Learner Centered Assessment: Accounting for Students with Differing Abilities

     

     When I think about assessments of students with disabilities, my mind refers back to elementary school, and a girl named “Willie Mae.” She was beautiful, with big brown eyes, smart, somewhat quiet with long braided black hair and braces on her legs. She had contracted polio as a toddler. Because of her physical limitations, she was not asked to participate in many outdoor activities. But she was not exempt from the coursework. “Willie Mae’s” hands and arms had become restricted from a lack of physical therapy which made it tough for her to hold a pencil, much less to write. Fifty-five years ago there were no accommodations made; maybe educators were afraid to change their method of teaching the course materials but understand that in that era most coursework and assessments involved writing. testing, quizzes, and coursework included using her hands. So how could they have evaluated a student that has limited use of their hands and arms? An oral exam or a tape recording could have accomplished the same goal. At nine years old she had to be homeschooled, she just couldn't keep up, or so it was said at the time.

      As a regular practice, just as I did in Module 1 of my mini-course, on the first day of class, comprise a questionnaire called “Getting to Know You” including the question ‘What would you like me to know about you?’ Also, I don’t want to assume what a student can or can not do so I need to observe all my students when they are participating in classroom activities and plan various ways of participation so that no one feels excluded. The assignments in Module 1 and 2 include a skit and an interview. A learner that is limited visually, auditorily or physically could use a digital storytelling application called VoiceThread. This application will allow the student to talk, type, and draw right on the screen as well as create and share conversations around documents, snapshots, diagrams and videos that can be used collaboratively to create their skits and comprise interview questions.

     Through some reading about Universal Design I found some information about a study focused on the implementation of display technology to provide information to hearing impaired students, using Virtual Reality and  a smartphone application. These smartphone apps  were designed with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in order to help with learning of hearing impaired high school students. “The aim of using UDL in students of special needs is to provide them with suitable learning environment so that they can improve themselves to the best of their potential” (Izzo, 2012, pp. 343-350). There is no doubt in my mind that UDL has revolutionized learning.  As a potential educator in the 21st century, I want all my students to be engaged, and the course work to be accessible to a wide range of students with different needs. “Engagement is essential for the learning process, so learning how to use resources strategically towards given demands in a task can encourage resourceful, goal-driven, purposeful learning” (http://castprofessionallearning.org).

      A student may have a disability but is not disabled. Isn’t it a part of my job to make sure there is equal access to learning in the classroom? Three things that I will do make sure that my students feel included is to: treat everyone equitably, make sure that all students have full access to learning, and the tools they need and make them feel welcomed, supported, and valued as they learn. I have to be mindful that Universal Design “is” about designing course materials, content, and most important is that the instruction benefits all learners.

     We all learn and express ourselves differently.

References

CAST: Professional Learning. (n.d.). Top 10 UDL tips for assessment.Retrieved from http://castprofessionallearning.org/project/top-10-udl-tips-for-assessment/

M. V. Izzo, "Universal design for learning: enhancing achievement of students    with disabilities", Procedia Computer Science, vol. 14, pp. 343-350, 2012.

Technologies that Support Learners

 two technologies that support learners and may be useful in my online mini course are:

Google Docs–https://docs.google.com  
Google Docs has all the functionality of Microsoft Word but allows for collaboration between students and for easy-to-give and easy-to-receive feedback from teachers through the commenting and suggesting functions. 

• Can be used for both authentic assessments, the skit and the interview. Both performance activities will require collaboration between the students as well as feedback. 
• Sharing and commenting provide students with opportunities to receive immediate feedback on their writing from teachers and peers in the classroom. 
• The reference tools and spell checker provides students with convenient writing support from right on the page. 
• The built in research tool expands opportunities for students to engage in real world writing. 

PBS Students–https://www.pbslearningmedia.org/student 
Rather than take up critical time during class to show documentaries, teachers can have students download the free PBS Students app. 

• At home, instead of reading a boring textbook or reading an article on the specifics of Jim Crow for their historical subjects for the skits as well as discussions, students can use this app. 
• Students can watch short videos, read relevant current event articles, explore historical resources such as primary sources and audio clips, and even create graphics and images for the skit assignment.
• It can help with the social studies discussion for students of all ages.
  

My conclusion is that technology provides numerous tools that teachers can use in and out of the classroom to enhance student learning. Sometimes it's helpful to provide visual aids to complement teaching, stimulate discussion, or allow out-of-class teaching. Tools designed for this purpose, such as PowerPoint, can be used. The reasons I chose the two technologies above is to incorporate technology that can support student collaboration on creating new knowledge, reflecting on what they are learning, and enhance working together to achieve a deeper understanding of course material. 

Methods of Assessment

Assessment is the process of gathering data. 

Evaluation of the following assessment methods:

• Authentic Assessment requires the application of what students have learned. "Performance assessments call upon the examinee to demonstrate specific skills and competencies, that is, to apply the skills and knowledge they have mastered" (Stiggens, 1987, p. 34). 

An example of how I might include this assessment method in my online mini-course is for students to interview a person that lived during the Jim Crow era and get their opinions, and or experiences about discrimination during that time.

• Formative Assessment provides feedback and information during instruction, while learning is taking place. Formative assessment measures student progress but it can also assess my own progress as an instructor. A primary focus of a formative assessment is to identify areas that may need improvement so they can be readdressed for clarity.

An example or scenario of how I might include this assessment method in my online mini-course is to develop a concept map of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. I intend to use concept mapping as a formative assessment technique to enhance learning effectiveness. Students could enjoy sharing their concept maps with their class colleagues in small groups and publicize them in a blog they create.

• Summative Assessment takes place after the learning has been completed. Typically, no more formal learning is taking place at this stage other than learning which might take place through completing projects and assignments. This type of assessment is about a pupil’s overall performance at a specific point in their learning. It provides information about students progress in subject knowledge, understanding, as well as skills and capabilities.

An example of how I might include this assessment method in my online mini-course is a term paper, the drafts submitted throughout the semester could be used a formative assessment also.

• Self Assessment  "is a process of formative assessment during which students reflect on and evaluate the quality of their work and their learning, judge the degree to which they reflect explicitly stated goals or criteria, identify strengths and in their work, and revise accordingly" (Andrade, & Du, 2007, p.160).

A scenario of how I might include this assessment method in my online mini-course is to ask students to create an Instagram story of today’s lesson. What are the highlights of the lesson? What are the three main points of the lesson? Etc. Asking the students to post it to an Instagram teacher account.

Peer Assessment is a structured learning process for students to critique and provide feedback to each other on their work and equips them with skills to self-assess and improve their own work. When used in grading, peer assessment can give the instructor needed information on student performance, especially for large online classes.

A scenario of how I might include this assessment method in my online mini-course is to have students individually assess each other's contribution using a predetermined list of criteria. Grading is based on a predetermined process, which is an average of the marks awarded by members of the group. Questions to consider when grading could be:

"I like the way you...” “Show me where...” “I think you could...” “I think you could add...”

“I think you could change...” “I think you could use...” “I think you could improve...”

One assessment method from the list that was outside of my area of familiarity was the Authentic Assessment. I find it unique because it can integrate teaching, learning, and assessment and it provides multiple paths to a demonstration.

References

Andrade, H. & Du, Y. (2007). Student responses to criteria-referenced self-Assessment. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 32 (2), 159- 181.

Stiggins, R. J. (1987). The design and development of performance assessments. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 6, 33-42.