Visual Assessment

Using Active Learning techniques benefit students greatly as discussed in the introduction to this chapter, and creating opportunities for using this method with assessment really does produce excellent results.Students who work with assessments on this level eventually gain a concrete understanding about:

• the various components of an answer;
• how to build an ideal solution to a problem/question;
• how/where they 'hit' each Level;
• different versions of an answer to the same question;
• exploring links/categorisations, themes and trends.

Read the about the whole activity about how to make assessment more exciting by using Active Learning techniques.

Can assessment be engaging?

How often do you hear a big sigh filling the classroom when you utter the words 'assessment'? Many classes will react in a similar way however much time you have spent creating the brilliantly structured mock exam. If you can get them interested in assessments and make them see that progress will occur often if they put their minds to it, then the sigh might be replaced with looks of concentration instead - or maybe that's expecting too much of our students? Here follows a couple of ideas that will hopefully get students engaged in their learning and about assessment.

Speed-AFL

There are different ways to do this activity.One way is to hand students one of their own answers and get them to peer-mark based on set criteria. Students need to complete their assessing in pairs facing each other and the first one to spot e.g. a Level 3 wins; or the first one to find a number of examples; the solution to a problem; etc.

Another way of doing the same task is to show students an answer that deals with something many of them find difficult to overcome. They then have to mark the answer using a student-mark sheet which you have prepared (maybe a generic one if that is possible). Students then answer a question/problem on their own. After they have finished (all of this needs to occur within one lesson to have the greatest impact)they peer-mark each others work. Same as before, the first one to spot where they have ticked all the criteria wins.

Speed-AFL may seem a bit gimmicky but both varieties do this well:

• give concrete evidence that they can improve and what they need to do to progress further. show the class what makes a good answer.
• make them 'see' that they can progress between but also within lessons.
• challenge them to beat their fellow classmates!

Read more over at Staffroomproject.com