FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT VS SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
During a placement session in the Nursing Department of the Otago polytechnic, I observed one of the finest examples of formative assessment. The teaching session that I attended and observed was about a paper called 'Theory of Practice Simulation', taught by Shirley. The aim behind that class was to teach 'Stress management' to nursing students. Since it is a practical skill that the students must acquire in order to treat their patients suffering from stress, the teaching technique employed was also practical. This session was conducted in a simulation room itself, which resembles the actual room in a nursing hospital. The students are asked to choose their roles for a role play which is like an exercise to practice for the real life situations which they would be facing in future. ( for instance, a group of three students played the roles of a registered nurse , a student nurse and a patient suffering from stress). The teacher makes a video recording ( in a different room) of the role play which is later shown to the students themselves pointing out their mistakes as well as their good performance. In my view this exercise can be categorised as a teaching activity as well as an assessment exercise.
Before conducting this simulation session the students are expected to read the material given by the teacher that prepares them for the session. The teacher also gives them various direction before getting into the roles they are supposed to play. They read their prescribed text books as well as the material suggested by the teacher from the websites on Internet. Through this exercise the teacher expects to achieve the learning objectives of :
- demonstrate the use of effective communication and interviewing skills
- recognise and utilise opportunities to teaching and learning
- recognise the impact of stress and differentiate this from disorders of mood
- demonstrate the use of screening tool to identify the clients level of alcohol use
- work in partnership with client to develop a plan for change.
the recorded video is then assessed by the teacher on the basis of a checklist for the peer observer, who's role is to observe the scenario and give feedback using the same checklist. The checklist contains a no of skills to be used during the role play session. the observer has not only to mark the skills used but also comment on each of them. All these features are elements of assessment. This kind of assessment serves two purposes, it not only helps to assess but also facilitates learning. It is a step towards achieving the main goal of a certain program.
What use can I put this kind of assessment to ?
What students learn depends on how they learn it. This 'how' in my opinion plays a very important role in teaching and learning as well. Teaching becomes more effective, result oriented and learner centred if formative assessment is incorporated into it. formative assessment should be designed in such a way that it should not be hindrance to learning rather it should facilitate learning in all possible ways.
In language teaching classes this type of assessment can be of great use. The students can be arranged in similar groups for role play which can be recorded and then it can later be shown to them to help them understand their mistakes in a better way. This type of assessment can help the speakers of different languages to acquire confidence in speaking the target language.
