Basics of Educational Assessment A diagnostic assessment activity in practice Study programme: English Language for Education Form of study: School year: Student's name: Self- assessment 5 4 3 2 1 N Excellent Above average Average Below average Very poor Criterion cannot be applied I use terminology of PD 4 I select appropriate methods and tools in accordance with the aim of a diagnostic activity 5 I gather appropriate data 4 I evaluate and interpret collected data 4 I formulate findings (diagnosis) and possible measures 4 Formal layout of the work 4 Peer-assessment 5 4 3 2 1 N Excellent Above average Average Below average Very poor Criterion cannot be applied He/she uses terminology of PD He/she selects appropriate methods and tools in accordance with the aim of a diagnostic activity He/she gathers appropriate data He/she evaluates and interpret collected data He/she formulates findings (diagnosis) and possible measures Formal layout of the work Diagnostics / Assessment of a pupil Work assignment: 1. Description / Characterization of a pupil: The student (M) I have chosen shows signs of advanced comprehension and understanding of language as well as reproduction skills and phonetic ability for someone of higher education level. The student has two Czech parents but displays abilities that would coincide with a bilingual child. The child is a passive learner and tends not to involve himself in physical activities, however, is still able to produce the language and complete the tasks at an above standard level than is to be expected. M is an emotional child who often feels as if things done by his classmates are unfair or that do not align with our class rules, he often expresses this to the class teachers. M comes from a standard background with slightly affluent home environment, however, this does not impact his emotional or social status in the classroom. 2. The aim of an assessment activity: To assess whether M has higher understanding of the content than the other students due to the way he perceives the activities or if the child is naturally gifted when it comes to language. This assessment may act as a guide to further and cultivate his learning in the following years. 3. The plan of an assessment activity (how long, where, when, whom the activity will be carried out with) The child attends a private, language focused kindergarten and is at preschool level. The child will be observed during a lesson and also in their free time, then a follow up interview to see what knowledge has been retained. The student has no known pedogogical diognosis or concerns as of completion of the assessment. a) Free time observation: Allowing the child interactions with others to observe how they interact, share, deal with issues among other children. This child also has the tendancy to translate teacher instructions, so the assessor will purposely ask the child to carry out tasks with classmates during the free time session. This will supported by notes and comments on the childs behaviour and speech. b) Lesson time observation: Observe the child during a structured task oriented session with care to observe how quickly the child can gain new vocabulary and how easily they retain that vocabulary. Retention will be checked the followind day in the form of a group recapitulation and then a short semi structured interview. A checklist will be created to complete in order to see how much time the child needed for retention of vocab and also if the child can hold the vocabulay in long term memory. c)Short semi-structured interview: The assessor will ask the child several questions about the content of the lesson to find out if the child was able to retain the information with little to no prompting. This will give important data in regards to the childs ability for recall as well as if they can apply the learnt vocabulary in new situations. 3 or 4 simple questions relating to the previous days lesson graded by how many times the questions needs to be asked in order for the child to recall the information. 4. Collecting and processing of assessment data from all used methods. Method 1. – Free time observation Attitude to learning/ different types of tasks · Interested in known topics. · Likes verbal activities as opposed to physical. · Prefers to watch and interact when necessary. · Usually understands instructions easily. · Observes then produces new content quickly. · Appears to be indifferent when other students are engaged in movement activities, games. · Usually, will not join physical activities unless the teacher asks/encourages him to do so. Communication and interaction with peers/ teachers · Interacts with his peers and teachers. · Can cooperate with peers but also perform tasks independently. · Asks for help when he is unsure. · Looks to teacher for support when unsure. · Aids his peers when they are unsure. · Forms full sentences and questions when asking for help or making a statement. · Able to maintain a train of though like coloring or counting several days in a row. General behavior and conduct · Can sometimes exhibit strong emotions when unable to make his point or feels attacked by peers. · Can exhibit ‘spacing out’ from time to time. · Follow the teacher’s instructions easily. · Will usually work quietly only rarely disturbing others. Other notes: · Can be uncontrollably emotional sometimes. · Pushes the boundary when it comes to appropriate language. · Is susceptible to following his peer’s poor behavior at times. Method 2. Structured lesson observation: Colours and Numbers lesson Attitude and learning behavior · M is able to focus and absorb the target language (1-10, basic colours) without much difficulty. · Our activities consisted of creating a number using a single shoelace except for 10. Then repeating the words after the English teacher. · Often volunteers to show or say what he knows. · Repeats colours (blue, yellow, green, red, orange, black, pink, purple, white) with great pronunciation. · Rarely makes mistakes and can self-correct a little. Communication and interaction with peers/ teachers · Acted as a translator for some of the other students. · Interacted much more verbally and not so involved when it came to the action elements. · Performed better when not seated near his male peers. General behavior and conduct · M behaves generally well in the session. · Struggles with focus when seated next to his peers. · Once moved away from them he can focus. · Is very eager to show previous knowledge of the topic or what he has just learned. · Struggled to contain his excitement when we practiced the colours and numbers sequences. Other notes: · During the lesson M was well behaved and followed the instructions quite clearly. · He has been improving greatly in his classroom behavior recently. Method 3. Semi structured interview: The very short semi structured interview consisted of several questions and using the same content from the previous day to see what information was retained from the lesson. There were 7 questions with potential for follow up questions if required. 1. M, what colour is the carpet? M- “is Blue” * FU1: What about the grass outside? M- “Grass is green” 2. M, can you make a 3 with the shoelace? M- “yes” – proceeds to creat a 3 using a shoelace. FU2: And now a 5? M- “uhuh” – Creates a 5. 3. How many people (classmates) are here today? M- (looks around and counts out loud) “One, two, three, four , five, six, seven, eight, nine, NINE, Josh” 4. How many girls are here? M-(looks around) “Anna, Sofi, Stazi” FU3: So how many? M- “three girls” 5. How many boys are here? M- “Six boys” 6. How many teachers? M- “Peta and Josh” FU4: So how many? M- “Two” 7. What colours shirts are we wearing? M- “ You Black and Peta has Blue” FU5: And our socks? M- “ You Green and Peta Orange” *- After answering without a subject, I reminded M to use “IT” when talking about objects such as a carpet or grass. 5. Formulate the findings. M has shown a great capacity for language and learning languages, many times the level of passively absorbed information is not seen but then M will reproduce content that was not taught in our sessions. He has shown a great interest in new vocabulary and structured speech with the native speaker in class. He actively seeks to communicate his ideas and issues in English and will ask how to express himself if he is not sure of the language needed. The observations have shown that he is relatively passive but will contribute and participate if urged to. The interview has shown that he is able to retain content with minimal effort and is extremely excitable when he knows he has given the correct answer, this may mean that his reward for learning new content is what is exciting for him and the thirst for that knowledge is clearly there. The interview has also shown us that he is able to process the questions and think before he answers, he hears the content understands what is needed, finds the information, then responds. Overall, he has shown great potential for language and learning of languages, with guidance he will progress rapidly and have exceptional language skills in the future. 6. Reflect your own experience with assessment activities, and after that evaluate the outcome of your work in the chart on the front page. I found this task interesting to really sit down and assess the student and to find out how they take in new information and how they are able to use the information they have to communicate. The task of formulating how to assess was more difficult than originally thought and I had to really create methods of assessing and then apply them. The fact of Involving the parents was intersting and challenging because only the mother can speak English. The father is not able to help in any way due to his lack of language skills and abilities. This was another hurdle to overcome due to the mother frequently travelling for work. In future assessments I would alter how I would gain the data for assessing and use different methods and written formats such as multiple choice questions or image choice questions. 7. Classmate evaluator will provide a peer-assessment of your work (both on the first page and verbally in writing at this point). The work from XY I have read seems very thorough, with many interesting insights into a young childs mind and workings. The interview seemed like a great approach and probably the only way to assess such a young child, but it worked well in my opinion. The structur was clear and well laid out to present the information about the child and the possible future growth for the student. Pedagogical support plan SCHOOL INFORMATION Pedagogical support plan (PSP) Name and surname of the child, pupil or student (“student”) M School Orbis, zlin Form Reasons for creating the PSP To provide guidence and support for the childs development and growth in language learning. Date of preparation 2/5/2023 PSP evaluation scheduled for - I. Characteristics of the student and their difficulties. The student (M) I have chosen shows signs of advanced comprehension and understanding of language as well as reproduction skills and phonetic ability for someone of higher education level. The student has two Czech parents but displays abilities that would coincide with a bilingual child. The child is a passive learner and tends not to involve himself in physical activities, however, is still able to produce the language and complete the tasks at an above standard level than is to be expected. M is an emotional child who often feels as if things done by his classmates are unfair or that do not align with our class rules, he often expresses this to the class teachers. M comes from a standard background with slightly affluent home environment; however, this does not impact his emotional or social status in the classroom. II. Setting the objectives of the PSP The objective of this PSP is to aid in the growth and improvment in Ms language skills and development. He has shown exceptional skills in English in the areas of speaking and listening. III. Support measures at school (a) Teaching methods Initiate more complex instructions and tasks to M. During free time we will develop his vocabulary through image association and repetative vocabulary practice. Provide feedback to parents and methods they can initiate at home to aid his learning. Provide the student with feedback and encourage positive behaviour in class. (b) Organization of education Working with M one-on-one will allow specific guidance in key areas. The focus will be on verbal repetition and pronunciation of target language. M will be tasked with improving his ability with specific English sounds such as TH PH CH. Complex structures will be taught focusing on question forms and tags. Parents will also be given key concepts of these sessions that M can work on at home. Provide student with image guided prompts for activities and objects (can be taken home also). (d) Aids Images for prompting. Worksheets with letters and colours and numbers. Interactive board for guided use and activities relating to English. Storybooks for listening and discussion. IV. Support measures for home preparation There will be a weekly discussion with parents about what has occured in the class sessions. Parents can work with child 5-10 minutes per day on the same material used in class sessions.