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MODULE 3
ASSESSMENT IN THE AFFECTIVE DOMAIN

INTRODUCTION
Assessment is an essential and powerful tool in the teaching and learning process. Moreover, it is
a process of obtaining data with which we could measure student competence and learning
outcomes. The process begins with the identification of the specific target goals before collecting
and interpreting the information.
Assessment of student learning requires the use of a variety of techniques for measuring
outcomes which plays a significant role in effective teaching and learning processes. Assessment
shall be used primarily as quality assurance to track student progress to the attainment of
standards, promote self-reflection,and personal accountability for one’s learning, and provide a
basis for the profiling of student program.
This unit discusses the taxonomy developed in the affective domain as a starting point of our
discussions on measurement and evaluation in this particular educational domain of interest
.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of this module, the students should be able to:
 Enumerate the different levels in the taxonomy of the affective domain.
Discuss each of these levels;
 Discuss the need theories on motivation: Maslow, Herberg and ERG theories.
 Enumerate the various types of rating scales and explain how these rating
scales are formulated.

CONTENTS OF THE MODULE

This module contains the following lessons:
Lesson 5: The Taxonomy in the Affective Domain
Lesson 6: Development of Assessment Tools

DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO USE THE MODULE PROPERLY

In order to benefit profoundly from this module, please be guided by all the key points
presented below.
1. This module contains two (2) lessons. Each lesson is explained substantively. Read the
explanations thoroughly so that you would understand the lesson entirely.
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2. On the first page of each lesson, you will find the specific learning outcomes (SLOs) of
each lesson. SLOs are knowledge and skills you are expected to acquire at the end of the
lesson.Read them heartily.
3. You must answer the Learning Activities/Exercises (LAEs). The LAEs are designed to
help you acquire the SLOs.
4. Feel free to chat, call, text or send me an email if you have questions, reactions, or
reflections about the modules’ contents or activities.
5. The Practice Task/Assessment and the Assignment shall be checked by me.

LESSON 5
THE TAXONOMY IN THE AFFECTIVE DOMAIN

LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of this module, the students should be able to:

 Enumerate the different levels in the taxonomy of the affective domain.
Discuss each of these levels;
 discuss the importance on the study of attitude;
 Explain the need theories on motivation: Maslow, Herberg and ERG theories;
 Value the spirit of teamwork and collaborative learning among the learners.
MOTIVATION/PROMPTING QUESTIONS
The students are asked individually on the following questions. Why do we need to study
the taxonomy of the affective domain? Is it important in this subject? Why?
DISCUSSION
The Taxonomy in the Affective Domain

The taxonomy in the affective domain contains a large number of objectives in the
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literature expressed as interests, attitudes, appreciations, values, and emotional sets or biases.The
descriptions of each step in the taxonomy called from kratwohl’s Taxonomy of Affective Domain
(1964) are given as follows:

Receiving is being aware of or sensitive to the existence of certain ideas, material, or

phenomena and being willing to tolerate them. Examples include: to differentiate, to accept, to
listen, to respond to.

Responding is committed in some small measure to the ideas, materials, or phenomena

involved by actively responding to them. Examples are: to comply with, to follow, to commend,
to volunteer, to spend leisure time in, to acclaim.

Valuing is willing to be perceived by others as valuing certain ideas, materials, or

phenomena. Examples include: to increase measured proficiency in, to relinquish, to subsidize,
to support, to debate.

Organization is to relate the value to those already held and bring it into a harmonious
and internally consistent philosophy. Examples are: to discuss, to theorize, to formulate, to
balance, to examine.

Characterization by value or value set is to act consistently in accordance with the values
he or she has internalized. Examples include: to revise, to require, to be rated high in the value,
to avoid , to resist, to manage, to resolve.

Affective Learning Competencies

Affective desired learning competencies are often stated in the form of instructional
objectives. What then are instructional objectives?

1. Instructional Objectives are specific, measurable, short-term, observable student

behaviors.
2. Objectives are the foundation upon which you can build lessons and assessments that
you can prove meet your overall course or lesson goals.
3. Think of objectives as tools you use to make sure you reach your goals. They are the
arrows you shoot towards your target (goal).
4. The purpose of objectives is not to restrict spontaneity or constrain the vision of
education in the discipline ; but to ensure that learning is focused clearly enough that both
students and teachers know what is going on , and so learning can be objectively measured.
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Different archers have different styles, so do different teachers. Thus, you can shoot your arrows
(objectives) in many ways. The important thing is that they reach your target (goals) and score
that bullseye!

In the affective domain, and in particular, when we consider learning competencies, we

also consider the following focal concepts:

Attitudes. Attitudes are defined as a mental predisposition to act that is expressed by

evaluating a particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor. Individuals generally have
attitudes that focus on objects, people or institutions.Attitudes are also attached to mental
categories. Mental orientations towards concepts are generally referred to as Values. Attitudes are
comprised of four components:

1. Cognitions – Cognitions are our beliefs, theories, expectancies, cause-and –effect

beliefs, and perceptions relative to the focal object.

2. Affect – The affective component refers to our feeling with respect to the focal object
such as fear , liking, or anger.

3.Behavioral Intentions – Behavioral intentions are our goals , aspirations, and our
expected responses to the attitude object.

4. Evaluation – Evaluations are often considered the central component of attitudes.

Evaluations consist of the imputation of some degree of goodness or badness to an attitude
object.

Motivation. Motivation is a reason or set or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior,

especially human behavior as studied in psychology and neuropsychology. The reasons may
include basic needs (e.g.,food, water, shelter) or an object, goal, state of being, or ideal that is
desirable, which may or may not be viewed as “positive”, such as seeking a state of being in
which pain is absent.

The need theory is one of these theories. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs
theory is the most widely discussed theory of motivation. The theory can be summarized as thus:

A. Human beings have wants and desires which influence their behavior , only
unsatisfied needs can influence behavior , satisfied needs cannot
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B. Since needs are many , they are arranged in order of importance, from the basic to the
complex.
C. The person advances to the next level of needs only after the lower level need is at least
minimally satisfied.
D. The further the progress up the hierarchy, the more individuality , humanness and
psychological health a person will show.
The needs , listed from basic (lowest, earliest) to most complex (highest, latest) are as
follows:
- Physiological , food,clothing,shelter
- Safety and Security, home and family
- Social: being in a community
- Self- esteem
- Self-actualization.

Herzberg’s two factor theory is another need theory of motivation , Frederick Herzberg’s two
factor theory , concludes that certain factors in the workplace result in job satisfaction, while
others do not , but if absent lead to dissatisfaction. He distinguished between:

- Motivators (e.g. challenging work, recognition, responsibility) which give positive

satisfaction, and
- Hygiene factors (e.g. status, job security, salary and fringe benefits) which do not
motivate if present , but if absent will result in demotivation.

Finally, created by Clayton Alderfer , Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was expanded, leading
to his ERG theory (existence, relatedness and growth). Physiological and safety , the lower order
needs, are placed in the existence category, love and self-esteem needs in the relatedness
category. The growth category contained the self – actualization and self-esteem needs.

Learning Activities/Exercises

ACTIVITY NO.1

Answer the following questions:

1. Enumerate the different levels in the taxonomy of the affective domain. Discuss each
of these levels.
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2. What is an attitude? Why is the study of attitude important? How will understanding of
attitudes and predisposition enhance teaching?

Activity No. 2

Name: ___________________________________________ Date: ______

What is motivation? Discuss the need theories on motivation : Maslow, Herberg and ERG
theories. Give examples each theory.

Teacher Intervention
The teacher created a students’ directory that includes the student name, home address,
preferred learning delivery mode, available gadgets, contact number, email address and
connectivity. The students are opting to pass their answers/output and ask queries regarding the
subject matter via email, messenger, text message, or they can drop their modules at the
guardhouse/ NORSU gate.

Practice Task/Assessment
Why are the “needs” as presented by Maslow arranged in a hierarchy? What do you mean
by a hierarchy of needs?

Feedback to Assessment
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Please be guided with the following criteria in answering your assessment in the essay part.
Criteria Points
Content (Relevance of topic) 10
Organization (Unity of thought, flow of discussion 10
Total: 20 points

Answers to Learning Activity 1

*Varied Answers
Answers to Learning Activity 2
*Varied Answers

Answers to Practice Task / Assessment 1

*Varied Answers

Assignment

Make a learning insight on what you have learned in lesson five (50 words only).

References/Reading Materials
Cajigal, Ronan M., MA,Ed. and Mantuano, Maria Leflor D., MA,Ed., Assessment of Learning 2
Santos, Rosita De Guzman, Ph. D., Advanced Methods in Educational Assessment and

LESSON 6
DEVELOPMENT OF ASSESSMENT TOOLS
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, students are expected to:
1. Give the meaning of what is a self-report?
2. Enumerate the various types of rating scales and explain how these rating scales are
formulated..
3. Develop the value of sharing ideas among the learners..
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MOTIVATION/PROMPTING QUESTIONS
1. What are the standard assessment tools to be used in assessing attitudes,interests, and
motivations?

DISCUSSION

DEVELOPMENT OF ASSESSMENT TOOLS

Assessment tools in the affective domain, in particular, those which are used to assess
attitudes, interests, motivations, and self-efficacy, have been developed. There are certain good
practices that are considered good practices in developing these instruments. We consider a few
of the standard assessment tools in the affective domain.
Self-Report – Self report is the most common measurement tool in the affective domain.
It essentially requires an individual to provide an account of his attitude or feelings toward a
concept or idea or people. Self reports are also sometimes called “written reflections” . In using
this measurement tool, the teacher requires the students to write his/her thoughts on a subject
matter , like , “ why I Like or Dislike Mathematics”. The teacher ensures that the students write
something which would demonstrate the various levels of the taxonomy e.g. lowest level of
receiving up to characterization.
Rating Scales – A rating scale is a set of categories designed to elicit information about a
quantitative attribute in social science. Common examples are the likert scale and 1- 10 rating
scales for which a person selects the number which is considered to reflect the perceived quality
of a product. The basic feature of any rating scale is that it consists of a number of
categories.These are usually assigned integers.

Semantic Differential Scales

The Semantic Differential (SD) tries to assess an individual’s reaction to specific words,
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ideas or concepts in terms of ratings on bipolar scales defined with contrasting adjectives at each
end.

Ratings are combined in various ways to describe and analyze the person’s feelings. A
number of basic considerations are involved in SD methodology.
- Bipolar adjective scales are a simple , economical means for obtaining data on
people’s reactions. With adaptations , such scales can be used with adults or children,
persons from all walks of life, and persons from any culture.
- Ratings on bipolar adjective scales tend to be correlated, and three basic dimensions
of response account for most of the co-variation in ratings.The three dimensions ,
which have been labeled Evaluation, Potency, and Activity (EPA), have been
verified and replicated in an impressive variety of studies.
- EPA measurements are appropriate when one is interested in affective responses.
The EPA system is notable for being a multi-variate approach to affect measurement.
- The SD has been used as a measure of attitude in a wide variety of projects.
Thurstone and Likert Scales
Thurstone is considered the father of attitude measurement. He addressed the issue of
how favorable an individual is with regard to a given issue. He developed an attitude continuum
to determine the position of favorability on the issue.
Below is an example of a Thurstone scale of measurement.
Directions: Put a check mark in the blank if you agree with the item.
1. Blacks should be considered the lowest class of human beings. (scale value -0.9)
2. Blacks and Whites must be kept apart in all social affairs where they might be taken
as equals. (scale value = 3.2)
Below is an example of the use of a Likert Scale:
Statement: I do not like to solve algebraic equations.
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Response Options:
1. Strongly Disagree
2. Disagree
3. Agree
4. Strongly Agree

Learning Activities/Exercises

Activity No. 1

What is a self-report? How should a teacher instruct the students in writing self-reports?

Activity No. 2

Enumerate the various types of rating scales and explain how these rating scales are
formulated?

Teacher Intervention
The teacher created a students’ directory that includes the student name, home address,
preferred learning delivery mode, available gadgets, contact number, email address and
connectivity. The students are opting to pass their answers/output and ask queries regarding the
subject matter via email, messenger, text message, or they can drop their modules at the
guardhouse/ NORSU gate.

Practice Task/Assessment
Answer the following questions:
1. What is the difference between a Thurstone scale and a Likert Scale?
Feedback to Assessment
Please be guided with the following criteria in answering your assessment in the essay
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part.
Criteria Points
Content (Relevance of topic) 10
Organization (Unity of thought, flow of discussion 10
Total: 20 points

Learning Activities/Exercises
Answers to Learning Activity 1
*Varied Answers
Answers to Learning Activity 2
*Varied Answers

Practice Task/Assessment
Answers to Practice Task / Assessment 1
*Varied Answers

Assignment

Make a learning insight on what you have learned in lesson six (50 words only).

References/Reading Materials

Cajigal, Ronan M.,MA,Ed. and Mantuano, Maria Leflor D., MA, Ed., Assessment of Learning 2
Santos, Rosita De Guzman , Ph.D., Advanced Methods in Educational Assessment and Evaluation