REFLECTION OF THE THIRD UNIT

REFLECTION OF THE THIRD UNIT

SELF-ASSESSMENT

Before reading this chapter and doing the assignments, I wasn’t very supportive of self-assessment. I believe that it is only intended for students who are truly aware of the importance of answering the self-assessment correctly in an honest way, and not giving themselves a higher or even lower mark.

But after reading everything that had to do with self-assessment, I learnt that self-assessment cannot be left aside, we shouldn’t rest importance from it, as it is as significant and relevant as formal or informal assessment. I believe that it is always important to consider and receive suggestions directly from students, that way we can learn from them too, in order to improve our classes or our teaching methods in the future.

But I also think that from all three, self-assessment is the most delicate one, because there are several factors that we should consider when we do it, and I think that the most important one is that we must be extremely clear with the students when we apply this type of assessment, because I think that we have to tell them that it won’t have an important weight in their final grade, or else, they will provide a higher mark. We must also choose the correct type of self-assessment, as we previously learnt, there are lots of types, and it would be according to our criteria that we have to choose an appropriate one, that would be both easy for the learners, but for us as teachers too, when it is time to make corrections.

So, I believe that self-assessment is a process that helps more the teacher than the students themselves, because with it, as teachers, we can realize if the goals that we established at the beginning of the unit, lesson or course were accomplished, and if the strategies that were applied are making a positive effect on the students, or if we need to change them. If we don’t pay attention to the students’ progress, their objectives and their needs, we won’t be good teachers, since we always have to remember to design each class and activity according to what the students need, expect, and their own capacity.

SELF-ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT FOR US

SELF-ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT FOR US

Please answer the following statements or questions on a scale from 0 through 3, meaning:

0-      UNABLE

1-      PARTLY

2-      MOSTLY

3-      TOTALLY

SELF-ASSESSMENT	RATING
I am able to give a complete definition of the term assessment.	3
I read all of the three chapters at the time that I was asked to.	3
I contributed with interesting and significant ideas with the members of my team.	3
I enjoyed this course	3
I can understand and identify completely the three types of assessment.	3
I am able to make a self-assessment instrument, and name the several types of them.	3
I am able to plan, make and correct formal-assessment.	3
I am able to identify the non-linguistic aspects that pertain to informal assessment.	3
I now have the tools in order to carry on with the complete process of assessment.	3
In the future, I will apply what I have learnt in this course in my classes. I am aware of the positive and negative consequences of the backwash effect.                                                                                                                  3	3
I am able to identify the several types of formal tests.	3
I  can establish the correct criteria in order to make the rubrics in formal-assessment.	3
I will be able to provide the correct and required feedback to my students.	3
I am able to choose the appropriate type of format in a test when assessing.	3
I am able to establish a correct code when grading the students’ tests.	3
I can establish a fair percentage for each type of assessment.	3
I am aware that students need motivation when getting their grades.	3
I have done every homework that was left during this course.	3
I have the complete attendance in this course.	3

So, (20) x (3) = 60/3= 20 points
                          
                                                            TOTAL= 20 POINTS

Since this instrument is worth 20 points, to get the correct mark, we have to add the different rates that we got, and divide it between 3.


I felt very comfortable with this course, even though we had very much material to work with, it was very interesting to learn to assess students in different ways and for different purposes. I think that my performance was good, since I understood all the three chapters of the books, I made all of the requested activities, I understood the main concepts, and learnt the different ways of assessing students,  I also kept the portfolio organized and uploaded the activities to the blog.

SELF ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT BY MAYTE MURUA

SELF-ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT FOR STUDENTS

SELF-ASSESSMENT INSTRUMENT FOR STUDENTS

For each question, please mark the correct option, in the most honest way possible.

SELF-ASSESSMENT	YES	NO
Do you think that you can apply what we saw on this unit outside the classroom?
Are you able to identify the differences between the simple past and the present perfect?
Do you have a general knowledge about different foods in countries around the world?
Are you able to make and answer questions with proper intonation, using Did you…?
Can you use verbs properly (grammatical usage in writing) in the simple past tense?
Can you use verbs properly (grammatical usage in writing) in the present perfect tense?
Are you able to make and answer questions with proper intonation, using  Have you…?
Are you able to use the simple past in a correct form inside a conversation?
Are you able to use the present perfect appropriately in a conversation?
Are you able to identify several cooking methods?
Are you able to listen for specific information in an audio tape?
Can you use sequence adverbs properly when giving instructions in oral form to make a dish?
Can you write your own recipe using the sequence adverbs correctly?
Are you able to describe, through the spoken form, your favorite food?
Are you able to read a text, and then, answer some questions based on it?
Are you able to name at least three sequence adverbs?
Did you found the activities made during the class useful, necessary and meaningful?
Do you think you need to review again what you saw in this unit again?
Did the teacher solve all of your doubts, if you had any?
Can you have a conversation about eating habits?

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SELF-ASSESSMENT

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SELF- ASSESSMENT

ADVANTAGES

ü  It can provide the teacher with very practical and functional information about what students want from the course, the progress that they have made, their difficulties, their favorite activities or even some suggestions or improvements that the teacher can implement later on.

ü  Therefore, it helps students to think about their own learning, learning progress and problems, and then, find ways to improve.

ü  If well answered, self- assessment is a very efficient method of getting information, because it gathers direct answers provided by the students themselves.

ü  It is a crucial stage of the learning process; therefore it mustn’t be forgotten or given less importance in the learning or teaching process.

ü  As it was previously mentioned, it is an excellent way for the teacher to identify problems, difficulties or questions that the students may have.

ü  When students are able to analyze their own progress, they can find ways, methods or strategies to make improvements and be better students and learners.

ü  Some students tend to ignore the corrections, suggestions or feedback made by the teachers: but when a learner is somehow forced to correct himself/herself, there exists a higher probability that those errors will be analyzed, and omitted.

ü  There is a very wide variety of techniques for self-assessment, so the teacher can choose the one that she considers best for the class.

ü  As teachers, we can decide when to apply the self-assessment, whether it is applied at the beginning, middle or end of the course.

ü  It helps the students to get a better idea of the goals that they are trying to reach.

ü  It can give feedback to the teacher about the students’ progress, without having the need to correct or revise every single piece of work or homework made by the students, so it can be very time saving.

ü  It is a process that involves actively the students in the classrooms, and gives them the power to evaluate themselves.

ü  It has a direct impact on the learning process.

ü  Gives feedback into the learning process.

ü  Feedback from the self-assessment can give teachers useful information that helps them to plan a lesson.

ü  Students can take responsibility for their own learning.

DISADVANTAGES

ü  Students can be undecided or if they haven’t received enough feedback from the teacher, they may have doubts regarding to the progress that they have made; therefore they can provide wrong answers, making the self-assessment process invalid.

ü  Students need to have a very high degree of consciousness, so they can be able to analyze the errors that they have made, but most importantly, their performance during the course or unit.

ü  Self-assessment can be very time consuming, so as teachers we have to plan it beforehand and write an adequate format, so it doesn’t take students too long to answer it, and so it is easy to check.

ü  Sometimes, it is only suitable for intermediate to higher levels, because they are more aware of the importance of the process, and they analyze a lot easier.

ü  Maybe the most significant disadvantage of all, would be the lack of maturity. Some students are not ready to have a self-assessment task, mostly because they aren’t aware of the seriousness or importance of the process; therefore they tend to give themselves a higher grade, which alters the final result. It can also happen the other way around, but we believe that this is the most common.

ü  Another aspect, very linked to the above one, would be that as teachers, we have to make it clear to students that self-assessment won’t have an important weight on their final grades, otherwise, the same situation as the one mentioned above can repeat itself.

ü  Needs to be integrated with other classroom activities.

ü  It implies knowledge about language and learning which most second language learners don’t have.

ü  Self-assessment only works if students have been trained to self-assess themselves.