CHAPTER 4 EVALUATION, GRADING AND BACKWASH

1. CHAPTER 4 EVALUATION, GRADING AND BACKWASH Presenter: Diane Whaley

2. Idiom of the Day “You can never go home again.” Nothing stays the same over time. People change. Things change. And you can’t make things the way they were.

3. Attendance • Please write your name and email address VERY CLEARLY on the back of the attendance sheet.

4. Lesson Plan Note to myself: Open lesson plan from memory stick (Brazil 2016, Returning Teachers, Lesson Plans folder)

5. Syllabus The syllabus is essentially the same as last year’s, but we will spend a few minutes looking at it in order to focus on the changes and refresh your memory. Note to myself: Open the folder from memory stick (Brazil 2016, Returning teachers, Syllabus)

6. Discussion of General Plan • Evaluation • The four skills

7. Announcements • English Language Classes Mondays from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. beginning April 11 at CELEST

8. Icebreaker The T.P. Speaking activity • Level: Any Level • This activity is used as a "getting to know you" icebreaker on the first day of class.

9. Icebreaker The teacher brings out the toilet paper roll and takes several squares of toilet paper; then s/he hands the roll of toilet paper to a student. The teacher tells the student to take somesquares – more than three! Students pass the roll around the class until each student gets some squares.

10. Icebreaker After everybody in the class has some paper, we count the squares we have – in English; then we have to tell the class that many things about ourselves, in English.

11. Resource/Opportunity Check out the State Department’s first “Pronunciation Practice” animated video for English language learners. The first video is about the different pronunciations of past simple “-ed.”

12. Resource/Opportunity Watch it on YouTube and Facebook. State will post a new video each Monday. On YouTube: http://bit.ly/1Ros0Ym  and on Facebook FB: http://on.fb.me/1KoRezm

13. Resource/Opportunity In today’s class, we will watch the video then talk about how you could use it in your classroom. Note to myself: Access this video from (File Explorer, Search, Quick Access, Videos)

14. Listening Activity Using TV Commercials We will listen to some short commercials and evaluate them for use in your classrooms.

15. Listening Activity Procedure: • Pre-Listening • Ask your students to talk about interesting commercials they have seen recently. • Tell them about the commercial they will see. Add lots of details so that they understand what to expect. • Preview one or two new vocabulary items. Only one or two. Students do not have to understand every word they hear in the commercial.

16. Listening Activity 2. Play the video. Ask the students to just listen and enjoy. “Ant Man and the Hulk” Coca Cola commercial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlZqBR3yTiw Note to myself: Open the videos from (File Explorer, Search, Videos)

17. Listening Activity 3. Play the video again. Ask the students to tell you the words that they understood. Ask them what product or service is being advertised.

18. Listening Activity 4. Play the video a final time. Ask students to tell the story of the video according to their ability level. You can use the “Journalists’ Questions”: Who? What? When? Why? How?

19. Listening Activity “Dogs in the Grocery Store” Doritos commercial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VW8PmhTcIJk

20. Listening Activity “Strong is Beautiful” Pantene Shampoo commercial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXPvh8kMFek

21. Listening Activity “First Date” Hyundai commercial https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R_483zeVF8

22. Listening Activity/Reflection • 1. Would your students like a similar activity? Why or why not? • 2. How could you evaluate your students’ performance on an activity like this? • 3. What obstacles would you face in implementing an activity like this in your own classes, and how could you overcome those obstacles?

23. STANDARDIZED EXAMINATIONSPAGE 54 Not the focus of this chapter because you do not use them. They vary by country. You may already know a lot about them. You have no control over them. This chapter is about your classroom evaluations.

24. The Purposes and Effects of Evaluationpage 54 – Purposes of Evaluation Diagnostic: Motivational: Gives students incentives to work harder Provides some students with a sense of accomplishment Can have a positive or a negative impact • Determines student progress or proficiencylevel • Often used for determining schools, scholarships, jobs, placement etc. http://thecornerstoneforteachers.com

25. Illustration Diagnostic Give students opportunities to show what THEY CAN D0… and give points for good work. For example: 5 points if your dialog is funny. 1 point if your poster is creative. Extra credit if you…

26. The Purposes and Effects of Evaluationpage 55 – What is Backwash? Definition: The effect of your evaluation methods on students’ study and practice. Does backwash have a positive or negative effect? It depends!! A negative impact  If your evaluations encourage students to study for grades INSTEAD OF to build usable language skills. You show students what you value by what you do… comments, actions, & especially grades.

27. Example from Observations • I often see teachers correct students’ grammar. • This is okay, ONLY if the activity is about practicing grammar. How was your weekend? What did you do? Not if the activity is speaking practice or sharing ideas. Do you really want to know? Or are you practicing past tense? Do the students know which one you are evaluating?

28. The Purposes and Effects of Evaluationpages 55-56 – Ensuring Positive Backwash • Test what you want the students to know • (If you practice it in class, evaluate performance by testing.) • Ensure that students know how they will be evaluated. • Explain the design of the test. No surprises! • Give similar in-class practice, homework, and quizzes. • Use direct testing methods • Students do what they would do in real life – ex. Students listen to a talk then write a summary. Students write short answers to comprehension questions. Students write a letter. Indirect testing methods (ex. Discrete skills, True/False, Fill-in-the-blank, Multiple choice, etc.) aren’t bad, but they shouldn’t be the only evaluation measures.

29. Methods of Evaluationpages 56-57 - Tests Disadvantages Suggestions Use direct test items Use an adequate number of indirect items Have someone review your test for mistakes Use quizzes and practice tests Test should be cumulative: test content until the end of the term. • One test represents months of learning  students cram and get anxious. • Indirect measures  negative backwash • Tests are a part of school and life, so students need to know how to take them. You can’t get rid of them, so what can you do? http://topcultured.com

30. Methods of Evaluation • page 58 – Quizzes • Give them regularly and in a predictable way. • No pop (=surprise) quizzes! • Use the same format as your tests and keep them short. • page 58 – Homework and In-class Work • Give many assignments rather than just one or two long ones. • page 58-59 – Portfolios (Students select their best work from the whole semester and turn it in to you.) • Encourages students to assess, revise, and improve their own work.

31. The Portfolio • Students often throw their work away. • Portfolios encourage students to keep their work.

32. Methods of Evaluationpages 59-60 – Self Assessment Students have a voice in their grading. Examples Benefits Positive Backwash  Reminds students that their grade often reflects how hard they work Insight: It helps the teacher stay in touch with the students’ feelings. • Students can check their own work. • Students critique their own work. • Students submit a tentative grade with a rationale. • Example on page 59.

33. Personal Experience • Self-assessment is good in theory, but it has drawbacks. • If students are not serious, they give themselves an ‘A’. • Often students are too hard on themselves. They can only see negative things and critique too much. • Students need training about how to self-assess and critique properly. This training takes too much time.

34. Grading pages 60-61 – Class Curve Grading • Compares students with their classmates. • It is common but unfair because getting a good grade requires the students below you to get bad grades. • Alienating to weaker students

35. Grading pages 60-61 – Improvement-Based Grading • Students are measured individually on how much progress they make. • It’s motivating because all students have the same chance to get a good grade. • It requires that the teacher give a test at the beginning of the course • It’s difficult to see progress in short intervals • It’s difficult to see progress at advanced proficiency levels • It takes time and effort for the teacher to develop the tests Example and tips on page 62 However… (caution)

36. Gradingpage 63 – Recommendations for Grading • Have a healthy balance of grading on improvement as well as on ability • Let students know how they will be graded. • Communicate clearly and regularly • Be consistent http://abridgedseries.wikia.com

37. Personal Recommendation Balance Improvement Ability & Knowledge Effort

38. Discussion Questions • What are the advantages and disadvantages of evaluations in your context? • How can you evaluate your students and provide feedback to them in the classroom to create positive backwash?

39. Closing • ANY REMAINING QUESTIONS????

40. Closing 2. HOMEWORK • Read Snow Chapter 4 “Evaluation, Grading, and Backwash”. •  Optional: Read: The article in Teacher’s Corner about options for summative assessment activities and rubrics. Find this practical article at: • http://americanenglish.state.gov/resources/teachers-corner-collecting-and-using-data#child-1998