fastidious Microbes

Course-Based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs) expand the scientific educational benefits of research to large groups of students in a course setting. As part of an ongoing effort to integrate CUREs into first-year biology labs, we developed a microbiology CURE (mCURE) that uses a modified dilution-to-extinction high throughput culturing protocol for isolating abundant yet fastidious aquatic bacterioplankton during one semester. Students learn common molecular biology techniques like nucleic acid extraction, PCR, and molecular characterization; read and evaluate scientific literature; and receive training in scientific communication through written and oral exercises that incorporate social media elements. In the first three semesters, the mCUREs achieved similar cultivability success as implementation of the protocol in a standard laboratory setting. Our modular framework facilitates customization of the curriculum for use in multiple settings and we provide classroom exercises, assignments, assessment tools, and examples of student output to assist with implementation.

The use of an online student response system to support learning of Physiology during lectures to medical students

Online-based response systems are increasingly used as a continuous assessment tool in classroom due to availability and ease of access. The present study aimed to validate the utilisation of online-based exercises for teaching to medical students. For this study, Socrative, a free online platform was used in teaching a physiology component of a second year module. Students’ performance and evaluation of this approach was investigated with regard to participation in the class, understanding of the concepts and performance in the final exam. The performance of the class in multiple choice questions (MCQs) related to Socrative daily activities at the end of module and final exams was greater by some 24% (P 0.05) compared to a previous year, 2014 where no Socrative activities were used. The students’ feedback regarding the utilisation of online-based exercises showed ~85% of respondents think that these activities were either ‘very important’ or ‘important’ to enhance their participation in the class and ~88% indicated that it is either ‘very useful’ or ‘useful’ to consolidate their understanding of this module’s material. The findings from this study indicate that the use of online-based exercises through Socrative was positively received by medical students as an interactive classroom activity that also enhanced performance.

English

There are numerous ways available for lecturers to assess their students’ learning progress and one practical way is through self-assessment. Instructors should not under-estimate their students’ capability and interest in assessing themselves. Instead they should be given the opportunity to be involved in the assessment process. One salient advantage of this practice is to enable students to identify their own strengths and weaknesses in order improve themselves. The main purpose of this article is to investigate the implementation of self-assessment as a classroom assessment tool among engineering students in Universiti Kuala Lumpur British Malaysian Institute. Specifically, this study intends to investigate the accuracy of engineering students when assessing their own writing skill and the students’ and lecturers’ reactions with regard to the use of self-assessment as one of the classroom tools for assessment in a university language course. The subjects of this study were 137 diploma students from several engineering courses. Data in the form of written assignments were collected throughout the study and analysed via students’ own analyses and lecturers’ evaluation. The findings revealed that majority of the students, most of whom were Malays, would under-rate themselves. With regard to the use of self-assessment in the classroom, most of the students remarked that self-assessment is something positive and most of them viewed the procedure as a meaningful assessing experience. Keywords: Interview; metacognitive; self-assessment; self-efficacy; students’ feedback. ABSTRAK Terdapat banyak kaedah yang disediakan untuk para pensyarah menilai kemajuan pembelajaran para pelajar dan salah satu kaedah yang praktikal adalah melalui penilaian kendiri. Sehubungan dengan itu, para pensyarah sepatutnya mempertimbangkan kebolehan serta minat pelajar untuk menilai kebolehan sendiri. Mereka perlu diberi peluang untuk melibatkan diri dalam proses penilaian. Antara kelebihan penilaian kendiri adalah kebolehan pelajar untuk mengenal pasti kekuatan serta kelemahan mereka, seterusnya memperbaiki kelemahan tersebut. Tujuan utama kajian ini adalah untuk menyiasat pelaksanaan penilaian kendiri sebagai alat penilaian dalam kelas di kalangan pelajar kejuruteraan di Universiti Kuala Lumpur British Malaysian Institute. Secara khusus, kajian ini bertujuan untuk menyiasat ketepatan pelajar fakulti kejuruteraan apabila menilai kemahiran penulisan mereka dan mengetahui reaksi pelajar dan pensyarah berhubung penggunaan penilaian kendiri sebagai salah satu kaedah penilaian di dalam bilik darjah untuk kursus bahasa Inggeris di universiti ini. Subjek kajian ini terdiri daripada 137 pelajar diploma yang dipilih daripada beberapa kursus kejuruteraan. Data dalam bentuk tugasan bertulis yang dikumpul sepanjang kajian dan dianalisis melalui penilaian kendiri di kalangan pelajar dan juga penilaian pensyarah. Hasil kajian telah menunjukkan bahawa majoriti pelajar, yang kebanyakannya terdiri daripada pelajar Melayu, didapati kurang berkeyakinan dalam proses penilaian kendiri. Untuk penggunaan sebagai penilaian kendiri di dalam bilik darjah secara menyeluruh, sebahagian besar daripada mereka berpendapat penilaian kendiri itu sendiri adalah sesuatu yang positif dan kebanyakan mereka melihat prosedur ini sebagai pengalaman yang bernilai serta bermakna. Kata kunci: Temubual; metakognitif; penilaian kendiri; efikasi kendiri; maklum balas pelajar

Quantitative methods intervention: What do the students want?

The shortage of social science graduates with competent quantitative skills jeopardises the competitive UK economy, public policy making effectiveness and the status the UK has as a world leader in higher education and research (British Academy for Humanities and Social Sciences, 2012). There is a growing demand for quantitative skills across all sectors, including business, public sector and charities (Nuffield Foundation, 2013). This preliminary report explores the usefulness of the one minute paper (OMP) classroom assessment tool (Wilson, 1986), firstly as a useful pedagogical tool and secondly its effect on undergraduate students’ attitudes and anxiety while participating in a research methods course. Whilst results showed that there was no statistically significant difference in student anxiety or student attitude levels pre module and post module, qualitative analysis of the students’ written feedback identified that students were engaged with the topic and that they sought active learning techniques. Implications and further research are considered.

Editorial: language testing in the Philippines

© L p Assessment reform is one of the keys to educational reform. In the Philippines, assessment reform is part of the K to 12 reform agenda implemented in June of 2012. As in any other reform, teachers are pressured to implement the changes in standards and student evaluation. One way to help teachers is by providing research reports that look into actual classroom assessment tools and models. School leaders also need to see how other educational institutions are able to successfully align national and school reforms. It is for this reason that this special issue brings together research reports that look into classroom-based assessment of writing and speaking as well as a report documenting the process of aligning standards and assessment in the school and department level. The first article will be of interest to those who have a writing process and writing assessment research agenda. The report provides a holistic scoring guide, a pilot-tested writing background questionnaire, and an idea generation process survey. Dr. Gustilo, the author of this paper, also reports findings that will be useful to those who want to find out if topic familiarity affects writing performance and if writing process affects written product. The second article, on the other hand, will be of interest to school leaders and education policymakers because it documents the process of aligning a school’s vision, its expected learning outcomes for all students, and assessment. It also describes the process that a department followed to integrate the school’s reform agenda in its English 1 syllabus. The third article is relevant to those who are exploring the topic of oral communication assessment. It reports how students used rubrics to understand their teacher’s expectations as well as how they used the scoring guide to assess their own performance. The fourth and final article, on the other hand, is relevant to those who are interested in the role of feedback. This article takes a different approach because it does not merely describe the comments given by language teachers, but it also compares the comments of language and non-language teachers. I hope that will issue will increase the interest of researchers not only in the Philippines but also in Asia as a whole on assessment reform. The collaborative efforts of researchers will help teachers and educational institutions to increase their assessment literacy and eventually improve teaching and learning. Finally, I would like to

Using threshold concepts to improve learning and drive curriculum reform in biochemistry

Threshold concepts are concepts that when mastered, represent a transformed understanding of a discipline, without which the learner cannot progress. They are therefore essential for learning. For example, equilibrium has been identified as a threshold concept in biology and is likely to be relevant for biochemistry. Preliminary data suggest that students bring incomplete knowledge of equilibrium into biochemistry courses and that biochemistry courses do not alter their understanding significantly. By focusing on threshold concepts, instructors can maximize the impact of instruction. We are beginning work with a community of biochemists, biologists and chemists, to 1) identify threshold concepts for biochemistry, 2) design classroom activities targeting these concepts, 3) disseminate classroom activities and assessment tools, 4) measure changes in student understanding. Our prior work linking assessment of student understanding of protein structure to curricular reform provides a model of a process that uses assessment and community input in a feedback loop to improve student learning.