Enabling Learning and Assessment

Assessment plays a significant role in the learning experience of students. It determines their progression through their programmes and enables them to demonstrate that they have achieved the intended learning outcomes. It is assessment that provides the main basis for public recognition of achievement, through the awarding of qualifications and/or credit.

Peer and Self Assessment is an effective way to get the learners involved and it gives a clear idea of what the learner is currently at and what action is needed to meet the standards and criteria. This can be done through feedback.

“Assessment for learning is the process of seeking and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go and how best to get there”.

The function of assessment in learning and development is to provide a measurable way of planning and supporting students’ progress. Assessment is carried out by means of checks and tests carried out throughout the course. Assessors should provide feedback throughout ensuring that learning is occurring and the learner is at the correct level. It is also important that assessor’s decisions are also consistently reviewed and internally and externally verified.

147) reports 'increased student responsibility and autonomy' as a result of the scheme of peer assessment; and her students found it 'challenging, helpful and beneficial', making them 'think more, learn more, and become more critical and structured' (Falchikov, 1986, p. 161). The peer assessment system can provide a simulated collaborative environment where students work professionally with one another (Earl, 1986, p. 68). Williams (1992, p. 55) states that his students showed enthusiasm in peer assessment because they have 'more say in how they approach their learning and its assessment' (Cheng & Warren, 1996).

4.4 explain how assessment arrangements can be adapted to meet the needs of individual learners

Evaluating student achievement through assessments is used to help teachers know exactly where students are. This practice is vital to the growth and development of a child. Good teachers have always judged and monitored their students' progress through written assessment observations, experiments, written assignments, and research projects. Assessments provide comprehensive information about students’ progress including strengths and weaknesses.

2.1 compare the strengths and limitations of a range of assessment methods with reference to the needs of individual learners

“Tests today are not like the tests most parents took when they were in school. New forms of teaching students' work are already in use, and even more changes will be coming in the years ahead. The term "assessment" has come into common use to describe these new ways of measuring students' accomplishments.

The assessor will work closely with the learner and work towards a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ)

Assessments are supposed to stimulate learning; by having this continuous assessment it gave me time to develop my thinking and make sense of it (Ovens, 2003; Winter, 2003; Trevelyan and Wilson, 2012). Henceforth, resulting in a deeper understanding

“The primary purpose of assessment is it improve students’ learning and teachers’ teaching… What makes assessment for learning effective is how well the information is used.” (Ministry of Education 2014)

In my class, many of the aforementioned methods of assessment are regularly and successfully utilised. Using IT as a key resource, offers a

Pellegrino, J. W. (2014). Assessment as a positive influence on 21st century teaching and learning: A systems approach to progress. Psicologia Educativa, 20(2), 65-77.

On the other hand, a learner might benefit from a verbal examination rather than written questions while another learner might prefer to be assessed bilingually. This would then mean liaising with other members of staff or the awarding organisation to make acceptability of such options (Gravells, 2014, P171). Furthermore, mentors, workplace supervisors and witnesses alike usually need details of the learner’s progress while relevant support staff will also need information about the learner so to give any required help and guidance. Overall, everyone who is involved with a particular learner needs to be aware of that learner’s progress and achievement by having a regular communication (Gravells, 2014, p171). Assessment sometimes involved a learner assessing their own work and is known as self-assessment while on the other hand, learners/ students can assess one another in a process known as peer assessment. Such methods of assessment give confidence to learners to be accountable for their learning and assessment as well as taking a decision about what they have been taught already. However, the learners will need to be wholly aware of what it is that they are required to assess i.e. the assessment criteria, the importance of being objective in their assessment and how they could give a constructive feedback to those that they assessed. While giving feedback, it is very important to make sure that