Maria+Asunción

==== "FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT is put into practise while the process of teaching – learning is in progress. It provides the information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are still happening. It also helps as practise for the sts and a check for understanding during the learning process. It includes the observation of students’ behaviour, the homework and their work in class. Also the students’ interest in using English as a vehicular language. The teacher should give the students some information on their speaking production so that they can correct themselves and improve. Another aspect included in the Formative Assessmet is the students' notebooks, ...". I am quoting from my Assessment Criteria, however, every school year I have to change something. Why is it so difficult to assess our students? One of the reasons I engaged in this course was to see if things could be clarified. We have exchanged and commented on various activities and the way we assess them, and I have realised that sometimes we prefer to let students go ahead so as not to hinder their creativity. However, by doing this we are missing the objective of the task. I remember, long time ago when to assess reading comprehension we were checking in fact writing accuracy. So problably what I have learnt in this course is // to think carefully about what I want to assess in the task I have prepared //. This would be the message that I will remember from this course. ==== ==== As for how I would improve formative assessment in my classroom practice I think daily observation is crucial, but the most crucial is what you do with it. It is not to write a note saying good work, or any other word of encoragement. These data have to be used effectively in order to have a real picture of what your sts have learnt, the way they have learnt it and how they use what has been leanrt. In this course we have come across some activities like learning diaries, mind maps, portfolios and many more that will be excellent sources of formative assessment for me. ====

So now the answer to the question of what I would do different next year would be to try to implement one of the many activities that have been shared in this wiki, and I think the one I like the most is the learning diaries. As I have said when Nuria presented them, I had used them long time ago and they were, in most of the cases, very useful both for me and the sts. However, I abandoned them later on. We used to write them in English and they were not as organised as the one that Nuria keeps. They were more a space where sts reflected on the difficulties they were having when learning English. I think that to write them in their mother tongue (which never occured to me and I think is great) would be more effective and sts will not face the difficulties of expressing themselves in a foreign language. I agree with Llis Miguel that they are time consuming for both parts, but as he also points out ways to deal with them.

==== We are living difficult times in our profession: lack of means, more hours, being questioned as professionals, ... . However, here we are all of us doing this course, sharing our experiences and trying to improve our skills as teachers. We do care about our sts and about education. We all believe in what we are doing so how can it not work? I finish this course with my rucksack full of ideas, "recipes", and new expectations. Thanks to all of you for your contributions and to our teachers Nuria and Cristina who have made this possible. ====