CLO:

Discuss the relevance of using informal observations

and questions in assessing student performance.
Incidental observation
Occurs during the ongoing (deliberate) activities of
teaching and learning and the interactions
between teacher and students. In other words, an
unplanned opportunity emerges, in the context of
classroom activities, where the teacher observes
some aspect of individual student learning.
Whether incidental observation can be used as a
basis for formal assessment and reporting may
depend on the records that are kept.
Planned observation
Involves deliberate planning of an
opportunity for the teacher to observe
specific learning outcomes. This planned
opportunity may occur in the context of
regular classroom activities or may occur
through the setting of an assessment task
(such as a practical or performance activity)
Arguments against observation
Arguments Rebuttal
Lack of Learning outcomes that
representativeness have not been
Students may not demonstrated can be
demonstrate all relevant deliberately prompted.
learning outcomes in Assessment should be
natural settings. They planned as well as
may know or know how incidental. Teachers can
but the context may not ensure that assessment is
prompt them to comprehensive.
demonstrate this.
Arguments against observation
Arguments Rebuttal
Lack of observation Over time, teachers have
Teachers may not observe many opportunities for
the demonstration of a observation. It is not
learning outcome when it critical if particular
occurs, either because opportunities for
their attention is observation are missed.
elsewhere or because Some observation is
they fail to recognize it. deliberate and focused.
Arguments against observation
Arguments Rebuttal
Lack of control of No single occasion is
influences sufficient for judging a
The student can derive student’s demonstration
unintended cues and prompts of learning outcomes.
from the setting, even from
Multiple opportunities
the teacher, and these can be
unnoticed by the teacher. and a variety of contexts
Student performance may allow cross-checking the
then be misinterpreted. robustness of the
student’s performance.
Arguments against observation
Arguments Rebuttal
Lack of standardization Quality requirements for
All students do not teacher judgments are
‘evidence-based’ and
undertake the same tasks
‘defensible’. Tailoring and
under the same adaptation allow optimum
conditions. Teacher student performance and
judgments of student holistic interpretation of the
demonstrations of evidence (taking contextual
learning outcomes are factors into consideration).
therefore undependable.
Arguments against observation
Arguments Rebuttal
Lack of objectivity All assessment involves
Teacher judgments are sequences of subjective
subjective and prone to decisions; mechanistic
inconsistencies. Too marking schemes reflect
much is left to the earlier design decisions.
discretion of the teacher. Procedures to strengthen
and verify teacher
judgments can be
introduced.
Arguments against observation
Arguments Rebuttal
Possibility of stereotyping Stereotyping is not
Subjective judgments inevitable. Each
allow the possibility of assessment occasion can
stereotyping of students be approached as a fresh
in terms of other opportunity to test
performances or hypotheses derived from
characteristics. prior impressions.
Arguments against observation
Arguments Rebuttal
Possibility of bias Conscious bias is
Subjective judgments unethical. Unconscious
allow the possibility of bias requires constant
conscious or unconscious vigilance. It is difficult for
bias for or against bias to survive evidence-
particular individuals or based justification to
groups. students and their
parents (a form of
accountability).
Why use teacher observation?
 comprehensive — ensuring recognition of all
desired learning outcomes, especially those not
otherwise assessable than in classroom contexts;
 connected — situated within familiar learning
contexts and closely related to curriculum
frameworks, learning experiences and pedagogical
planning;
 contextualized — sensitive to the effects of context
on performance and deriving assessment evidence
from a variety of situations and occasions;
Why use teacher observation?
 authentic — interesting, challenging, worthwhile
and meaningful to students;
 holistic — emphasizing relatedness and
connections in learning and involving
performance on complex wholes rather than
separate components.
Methods of Informal Assessment
Method Purpose Guideline
Observation Enables teachers Plan for
Kid watching- to identify observation and
looking at children's be clear about
children in a behaviors, the purposes of
systematic way document the observation.
performance,
and make
decisions
Methods of Informal Assessment
Method Purpose Guideline
Anecdotal Provides insight Record only what is
Record into a particular observed or heard;
should deal with
Gives a brief behavior and a
the facts and
written basis for should include the
description of planning a setting (e.g., where
student specific teaching the behavior
behavior at one strategy occurs) and what
time was said and done.
Methods of Informal Assessment
Method Purpose Guideline
Running Helps obtain a Maintain
Record more detailed objectivity and
Focuses on a insight into try to include as
sequence of behavior over a much detail as
events that period of time possible.
occurs over time
Methods of Informal Assessment
Method Purpose Guideline
Event Helps identify Identify a target
sampling behaviors behavior to be
Focuses on a during a observed during
particular behavior particular event particular times
during a particular
over time (e.g., fighting
event (e.g.,
behavior at during
lunchtime, transition
behavior in a activities).
reading group)
Methods of Informal Assessment
Method Purpose Guideline
Time Helps identify Observe only
sampling when a particular during the time
child demonstrates
Record period specified.
a particular
particular events behavior; helps
or behaviors at answer the
specific time question, "Does
intervals (e.g., the child do
five minutes, ten something all the
time or just at
minutes)
certain times and
events?"
Methods of Informal Assessment
Method Purpose Guideline
Rating scale Enables teachers Make sure that
Contains a list of to record data key descriptor
descriptors for a when they are and the rating
set of behaviors observed scale are
appropriate for
what is being
observed.
Methods of Informal Assessment
Method Purpose Guideline
Checklist Enables teachers Make sure that the
A list of to observe and checklist includes
behaviors that are
behaviors easily check off
important for the
identifying what children program and for
children's skills know and are learning (e.g.,
and knowledge able to do counts from 1 to 10,
hops on one foot).
Methods of Informal Assessment
Method Purpose Guideline
Work Sample Provides a Make sure that the
Collection of concrete work sample
demonstrates what
children's work example of
children know and
that learning; can are able to do. Let
demonstrates show growth children help select
what they know and the items they
and are able to achievement want to use as
do over time examples of their
learning.
Methods of Informal Assessment
Method Purpose Guideline
Portfolio Provides Make sure the
Collection of documentation portfolio is not a
children's work of a child's dumpster but a
samples and achievement in thoughtful
other products specific areas collection of
over time; can materials that
include test documents
scores, writing learning over
work samples, time.
videotapes, etc.
Methods of Informal Assessment
Method Purpose Guideline
Interview Allows children Ask questions at
Engaging to explain all levels of
children in behavior, work Bloom's
discussion samples, or taxonomy in
through particular order to gain
questions answers insight into
children's
learning
Key factors in assuring the quality
of assessments
 Accountability (justification) means being
able to explain and defend assessment
judgments to students, their parent(s) and
other teachers.
 Verification (confirmation) means being
able to revisit the foundations for
assessment judgments — being able to
check their completeness, relevance and
veracity
Types of Record
A direct record keeps a ‘trace’ of the event
through an audio-recording, a video-
recording or a sequence of photographs. The
activity or event might be, for example, a
speech, a dramatic presentation, a group
activity or a practical task. The term ‘trace’
emphasizes that the record is not the same
as the event itself.
Types of Record
A written record can take the form of an
observation sheet or a logbook (diary of
events). Observation sheets can be more or
less structured: at one extreme they contain
checklists of learning outcomes; at the other
extreme they contain broad categories for
writing on-the-spot comments or
annotations; and in between these extremes
is a combination of them both.
‘High inference’ means that a judgment or
interpretation is made
‘Low inference’ means that the specifics of the event
are described (without any attempt to interpret
what they signify)
Thus, using a checklist of core learning outcomes
would involve high inference, whereas providing a
descriptive account of student performance
without direct reference to core learning outcomes
could involve low inference. In the latter case,
judgments relating to the demonstration of
learning outcomes can be delayed until a variety of
evidence has been collected.
Focus on product — keep artifact(s)
Focus on activity — record process
Direct record (‘trace’)
 Audio-tape
 Video-tape
 Photographs
Written record
 Observation sheet
Checklist (high inference)
Description (low inference)
 Logbook
Description of critical incidents
Description of key performance features
Advantages of using structured
observation sheets
 opportunity to share learning
expectations with students in advance
 encouragement of student self-
monitoring and self-assessment
 clarification of the desired learning
outcomes to guide learning
Advantages of using structured
observation sheets
focus on the desired learning
outcomes to guide teaching
cuing of attention to the full range
of relevant learning outcomes
having an available explicit and
standard recording format
Advantages of using structured
observation sheets
ease of recording of student
performance characteristics
structured means of providing
feedback to students.
Disadvantages of using a
structured observation sheet
 the need to allow for several levels of
learning outcomes on a single sheet
 it can be difficult to anticipate all the
learning outcomes that might appear
 it is possible that other serendipitous
learning outcomes will be missed
 students’ learning may be constrained by
listed learning outcomes.
Factors that affect the accuracy of
observations
 Prejudgments - judgments formed in
advance on the basis of prior
information or initial impressions.
 Prejudices - personal theories or
attitudes presuming that students with
particular characteristics will perform
in certain ways.
How to avoid prejudgments and
prejudices?
 Adopt a hypothesis-testing stance - ‘Have I seen
this evidence for what it truly signifies?’ and ‘Is my
perception of the evidence unclouded by
extraneous factors and preconceptions?’
 Use low-inference (descriptive) approaches
 Don’t depend exclusively on observation
 Build up a variety of evidence over time
 Where possible, have your observations verified by
another observer
Factors that affect the accuracy of
observations
 Selective perception - seeing and
hearing what we are predisposed to see
and hear
 Providing inadvertent clues
 Inconsistency
 Inappropriate inferences - drawing the
wrong conclusions
Examples of wrong feature focus
on student performance
 accepting simple/closed answers as if
they were open/complex answers
 interpreting non-verbal expressions
(gestures, attention, eagerness) as
indicating verbal proficiency
 confusing effort and involvement for
performance and achievement.