SATHEESH MUBARAK ENGLISH SCHOOL MANJERI MALAPPURAM

Sunday, March 22, 2009

CLASSROOM INTERACTION

To practice critical thinking, students need to participate in the discourse of the discipline--to think, speak, and be listened to as they participate in the

discipline's particular mode of inquiry. Students will not get enough practice just by talking to the instructor, and very little by just listening to the instructor. Students develop competency and become critical thinkers in classroom that provides opportunities for intensive, structured interaction among students.

The principles of collaborative learning.
The most direct way to create classroom interaction is to adopt the principles of collaborative learning. In collaborative learning, the teacher designs a learning problem or task, and then assigns small groups of students to address the problem collaboratively. Students are typically instructed to reach a consensus on an issue, or to create a group product. The purpose of the collaborative learning is to enhance learning and achievement by encouraging peer-to-peer interaction and cooperation.
The value of group learning.
Students engaged in structured group work are typically talking, rehearsing ideas, probing judgments, empathizing, listening, questioning--in other words, practicing the skills of critical thinking. Research in colleges and universities indicates that collaborative learning enhances the mastery of content for most students. Even more dramatically, collaborative learning improves students' attitudes toward the course and the discipline. They not only learn more, they like what they are learning more.
Designing collaborative tasks.
Collaborative tasks can range from elaborate to very simple. Ideally, students should be given clear, explicit instructions in writing. Teacher may have already modeledthe task or procedure that students are asked to perform. The task should be clearly related to the goal of the course, and--even more effective—related to subsequent tests. Finally, a task should require some form of consensus or agreement, even if the group ends up agreeing that they can't agree.
The teacher's role.
The teacher's role is most important in designing the task. Once groups have begun work, the teacher should do no more than unobtrusively monitor the process. The groups need to resolve problems themselves. When groups are finished, it is important spend some time processing their results. The focus should be on what the groups
discovered, not what the teacher knows or thinks.
The interactive classroom.
Whether by small groups or whole-class discussion, teachers can do much to create an interactive classroom. Chet Meyers suggests some basic rules for consistently encouraging student interaction:
Begin each class with a controversy or problem.
Instead of "We're going to cover this...," begin with "Here's the question we want to answer."
Use silence to encourage reflection.
A reflective pause in your own discourse tells students that "I'm thinking about this, and so should you." Pauses after teacher-initiated questions encourage student responsibility; a teacher should resist the temptation to fill the silence or answer the question for them.
Arrange and use classroom space to encourage interaction.
Move chairs, have students face each other, form a semi-circle or circle. During lecture, move to different parts of room, or teach from the back and have students write on the board.
Create a friendly environment.
Teachers should invest some class time in learning students' names, asking about other classes, inquiring about students' lives outside college, or sharing something about their own. These informal interactions offer a chance to use facilitative responses (see the related resource "Teacher Talk and Student Success"). It may seem like schmoozing, but studies indicate that this kind of hospitality pays off in higher student achievement

RECENT TRENDS IN EVALUATION

Old system of Evaluation

  • Evaluating achievement of learners by a terminal written examinations.
  • Evaluating only cognitive development.
  • Affective and Psychomotor domain almost completely neglected.
  • Evaluating memory of the learners.
  • Give more importance to summative evaluation.
  • Marking system used for evaluation.
  • Not continuous.
  • Not comprehensive.

New system of Evaluation

  • National Education policy (1986) stressed the need for making evaluation continuous and comprehensive.
  • Give stress to formative and summative evaluation at the same time.
  • Evaluate all aspect of development through different methods.
  • Evaluation should fulfill the function of formative evaluation leading to immediate feedback, knowledge of result, diagnosis and remediation.
  • Summative evaluation should fulfill the function like gradation and placement.
  • Evaluation should be continuous and comprehensive
  • Grading system and semester system introduced in evaluation.
  • General Education department in Kerala has implemented a revised scheme of evaluation for SSLC examination with effect from 2005 onwards.
  • Evaluates pupils with regard to three dimensions.
    • Part – I : Evaluation of scholastic skills
    • Part – II : Evaluation of Co-Scholastic abilities
    • Part – III : Evaluation of Personal and Social Qualities.

Part I : Evaluation of scholastic skills

  • Term end Evaluation (TE)
  • Continoius Evaluation (CE)
    • Projects
    • Assignments
    • Practical/seminar
    • Records/collection
    • Class test

Part II: Evaluation of Co-Scholastic abilities

  • Work Experience
    • Making of teaching aids
    • Making of school stationery
    • Making of saleable items
    • Making of artistic and eco-related items
  • Art Education
    • Drawing and clay modeling
    • Music
    • Acting
    • dancing
  • Health and Physical Education
  • Under Health Education, Evaluate the knowledge, interest and practice of the student with respect to
    • Personal hygiene
    • Environmental hygiene
    • Nutrition
    • First aid
    • Communicable disease
    • Knowledge about disease resistance
  • Under Physical Education, evaluation is to be performed with respect to
    • Physical Abilities
    • Drill and march
    • Physical Exercise
    • Recreational games

Part III : Personal and Social Qualities

  • Communication Skill
  • Character and conduct
  • Regularity
  • Group working skill
  • Leadership quality
  • School club activities

Marking system in Evaluation

  • The system of assessing students' performance on a test by assigning numerical values is called marking system.
  • Marking system is generally on a zero to hundred point scale or 101 point scale.
  • The relative performance of the students from this scale is easy to understand.
  • Marking system has its own limitations
    • Precise judgment is not justifiable.
    • Subjectivity involved in assigning marks.

Grading system in Evaluation

  • When students' level of performance are classified into a few classificatory units using letter grades, the system of assessment is called grading system.
  • In grading, classification is made on 5 point, 7 point, 9 point scale etc.
  • Fundamentally a 'grade' is a score.
  • Grading considered to be more scientific way of evaluation as it solves the problems of borderline cases by including all the pupils falling within a wider range with in the same grade.
  • Identifies the students' performance level within a wide range.
  • Grading involves the use of set of specialized symbols whose meaning ought to be objectively defined in terms of specific criteria.
  • In 5 point scale grading system the categories are

Score %

Letter grade

interpretation

75 and above

A

Outstanding

60 – 74

B

Very good

45 – 59

C

Good

30 – 44

D

Average

Below 30

E

Below average


  • In 9 point scale grading system the categories are

Score %

Letter grade

interpretation

90 – 100

A+

Outstanding

80 – 89

A

Excellent

70 – 79

B+

Very good

60 – 69

B

Good

50 – 59

C+

Above average

40 – 49

C

Average

30 – 39

D+

Marginal

20 – 29

D

Need improvement

Below 20

E

Need improvement

Types of Grading

Grading --------> Direct Grading


--------------> Indirect Grading --------------> Absolute Grading


-------------------> Relative Grading


Direct Grading

  • Judgment of any given phenomenon (achievement, skills, personality traits etc.) by the evaluator in terms of most appropriate letter grade without assigning the scores.
  • In examinations, the evaluator will award a particular grade to the answer for each individual questions on the basis of it's quality.
  • Then the Grade Point Average (GPA) calculated for obtaining the overall grade of the student in a particular subject.

Letter grade

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

Numerical Value of the Grade

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Calculation of GPA

Q.No.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Obtained Grade

F

B

A

G

D

H

E

E

B

F

C

B

E

D

B

Grade Point

4

8

9

3

6

2

5

5

8

4

7

8

5

6

8


GPA = 4 + 8 + 9 + 3 + 6 + 2 + 5 + 5 + 8 + 4 + 7 + 8 + 5 + 6 + 8

15

= 5.86 = 6

Hence Overall Grade will be 'D'

Direct Grading

  • Massive and time consuming.
  • Mistakes can't be ruled out.
  • Suitable for small groups.
  • Not feasible for large-scale examinations.

Indirect Grading

  • Method of awarding grades through marks.
  • Marks are awarded to the individual questions on the basis of the prescribed marking scheme.
  • Find out total mark and converted to grade.
  • This can be done in two ways
    • Absolute
    • Relative

Absolute Grading

  • Some fixed ranges of scores are determined in advance for each grade.
  • The score obtained by a student in a subject is converted into corresponding grade.
  • Eg.

Score %

Letter grade

interpretation

90 – 100

A+

Outstanding

80 – 89

A

Excellent

70 – 79

B+

Very good

60 – 69

B

Good

50 – 59

C+

Above average

40 – 49

C

Average

30 – 39

D+

Marginal

20 – 29

D

Need improvement

Below 20

E

Need improvement


Relative Grading

  • The grade range is not fixed in advance.
  • The fundamental premise of relative grading is that if an evaluation result is plotted on a graph, the graph will be assumes the form of a Normal Probability Curve


Procedure to find out Relative Grading

  • Group of students are divided into different groups.
  • Find out number of students in each grade using statistical methods.
  • Using this number of students in each grade, find out the range of each grade.
  • Corresponding grades are given to each students who fall in different ranges.

Example

  • Suppose there are 50 students.
  • Marks in 50


  1. 45 45 44 43 42 42 41 39 38
  2. 35 35 33 32 31 30 30 30 29
  3. 28 27 27 27 26 25 25 24 24
  4. 23 23 22 22 21 21 21 20 20
  5. 18 18 18 18 11 10 9 8 7


Let the group is divided into 5 Grades (A, B, C, D, E)

Find out number of students in each grade using statistical methods.

  • A Grade 5 students
  • B Grade 10 students
  • C Grade 20 students
  • D Grade 10 students
  • E Grade 5 students

Using this number of students in each grade, find out the range of each grade.

Then Range of Each Grade are

  • 50 – 43 A Grade
  • 42 – 32 B Grade
  • 31 – 22 C Grade
  • 21 – 18 D Grade
  • Below 18 E Grade


Evaluation System introduced in Kerala

  • Evaluates pupils with regard to three dimensions.
    • Part – I : Evaluation of scholastic skills
    • Part – II : Evaluation of Co-Scholastic abilities
    • Part – III : Evaluation of Personal and Social Qualities.


Part-I : Evaluation of Scholastic skills

  • Sub divided into two parts.
  • 1. Continuous Evaluation (CE)
  • 2. Term end Evaluation (TE)


Continuous Evaluation (CE)

  • The Continuous Evaluation for each scholastic subject is made on the basis of
    • Projects
    • Assignments
    • Practical/seminar
    • Records/collection
    • Class test
  • Scores assigned for each CE items


CE Items

Score

Projects

20

Assignments

20

Practical / Seminar

20

Record / Collection

20

Class test

20

Total

100


  • Total score 100 is fixed for the purpose of convenient for initial evaluation.
  • Total score obtained for all the CE items are converted as 'out of 10', and that score will be entered as score for CE for the subject concerned.
  • In the case of English, Social Science and Mathematics, the CE scores of both Paper-I and Paper-II club together and given in 20.


Term end Evaluation (TE)

  • Time bound written test covering all academic areas.
  • Evaluate higher order abilities (comprehension, analysis, synthesis, evaluation)


Academic Performane (Scholastic Ares)

Sl.No

Subject

Score

Total Score

Max. Time in hours for TE

CE

TE

Pra

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

First Language Paper –I

First Language Paper – II

English

Hindi

Social Science

Physics

Chemistry

Physics

Mathematics

Information Technoligy

10

10

20

10

20

10

10

10

20

10

40

40

80

40

80

40

40

40

80

10







20

50

50

100

50

100

50

50

50

100

40

1.5

1.5

2.5

1.5

2.5

1.5

1.5

1.5

2.5

1

Total

130

490

20

640

17.5


Part – I Grading

  • Find out total score (CE + TE) for each subject.
  • Convert the total score into percentage score.
  • This percentage score converted into grade using 9 point absolute grading.

9 point Absolute Grading

score

Score %

Letter grade

interpretation

45 – 50

90 – 100

A+

Outstanding

40 – 44

80 – 89

A

Excellent

35 – 39

70 – 79

B+

Very good

30 – 34

60 – 69

B

Good

25 – 29

50 – 59

C+

Above average

20 – 24

40 – 49

C

Average

15 – 19

30 – 39

D+

Marginal

10 – 14

20 – 29

D

Need improvement

Below 10

Below 20

E

Need improvement

Part – II. Evaluation of Co-Scholastic abilities

  • Work Experience
    • Making of teaching aids
    • Making of school stationery
    • Making of saleable items
    • Making of artistic and eco-related items
  • Art Education
    • Drawing and clay modeling
    • Music
    • Acting
    • dancing
  • Health and Physical Education
  • Under Health Education, Evaluate the knowledge, interest and practice of the student with respect to
    • Personal hygiene
    • Environmental hygiene
    • Nutrition
    • First aid
    • Communicable disease
    • Knowledge about disease resistance
  • Under Physical Education, evaluation is to be performed with respect to
    • Physical Abilities
    • Drill and march
    • Physical Exercise
    • Recreational games

Part – II Subject & their maximum score


Sl.No

Subject

Max. Score

1

2

3

Work Experience

Art Education

Health & Physical Education

20

20

20

Total

60


Part – II Grading

  • Evaluation based on 5 point absolute grading.

5 point Absolute Grading

Obtained Score

Score %

Letter grade

interpretation

15 and above

75 and above

A

Outstanding

12 – 14

60 – 74

B

Very good

9 – 11

45 – 59

C

Good

6 – 8

30 – 44

D

Average

Below 6

Below 30

E

Below average

Part – II. Evaluation of Personal & Social Qualities

  • Items to be Evaluated in Part – III are
    • Communication Skill
    • Character and conduct
    • Regularity
    • Group working skill
    • Leadership quality
    • School club activities

Part – III Grading

Evaluation based on 5 point direct grading.

5 point Direct Grading

Obtained Score

Value Point

interpretation

A

5

Outstanding

B

4

Very good

C

3

Good

D

2

Average

E

1

Below average

Semester System

  • Academic year divided into two parts.
  • Course are designed to cover one semester (instead of one year) and that final examination are held twice a year.

Merits of Semester System

  • The quantities of the content in various subject would be proportionated suitably into semesters.
  • Helps the students to achieve their objective in a better way.
  • Continuous assessment being an important component of semester encourages the student to work systematically throughout the course.
  • Periodical tests, prepares the students continuously for the final examinations, thereby eliminating the fear of unknown.
  • In a semester system, there is increased rapport and relationship between teachers and student.

Internal assessment

  • Assessment of learner's behavior changes qualitatively by the way of internal judgment is known as internal assessment.
  • Internal assessment is continues periodic and internal.
  • Internal assessment does not necessarily replace the examinations.
  • Internal assessment demands that the outcomes of learning a particular subject.
  • The main purpose of introducing internal assessment is to integrate teaching and evaluation and to test those skills and abilities which cannot be tested through a written examinations at the end of a course.

Disadvantage of Internal assessment

  • Personal prejudices and subjectivity may affect the quality of assessment.
  • Lack of basic infrastructure facilities of the school may negatively affect the right assessment.
  • Lack of enthusiasm and interest of the teachers may affect effective assessment.

CONSTRUCTION OF AN ACHIEVEMENT TEST


 

Achievement Test

  • Any test designed to assess the achievement in any subject with regard to a set of predetermined objectives

Major steps involved in the construction of achievement test

  • Planning of test
  • Preparation of a design for the test
  • Preparation of the blue print
  • Writing of items
  • Preparation of the scoring key and marking scheme
  • Preparation of question-wise analysis

1. Planning of test

  • Objective of the Test
  • Determine the maximum time and maximum marks

2. Preparation of a design for the test

  • Important factors to be considered in design for the test are:
    • Weightage to objectives
    • Weightage to content
    • Weightage to form of questions
    • Weightage to difficulty level.

Weightage to objectives

  • This indicates what objectives are to be tested and what weightage has to be given to each objectives.

Sl.No

Objectives

Marks

Percentage

Knowledge 

12 

Understanding 

Application 

24 

Analysis 

32 

Synthesis 

16 

Evaluation 

Total

25

100

Weightage to content

  • This indicates the various aspects of the content to be tested and the weightage to be given to these different aspects.

Sl.No

Content

Marks

Percentage

Sub topic - 1 

15 

60 

Sub topic - 2 

10 

40 

Total

25

100


 

Weightage to form of questions

  • This indicates the form of the questions to be included in the test and the weightage to be given for each form of questions.

Sl.No

Form of questions

No. of Questions

Marks

Percentage

Objective type 

14 

28 

Short answer type 

14 

56 

Essay type 

16 

Total

22

25

100

Weightage to difficulty level

  • This indicates the total mark and weightage to be given to different level of questions.

Sl.No

Form of questions

Marks

Percentage

Easy 

20 

Average 

15 

60 

Difficult 

20 

Total

25

100

3. Preparation of the blue print

  • Blue print is a three-dimensional chart giving the placement of the objectives, content and form of questions.

Objectives

Form of Qtn

Content

Knowledge

Under-standing

Application

Analysis

Synthesis

Evaluation

Grant Total

O

SA

E

O

SA

E

O

SE

E

O

SA

E

O

SA

E

O

SA

E

Sub Topic- 1

2

(4)

  

1

(2)

  

2

(4)

2

(1)

   

4

(1)

 

2

(1)

  

2

(1)

 

15

Sub Topic – 2

1

(2)

  

1

(2)

   

2

(1)

  

4

(2)

  

2

(1)

    

10

Total Marks

3

0

0

2

0

0

2

4

0

0

4

4

0

4

0

0

2

0

25

Grand Total

3

2

6

8

4

2

Note: O – Objective Type, SA – Short Answer Type, E – Essay Type

The number outside the bracket indicates the marks and those inside

indicates the number of questions.

4. Writing of items

  • The paper setter write items according to the blue print.
  • The difficulty level has to be considered while writing the items.
  • It should also checked whether all the questions included can be answered within the time allotted.
  • It is advisable to arrange the questions in the order of their difficulty level.


     

    GOVT. GIRL'S HIGHER SECONDARY SCHOOL, MALAPPURAM

    ACHIEVEMENT TEST

    Std: IX                            Time : 45 Mts.

    Div. : D         MATHEMATICS
            Max. Marks: 25

        


     

    Instruction


     

    Q. 1.

    Q. 2.

    Q. 3.

    Q. 4.


     


 


 

5. Preparation of the scoring key and marking scheme

  • In the case of objective type items where the answers are in the form of some letters or other symbol a scoring key is prepared.

Scoring Key

Q.No 

Answer 

Marks 

½

½

½

½

½


 

  • In the case of short answer and essay type questions, the marking scheme is prepared.
  • In preparing marking scheme the examiner has to list out the value points to be credited and fix up the mark to be given to each value point.


 

Marking Scheme

Q.No 

Value points 

Marks 

Total Marks

Value Point – 1

Value point – 2

Value point – 3

Value point – 4

½

½

½

½

2

Value Point – 1

Value point – 2

Value point – 3

Value point – 4

½

½

½

½

2


 

6. Preparation of Question-wise Analysis

Question-wise Analysis

Q.No

Content

Objectives

Form of Questions

Difficulty Level

Marks

Estimated Time

( In Mts.)

1

Sub topic – 1

Knowledge

Objective Type

Easy

½

1

2

Sub Topic – 2

Understanding

Objective Type

Average

½

1

3

Sub Topic – 2

Application

Objective Type

Easy

½

1

4

Sub Topic – 1

Knowledge

Objective Type

Easy

½

1

5

Sub Topic – 2

Understanding

Objective type

Average

½

1

5

Sub Topic – 1

Analysis

Short answer

Average

2

3

6

Sub Topic – 1

Synthesis

Short Answer

Difficult

2

3

7

Sub topic – 2

Application

Short answer

Easy

2

3

8

Subtopic – 1

Analysis

Essay

Average

4

10


 

TYPE OF TEST ITEMS

  • Objective type
  • Short answer type
  • Essay Type

1. OBJECTIVE TYPE

  • An objective type of test item is one which the response will be objective.
  • Objective type test item broadly classified into two:
    • Supply type ( Recall Type)
      • The respondent have to supply the responses.
    • Selection type ( Recognition Type)
      • The respondent have to select the responses from among the given responses.


         

Objective Type – 4 Type


 

  1. True – False Items (Alternate Response Type
    1. Multiple Choice Items
    2. Matching Type Items
    3. Completion Type Test Items


       

Advantages of Objective Type Items

  • A large amount of study material can be tested in a very short period time
  • Economy of time.
  • Objectivity of scoring.
  • No bluffing
  • It reduces the subjective element of the examiner to the minimum.
  • If carefully planned, it can measure the higher mental process of understanding, application, analysis, prediction and interpretation.

Limitations of Objective type items

  • Difficulty in preparing good items.
  • Problem of guessing.
  • Problem of cheating.
  • Inefficiency in testing complicated skills
  • High printing cost.
  • Emphasis on testing superficial knowledge.

2. Short answer type

  • A question requiring three value points at most may be defined as a short answer question.
  • Value points diminish the subjectivity.
  • Help in ensuring wide coverage of content.

Advantages of Short answer Type Items

  • Large portion of the content can be covered in a test.
  • No opportunity for guessing.
  • Easy to construct, because it measures a relatively simple outcomes.
  • It can be made quit objective by carefully fixing the value points.
  • Useful in evaluating the ability to interpret diagrams, charts, graphs, etc.
  • If carefully prepared, deep level objectives understanding, application and problem solving skill can be evaluated.

Limitations of Short answer Type Items

  • It is more subjective than the objective type of items.
  • It may encourage student to memories fact and develop poor study habits.
  • Mechanical scoring is not possible

3. Essay type

  • It is free response test item.
  • Help in ensuring a wide coverage of content and variety of objectives.
  • Help in evaluating complex skills.

Advantages Essay Type Items

  • Easy to prepare.
  • Useful in measuring certain abilities and skills.
  • Permit the examinee to write down comprehensively what he knows about something.
  • Promote originality and creative thinking.
  • Possibility of guess work can be eliminated.
  • Reduce chance on the spot copying.
  • Low printing cost.

Limitations of Essay Type Items

  • Minimum validity.
  • Lack of reliability.
  • No objectivity.
  • Rote memory is encouraged.
  • It is a time consuming test item.