Discussion in class.课堂讨论。

     -What Is Assessment? -什么是评估？

     -Why We Do Assessment?-什么是评估？

Assessments are essential to the learning process, providing students with feedback on their understanding of course material. However, traditional assessments, such as multiple-choice tests, often fail to provide meaningful insights into students’ knowledge and skills. In this article, we will explore how assessments can be made more meaningful and provide more valuable feedback to students.

One way to make assessments more meaningful is by using open-ended questions. These questions require students to think critically and apply their real-life knowledge. This type of assessment allows for a more thorough evaluation of a student’s understanding and can provide a deeper insight into their strengths and weaknesses.

Another way to improve assessments is by incorporating formative assessments. Formative assessments are designed to provide feedback during the learning process, allowing students to make adjustments and improve their understanding. This type of assessment can be as simple as a quick quiz or as complex as a group project.

Incorporating technology into assessments can also make them more meaningful. For example, online assessments can be designed to provide instant feedback and personalized recommendations for improvement. In addition, digital tools like video and audio recordings can also assess students’ presentation skills and other non-cognitive abilities.

Assessments should also be aligned with the learning goals and objectives of the course. This alignment ensures the assessments are relevant to the material taught and provide meaningful feedback on the student’s progress. In addition, when assessments are aligned with course goals, students are more likely to see the value in their learning and engage in the assessment process.

Incorporating diverse assessment methods can also make assessments more meaningful. For example, incorporating portfolio assessments, where students compile a collection of their work over time, can provide a more comprehensive view of their learning and achievements. This assessment can also give students a sense of pride in their work and a deeper appreciation for their progress.

Finally, assessments should be used as an opportunity for growth and development. Assessment feedback should help students identify areas for improvement and develop strategies to achieve their learning goals. Assessments should also be seen as an opportunity for students to demonstrate their mastery of course material and showcase their achievements. Making assessments meaningful is crucial to the success of the learning process. By incorporating open-ended questions, formative assessments, technology, alignment with course goals, diverse assessment methods, and a growth mindset, assessments can provide valuable feedback to students and help them achieve their full potential.

评估对学习过程至关重要，为学生提供有关他们对课程材料理解的反馈。然而，传统的评估，如多项选择测试，往往无法对学生的知识和技能提供有意义的见解。在本文中，我们将探讨如何使评估更有意义，并为学生提供更有价值的反馈。

使评估更有意义的一种方法是使用开放式问题。这些问题要求学生批判性地思考并应用他们的现实生活知识。这种类型的评估可以更全面地评估学生的理解，并可以更深入地了解他们的优势和劣势。

改进评估的另一种方法是纳入形成性评估。形成性评估旨在在学习过程中提供反馈，让学生进行调整并提高他们的理解力。这种类型的评估可以像快速测验一样简单，也可以像小组项目一样复杂。

将技术纳入评估也可以使其更有意义。例如，可以设计在线评估以提供即时反馈和个性化的改进建议。此外，视频和音频记录等数字工具还可以评估学生的演讲技巧和其他非认知能力。

评估还应与课程的学习目标和目的保持一致。这种一致性确保评估与所教材料相关，并提供有关学生进度的有意义的反馈。此外，当评估与课程目标保持一致时，学生更有可能看到他们学习的价值并参与评估过程。

采用不同的评估方法也可以使评估更有意义。例如，结合作品集评估，学生随着时间的推移汇编他们的工作集，可以提供更全面的学习和成就视图。这种评估还可以让学生对自己的工作感到自豪，并对自己的进步有更深的欣赏。

最后，应将评估作为增长和发展的机会。评估反馈应帮助学生确定需要改进的领域，并制定策略以实现他们的学习目标。评估也应被视为学生展示他们对课程材料的掌握和展示他们成就的机会。使评估有意义对于学习过程的成功至关重要。通过结合开放式问题、形成性评估、技术、与课程目标的一致性、多样化的评估方法和成长心态，评估可以为学生提供有价值的反馈并帮助他们充分发挥潜力。

       Assessment is  to explored how people learn .There are two  main types of assessment :

       1.Formative assessment : Use formative assessments to provide learners information, guidance, and feedback during the learning experience. Additionally, data from formative assessments allow educators and designers opportunities to adjust content during the learning experience. Formative assessment techniques allow learners opportunities for valuable performance feedback during the development process as they learn new knowledge, skills, and abilities covered during the learning experience. Some examples of formative assessment techniques include observations & feedback, discussions, exit slips, practice exams and practice presentations.

       2. Summative assessment : Summative assessments generally take place after covering larger amounts of content or multiple learning experiences. Results are used to provide grades or levels of accomplishment or achievement

        As O'Connor says, the “order of operations” in teaching should be: first, student relationships and wellness; second, learning; and third, assessment. When we approach assessment practices, we should not lose sight of our priorities.

评估是探索人们如何学习，评估主要有两种类型：

      1.形成性评估：使用形成性评估在学习过程中为学习者提供信息、指导和反馈。此外，形成性评估的数据使教育工作者和设计师有机会在学习过程中调整内容。形成性评估技术使学习者在学习过程中学习新知识、技能和能力时，有机会在发展过程中获得有价值的绩效反馈。形成性评估技术的一些例子包括观察和反馈、讨论、退出单、练习考试和练习演示。

      2. 总结性评估：总结性评估通常在涵盖大量内容或多次学习经历后进行。结果用于提供成就或成就的成绩或水平

       正如奥康纳所说，教学的“运作顺序”应该是：首先是学生关系和健康；第二，学习；第三，评估。当我们进行评估实践时，我们不应忽视我们的优先事项

Formative Assessment

  Educators and designers use formative assessments to provide learners information, guidance, and feedback during the learning experience. Additionally, data from formative assessments allow educators and designers opportunities to adjust content during the learning experience. Formative assessment techniques allow learners opportunities for valuable performance feedback during the development process as they learn new knowledge, skills, and abilities covered during the learning experience. In formal learning settings you might consider the situation where an educator asks questions of learners. Based on responses, the educator can adjust the learning experience. Some examples of formative assessment techniques include observations & feedback, discussions, exit slips, practice exams and practice presentations.  

形成性评估

 教育工作者和设计师使用形成性评估在学习过程中为学习者提供信息、指导和反馈。此外，形成性评估的数据使教育工作者和设计师有机会在学习过程中调整内容。形成性评估技术使学习者在学习过程中学习新知识、技能和能力时，有机会在发展过程中获得有价值的绩效反馈。在正式的学习环境中，您可能会考虑教育者向学习者提问的情况。根据反馈，教育者可以调整学习体验。形成性评估技术的一些例子包括观察和反馈、讨论、退出单、练习考试和练习演示。

Summative Assessment

         Summative assessments are generally what you consider ‘assessments’ such as midterms, final exams, chapter tests, or research papers. As you can tell from those examples, summative assessments generally take place after covering larger amounts of content or multiple learning experiences. Results are used to provide grades or levels of accomplishment or achievement..

Learn  more   from  https://www.edglossary.org/summative-assessment/

Review of formative vs. summative assessments by reading the following overview article from Carnegie Mellon University.

            In the realm of summative assessments the idea of creating real world student-centered learning and authentic assessment experiences are gaining traction.  Authentic assessments are usually task- or performance-based activities and showcase many skills a learner has gained throughout a unit or course.  Authentic assessments require higher order thinking and problem-solving skills.  Because they mimic real world scenarios, authentic assessments are more engaging, meaningful, and worthwhile (than traditional assessments) to learners of all ages. Examples of authentic assessments include portfolios, lab experiments, simulations, performances, creation of animation/videos. Authentic assessments are typically evaluated using rubrics, designed to include course standards and objectives.

Click here to read more on authentic assessment. 

Implement  Formative and Summative in Distance  learning.

 FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT AT A DISTANCE

       Schools are closed but schooling goes on, and it remains crucial that teachers find ways to see what students are learning.

       Whether we use synchronous or asynchronous online sessions, whether we call it distance or virtual learning, we’re all challenged to provide meaningful education experiences at a distance as the education world grapples with the impact of Covid-19. This type of learning is nothing new, but it is new to many of us and has caused us to quickly shift our practices.

       Formative assessment at a distance is challenging but possible, and we still need to check for understanding and provide meaningful feedback. The practices we use will look and sound different than they do in the classroom. Here are some ideas to consider.

       -Know your purpose: There are so many tools to use to check for understanding. As it is important to have routines and still have variety, select two to four tools that work well for you and your students. Focusing on just a few allows students to experience tools they’re used to, while also ensuring that checking for learning doesn’t get boring.

       Make sure the tools you use fit your purpose. If you need to see students’ process, select a tool that can capture that, such as Animoto or Flipgrid. If you need to check their content knowledge, try Kahoot or Quizlet.

       -Collect data over time: Formative assessment is a process, and it’s important to collect evidence of learning over time. While you may teach and dictate which digital tools students can use, work with students to have them document their learning along the way. Give them guides or checkpoints to let them know what they need to submit and when they need to do so.

       -Focus on feedback: When checking for understanding, it’s important to communicate the feedback that comes from it. As a teacher, you can provide written and/or oral feedback through videos or sound recordings. If you’re doing synchronous sessions, you can put students in breakout groups to provide feedback to one another—if you do this, you’ll need to give them clear feedback rules. Asynchronously, students can post work and provide feedback over a longer timeframe.

       -Check for understanding in synchronous sessions: Those in-the-moment checks for understanding that we did in the classroom were valuable, allowing us to adjust instruction and meet students where they were. That kind of check-in is still important. Some synchronous tools have built-in formative assessment capabilities, such as Yes and No buttons, and some have private chat features that can allow you to know, in real time, what students know and don’t know. You can supplement a tool like Zoom with Peardeck to assess along the way if those functions are not available.

       These check-ins help you provide just-in-time feedback, and can guide your thinking about who might need further support later through resources, intervention, or small-group instruction through breakout groups in a synchronous session.

       -Leverage personal conversations: Conversing with students remains the most powerful and meaningful way to check for understanding, in my opinion. In our distance learning environment, we run the risk of being further isolated. By scheduled individual sessions with students, we can assess their learning and provide feedback with a real human connection. In fact, we should be focusing more on these types of assessments in the distance learning environment, Video tools like Marco Polo and Flipgrid can bring a human element to the assessment process.

       -Check in on SEL: In addition to checking in on academic learning, be sure to check in on students’ well-being and their overall distance learning experience. Simple questions can prompt students to share their feedback:

                What’s working?

                What’s not working well?

                What would you recommend?

       This is crucial because this way of learning is newer for almost all of us and thus requires ongoing reflection and feedback. We recently asked these questions at my school in the high school and found out that students were struggling with extended synchronous sessions. We modified the sessions to be shorter, and provided more breaks too.

       Similarly, at an elementary school in China where a friend of mine works, students kept saying they missed seeing their teachers. The teachers knew they couldn’t replicate the powerful in-person experience, but they decided to record weekly personal videos for their students to share feedback and more importantly, connect with students on a human level. Use formative assessment to adjust instruction and stay true to social and emotional learning.

       -Make it useful: Data is useless unless it is used. When we collect and examine formative assessments, we need to use what we learn from them to inform instruction. We might find out that a synchronous session didn’t go so well, and thus a reteach needs to be offered in a different way, or that specific students need further support and resources, or that only a small group of students stay for the last part of a synchronous session while the rest sign off. All of those data points tell us something we can use to provide timely feedback, adjust instruction, and plan ahead.

Summative Assessment in Distance Learning

       All schools are challenged with trying to implement effective teaching in the distance learning environment, and assessment is certainly part of that.  And the schools will need summative assessments of student learning, whether they report them as a grade or pass/fail.Whether schools are using regular grades or not, teachers need to accurately assess learning while their students are at home.

       It’s important that teacher  not rely solely on tried-and-true summative assessment practices and strategies during this time. Teachers reflect on those practices and strategies and approach assessment differently.   

       These are some helpful ideas to consider for summative assessment in distance learning:

       -Stop assessing everything: We know it will take much longer to move through our curriculum, so there is not enough time to cover what we intended when we had being in the classroom in mind. We need to make strategic decisions about what is “need to know” and what is “nice to know.”

       -Assigning performance tasks and performance items: This isn’t a new practice for assessment, but in these times of distance learning, it’s important that the assessments we design for students demand that they apply their knowledge to new and novel situations. Performance tasks do that, and they create engaging multistep opportunities for students to show what they know.  This means they change their assessments to be more performance-based. Teachers can also consider long-term PBL projects that also leverage performance tasks.

       - Moving from one big event to a series of smaller events: Performance tasks are a research-based practice to assess student learning. However, the tasks we give students may be too much for them during this time of uncertainty and anxiety. If students are required to complete multiple performance tasks, across multiple disciplines or classes, that can create stress that is detrimental to student wellness. Depending on what is being assessed, teachers may be able to take these tasks and split them into shorter tasks or performance items to be completed over a longer term rather than in one sitting.  

       -Using conversations and oral defense:  Some  educators say that “students must always be prepared to explain their thinking or learning with their teacher, and they know that a teacher may ask for an explanation of assessment answers one on one.” Conversations as one of the best ways to check for understanding, and this holds true for summative tasks as well. Students can do presentations or engage in an oral explanation or defense of their final product. This provides further evidence of student learning.

       -Leveraging technology tools: Many students do not have access to technology, so these strategies may not apply. However, there are ways to use technology to support summative assessment practices. You can have students take the assessment at the same time, during a synchronous virtual session. This is similar to timed in-class writing. Moodle , for example, allows you to time quizzes and tests. Some  online tools for assessment, can show patterns in work submitted and play back the process. And student-created videos are great tools for students to share what they know.

       -Teaching academic honesty and trust students: We need to acknowledge there is no foolproof way to ensure academic honesty, and that is OK.  Teachers need to educate students about academic honesty, adding that if there is a problem in this area, we may not have intentionally educated students on it.

Teacher need to have an asset-based approach where they trust them to do the right thing and engage them in teachable moments around academic honesty.  

       -Using professional judgement:   Teachers can decide that a summative assessment should instead be formative and then reteach and support students in learning before attempting another summative assessment. And if a teacher wonders about a student’s academic honesty on a summative, they can meet with that student to make an informed judgement. We need to trust not only students but also our teachers.

 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------      Reference  

Andrew Miller “Formative Assessment in Distance Learning”

       https://www.edutopia.org/article/formative-assessment-distance-learning /April 7, 2020.