LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT

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During the Reflective Evaluation class, I have had the opportunity to learn and reformulate different aspects regarding evaluation and assessment. I have also had the chance to know diverse strategies and tools to incorporate the assessment process inside my classroom. Through this blog post I want to present one of the issues that impacted me the most during the participation in this class which is the concept of peer assessment.

Assessment is a systematic process that aims to improve our teaching practices and the learning processes of our students. Its goal is to know if students are meeting the learning goals and expectations of a course. The use of an effective assessment enables teachers to monitor students’ learning and do adjustments during the course to improve that learning.  

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Now, I have clear that assessment is not the same as grading and that the only summative assessment that benefits learners is one that has a real connection with a formative assessment (Stockman, 2015). This kind of practice definitely looks for the improvement of students outcomes taking into account their strengths and needs throughout the classroom experience and creating a positive relationship between teachers and students because they are provided with an effective feedback that let them improve their knowledge.

  

One form of formative assessment is the Peer Assessment. It is a process through which learners have the possibility to give feedback to their own partners’ work. It is a form of formative assessment because “the intent is to help students plan their learning, identify their strengths and weaknesses, target areas for remedial action, and develop metacognitive and other personal and professional skills” (Topping, 2009, p. 20).

This form of assessment called my attention because it could be implemented in different levels of school including elementary and very young learners (Scruggs & Mastropieri, 1998), so it is possible to create a process with children where they can start setting up a good sense of accountability, increase reflection in new situations and promote cooperative learning and self-awareness.

In the participation of this class I had the opportunity to read about different ways to incorporate peer assessment inside the classroom; these are some ideas that I pretend to use in order to start developing skills regarding this formative assessment:

Although I know that there is a lot to do in order to create an effective assessment in my teaching environment I expect that through this form of assessment, and doing  a lot of training and practice,  my students can be empowered to take responsibility for their own learning process, that peer assessment can enhance students to exchange their ideas engaging them with the class more genuinely and develop in them long –life assessment skills that can be useful not only in school but throughout their lives.

LUZ ANDREA FAJARDO GONZALEZ

References:

Topping, K. (2009). Peer Assessment. Theory Into Practice, 48(1), 20-27. doi:10.1080/00405840802577569

Peer Assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2015, from http://ctl.utexas.edu/teaching/assess-learning/feedback/peer-assessment

Peer-Assessment. (n.d.). Retrieved June 22, 2015, from http://www.cte.cornell.edu/teaching-ideas/assessing-student-learning/peer-assessment.html

Stockman, A. (2015, June 15). 10 Things You Don't Know About Formative Assessment - Brilliant or Insane. Retrieved June 22, 2015, from http://www.brilliant-insane.com/2015/06/10-things-you-dont-know-about-formative-assessment.html