Chapter 13: Assessment Procedures: Observational Techniques,

Peer Appraisal, and Self Report

Vincent D. Deocampo

III-A BSITE

Assessment and Evaluation

Prof. Lucila Fetalvero

Direct observation is the means we have for assessing some aspects of learning and development. The use of anecdotal record can turn informal teacher observations into systematic source of information about student development. Judgements and reports made by students themselves are also a valuable source of information in many areas of learning and development. Peer judgements are especially useful in assessing personal-social development and self-report methods provide a fuller understanding of students’ needs, problems, adjustments, interest, and attitudes.

Learning outcomes and aspects of development can generally be assessed by:

Observing students as they perform and describing or judging that behaviour (assessing interactions with other students)

Asking their peers about them (assessing social relationships)

Questioning them directly (assessing expressed interest)

ANECDOTAL RECORDS

Factual descriptions of the meaningful incidents and events that the teacher has observed. Each incident should be written down shortly after it happens.

Teachers’ daily observations give them a wealth of information concerning the learning and development of their students.

A good anecdotal record keeps the objective description of an incident separate from any interpretation of the behaviour’s meaning.

Uses of Anecdotal Records

For obtaining data pertinent to a variety of learning outcomes and to many aspects of personal and social development.

The problem in using anecdotal records is not so much what can be assessed as what should be assessed.

We cannot observe and report on all aspects of student behaviour, no matter how useful such records might be. Thus, we must be selective in our observations.

What Behaviours to Observe and Record

◦ Confining our observations to those areas of behaviour that cannot be assessed by other means.

◦ Limiting our observations of all students at any given time to just a few types of behaviour.

◦ Restricting the use of extensive observations of behaviour to those few students who are most in need of special help.

Advantages and Limitations of Anecdotal Records

They depict actual behaviour in natural situations.

Records of actual behaviour provide a check on other assessment methods and also enable us to determine the extent of change in the student’s typical patterns of behaviour.

Can be used with very young students and with students who have limited basic communication skills.

Another serious limitation of anecdotal records is the difficulty of being objective when observing and reporting student behaviour.

Effective Use of Anecdotal Records

Determine in advance what to observe, but be alert for unusual behaviour.

Analyze observational records for possible sources of bias.

Observed and record enough of the situation to make the behaviour meaningful.

Make a record of the incident as soon after the observation as possible

Effective Use of Anecdotal Records

Limit each anecdote to a brief description of a single incident.

Keep the factual description of the incident and your interpretation of it separate.

Record both positive and negative behavioural incidents.

Collect number of anecdotes on a student before drawing inferences concerning typical behaviour.

Obtain practice in writing anecdotal records.

PEER APPRAISAL:Guess-Who Technique

Each student is presented with a series of brief bahavior descriptions and asked to name those students who best fit each description. The description may be limited to positive characteristics or they may also include negative behaviors.

The guess-who technique is based on the nomination method of obtaining peer ratings and scored by simply counting the number of mentions each student receives on each description.

PEER APPRAISAL:Sociometric Technique

Method for assessing the social acceptance of individual students and the ocial structure of a group.

Used to measure students’ acceptance as seating companions, work companions, and play companions at the later elementary school level.

Tabulating Sociometric Results

Chose: Rejected:

Bill H. X Steve D.

Carlos L. X Bob F.

Mike A.

Donna A.

Pete V.

The Sociogram

The matrix table is useful for organizing sociometric data for future and determining the social acceptance of individual students. A graphic picture of the social relations in a group, which may be plotted directly from the data recorded in the matrix table.

Uses of Sociometric Results

Organizing classrooms groups

Improving individual students’ social adjustment

Improving groups’ social structure

Assessing the influence of school practices on students’ social relations