NguyenThuyQueChi final assignment TDIP183

Ho Chi Minh City Open University Graduate School 97 Vo Van Tan Street, District 3, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam ASSIGNMENT COVER SHEET AND REPORT Name of Student: Class: TDIP183 Email Address: chintq.tdip183@ou.edu.vn Name of Coursework Subject: Language Assessment Title of This Item of Work: The Pros and Cons of Portfolio Assessment Word count: 2101 Name of Instructor: Dr Nguyen Thi Hong Tham Due Date: 21/06/2019 STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP I certify that this paper is my original work; it is based on my own working No other person’s work has been used without due acknowledgement This piece of work has not previously been submitted for assessment in this or any other subject or course at this university or elsewhere Student’s Signature: ………………………………………………………………… I Introduction Language teaching and assessments have always been highly connected in that each of them cannot be worked out without taking the other into account As the world trend shows the dominance of learner-centered approach, testing and assessment also follow the same approach The assessment of writing has long been considered a problem to many educators and teachers, especially in terms of evaluating and assessing the writing of ESL students Writing is conducted through a process of drafting and editing Traditional writing assessment techniques such as standardized tests are not compatible with the process-oriented and student-centered approach Furthermore, ESL writing is influenced by many factors such as English proficiency, mother tongue, diversified cultures, and style of written language Teachers have to take into consideration that ESL students might have learned a different style format of writing, or even that they have different ways of expressing their thoughts and feelings Therefore, researchers and educators have started to explore other types of student assessment The new trend is the emphasis on the use of authentic assessment Portfolio assessment has been suggested as an alternative to traditional writing assessment because it can integrate instruction and evaluation, which can be a way of providing for validity In this paper, I examined the advantages and disadvantages of portfolio assessment and students’ perceptions of the portfolio assessment in a writing course for ESL graduate students at the Language Center in Long An Province Students in the course wrote three major assignments, and they were required to provide drafts of the assignments Students were also asked to write reflective journals where they kept records of their writing and revision processes and could set goals for future development Students’ reflective journals were analyzed to understand students’ revision processes Then I analyzed students’ drafts in terms of fluency, accuracy, and grammatical complexity to find further evidence to support the use of portfolio assessment in an English skills classroom II Literature Review Nowadays, teaching strategies in language classrooms are shifting from the traditional way of enlightening unacquainted learners solely by transmitting knowledge to what students will need to succeed in the real world (Caner, 2010) Yang (2003) defined portfolio as a compilation of students’ work, which documents their effort, progress and achievement in their learning, and their reflection on the materials negotiated for the portfolio Crosby (1997) indicates that the primary purpose of portfolios in ESL context is to increase the level of students’ motivation and to give them a sense autonomous learning Hamp-Lyons &Condon (2000) believe th Cooper and Love (2000) state that portfolio based assessment can include evidence from several sources; it can help educators overcome many assessment difficulties, especially in the area of equity and moderation; it provides a richer picture of the student, so it is pedagogically efficient The last two decades have seen a significant growth in the use of reflection or portfolio which is an alternative approach both in the language teaching and learning contexts as an instructional tool for preparation of students for examinations Due to the fact that the writing skill is relatively complicated, students have to pay much attention to higher level skills such as planning, organization as well as lower level skills such as spelling, punctuation, word choice, and so on The process of generating ideas, drafting, redrafting and editing are vital elements of writing and these important dimensions are not sufficiently assessed in a one-shot attempt of traditional testing My experience with traditional assessments in ESL consists of remembering structures, guidance and procedures for different types of writing assignment Adeyemi’s study describes the disadvantageous aspects of traditional assessments Traditional assessments have been primarily teacher-based with limited student involvement, meaning that the students are not given opportunities to express their opinions about the assessments they perform These assessments promote the value of extrinsic rewards, rely on competition, and encourage academic dishonesty – such as cheating or plagiarism With traditional assessments as the primary means of assessment, students lack initiative in their learning; therefore, students lack learners’ autonomy, which is the “ability for making all the decisions concerning about all aspects of his/her learning” (Adeyemi, 2012, p 4494) However, Williams (1998, 2000) argues that without standards for implementation and outcomes, portfolio assessment will become unfair Portfolio assessment requires that readers be trained to agree and to score papers based on a common rubric that refer numerical points Rubrics should include development and organization, fluency of idea description, and mechanics (O’Malley and III Analysis Advantages In order to react to teachers' criticism to traditional For instance, students in my class were required to learn how to write three assignments including writing a paragraph, writing a basic essay, and writing an argumentative essay For each assignment, they were asked to submit three drafts in the portfolio Obviously, what makes a portfolio assessment so useful and advantageous to both teachers and students is that it assesses students’ progress in order to reach targets and goals by collecting a variety of the assignments over an extended period of time According to Davis (2005), portfolio can monitor and assess students’ progress over time Therefore, students’ ability can be developed through the activities that they at each stage By doing so, students and teachers have time to be able to reflect what they have already done and thus, they are able to check progress and set further goals In other words, portfolios show a student's work from beginning of the term to Another major strength of portfolio assessment strategy is that it generates participation and collaboration during the learning process and assessments In other words, both teachers and students have to work more to assess rather than just test Serhani (2007), additionally explains that students with teacher support and guidance are involved in preparing their own portfolios This helps students gain a sense of responsibility for their work Teddy (2013) asserts that when students are involved in reflection activities and setting goals for future progress, they become more selfcritical and reflective about their activities Based on my case in the language center in Long An Province, it could be seen that students enthusiastically involved in exchanging ideas from their peers as before submitting portfolios, they usually asked their friends for pieces of advice Furthermore, Davis (2005) reminds us that portfolio promotes students’ critical thinking Doner and Gilman (1998) conducted an observation on how students react to portfolios They investigated 621 students by giving them an open-ended survey following their final portfolio conference They found that portfolios give several potential benefits to students Some of the benefits are that the portfolios are proven as assessments which show a more accurate reflection of students learning than tests; enhance personal skills and In mainly focus on testing knowledge of the target language rather than on the skills and strategies; on grammatical flexibility, range and delicacy; on the production of scores and grades rather than the supplying feedback for the learners and teachers In contrast, mainly focus on Disadvantages The use of portfolio assessment in Vietnamese schools to replace traditional tests including national entrance exams seems to be challenging One of the main challenges is relating the issue of its low comparability and reliability It can be sometimes hard to establish scoring systems that are reliable In other words, it is not easy to transform many performance-based assessments into a single score or grade In fact, the public has got used to seeing a single score as the one in standardized tests (Gomez, 2000) Moreover, it is hard to use the portfolios that really meet reliability requirements needed by many schools and institutions since a particular teacher's view toward certain students' portfolios may be different from others When teaching writing, for example, different teachers may have different scores on an exactly the same writing task One could give 50, but another one could give 60 Thus, Mathew (2004) argues that the single official reason to refuse using the portfolios is due to the fact that they are too subjective A large class is also another challenging problem of using the portfolios in Vietnamese schools In fact, most Vietnamese classes consist of more than 30 even 40 students It is quite normal to see that many teachers teach many classes at the same time Portfolio assessment can be very time-consuming for teachers especially if portfolios are done in addition to traditional assessments They need to get involved in developing the materials, meeting with individual students or small groups, reviewing portfolios contents, commenting on students' work, and providing feedback Therefore, due to the fact that many students are in the classroom, it is understandable when a teacher finds it too difficult to manage and use portfolios in an perfect way IV Conclusion The portfolio assessment has a great educational impact in that it provides more authentic assessment of students’ academic achievement It also encourages students to develop critical thinking and self-study learners In addition, portfolio assessments are able to help teachers track students’ progress over time They also bring students more duties and responsibilities which they are not get used to compared with traditional tests and assessments Therefore, students should be informed in advance about its benefits and advantages as well as its possible disadvantages Reference Adeyemi, A Effect of Peer and Self-Assessment on Male and Female Students' SelfEfficacy and Self-Autonomy in the Learning of Mathematics (2012) Gender & Behaviour, 10, 4492-4508 Caner, M (2010) Students views on using portfolio assessment in EFL writing courses Anadolu University Journal of Social Sciences, 10 Crosby, C (1997, August) Portfolio assessment in the Korean ESL writing classroom Thai TESOL Bulletin, 10(2) Retrieved October 13, 2010, from http://www.thaitesol.org/bulletin/1002/100204.html Davis, M H (2005).Spotlight on portfolio assessment UK: University of Dundee Davies, A and Le Mahieu, P Assessment for Learning: Reconsidering Portfolios and Research Evidence In M Segers, F Dochy, & E Cascallar (Eds.), Innovation and Change in Professional Education: Optimising New Modes of Assessment: In Search of Qualities and Standards Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers : 141-169 2003 Defina, Allan A (1992) "Portfolio Assessment: Getting Started." New York: Scholastic Professional Books Doner, K.D & Gilman, D.A (1998) “Students React to Portfolio Assessment”, Contemporary Education, Spring 1998.Vol.69, viewed on th October 2005, http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=29546369&sid=3&Fmt=3&clientId=4468 7&RQT=309&VName=PQD Dudley, M (2001) Speaking my mind: Portfolio assessment: When bad things happen to good ideas The English Journal, 90(6), 19-20 Cooper, T (1997) Portfolio assessment: a guide for students Perth: Praxis Education Cooper, T., & Love, T (2000) Portfolios in university-based design education In C Swann & E Young (Eds.), Re-inventing Design Education in the University (pp 159166) Perth: School of Design, Curtin University Mathews, Jay (2004) “ Teachers Struggle for Depth Despite Tests, “ Washington Post, July 6th, 2004, viewed on 20th September 2005 Gomez, Emily (2000) "Assessment Portfolios: Including English Language Learners in Large-Scale Assessments," Eric Digest, December 2000, viewed on 19 th September 2005, www.cal.org/resources/digest/0010assessment.html Hamp-Lyons, L., & Condon, W (1993) Questioning assumptions about portfoliobased assessment.College Composition and Communication, 44, 176-190 O'Malley, J M., & Pierce, V L (1996) Authentic Assessment for English Language Learners Reading, MA: Addison- Wesley Yang, N D (2003) Integrating portfolios into learning strategy-based instruction for EFL college students IRAL, 41(4), 293-317 Retrieved December 7, 2009, from Education Full Text (Wilson) Williams, M (2004) Concept mapping a strategy for assessment Nursing Standard, 19(9), 33-38 Serhani, W F A (2007).The effect of portfolio assessment on the writing performance of EFL secondary school students in Saudi Arabia Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Taibah University Guidelines for Group Project Participation Rubric Criteria Level of Participation Workload (20%) Getting Organized (20%) Participation in discussions and providing feedback (20%) Distinguished (20%) Did a full share of the work— or more; knows what needs to be done and does it; volunteers to help others Took the initiative proposing meeting times and getting group organized - Provided many good ideas for the project development; inspired others; clearly communicated desires, ideas, personal needs, and feelings - Habitually provides dignified, clear, and respectful feedback Proficient (15%) Did an equal share of the work; does work when asked; works hard most of the time Worked agreeably with partner(s) concerning times and places to meet - Participated in discussions; shared feelings and thoughts - Gave feedback that did not offend Meeting Deadlines (20%) Completed assigned work ahead of time Completed assigned work on time Showing up for Meetings (20%) Showed up for meetings punctually, sometimes ahead of time Showed up for meetings on time Basic (10%) Did almost as much work as others; seldom asks for help Could be coaxed into meeting with other partner(s) - Listened mainly; on some occasions, made suggestions - Provided some feedback; sometimes hurt feelings of others with feedback or made irrelevant comments Needed some reminding; work was late but it didn’t impact grade Showed up late, but it wasn’t a big problem for completing work (Adapted from Making the Grade: The Role of Assessment in Authentic Learning by Marilyn M Lombardi, http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI3019.pdf) Group project participation form Name of group member: Huynh Thi Thu Van Unaccepta Did less work doesn’t get cau absence; doesn help Did not meet p agreed times a - Seemed bore conversations unit; rarely spo ideas were off - Was openly r giving feedbac Needed much work was late impact quality grade No show or ex feeble or no ex Total score: 75% Criteria Workload (20%) Level of Participation Proficient (15%) Basic (10%) Distinguished (20%) X Getting Organized (20%) X Participation in discussions and providing feedback (20%) X Meeting Deadlines (20%) X Showing up for Meetings (20%) X Name of group member: Ngo Nguyen Thien Ton Total score: 75% Criteria Workload (20%) Getting Organized (20%) Level of Participation Proficient (15%) Basic (10%) Distinguished (20%) X X Participation in discussions and providing feedback (20%) X Meeting Deadlines (20%) X Showing up for Meetings (20%) X Name of group member: Le Thi Hoang Yen Total score: 75% Criteria Workload (20%) Getting Organized (20%) Level of Participation Proficient (15%) Basic (10%) Distinguished (20%) X X Participation in discussions and providing feedback (20%) X Meeting Deadlines (20%) X Showing up for Meetings (20%) X Unacceptable ... Center in Long An Province Students in the course wrote three major assignments, and they were required to provide drafts of the assignments Students were also asked to write reflective journals... were required to learn how to write three assignments including writing a paragraph, writing a basic essay, and writing an argumentative essay For each assignment, they were asked to submit three... ESL consists of remembering structures, guidance and procedures for different types of writing assignment Adeyemi’s study describes the disadvantageous aspects of traditional assessments Traditional