Target Plan
MODULE 6
Review Lecture: Control and evaluation of the students’ knowledge, abilities and skills.
The objective of the lecture: Familiarization of the postgraduate students with modern types and methods of the students’ KAS control and evaluation in the higher educational institutions.
The main problem:Conscious adoption of the specific features of each method for the students’ KAS control and evaluation.
The guiding idea: The students’ KAS control and evaluation stimulate and rule over the students’ cognitive activities.
1. Essence of the terms ‘Control’, ‘Record’ and “Evaluation’ of KAS.
2. Functions of the students’ KAS control.
3. Main principles of knowledge control and evaluation.
4. Types of the students’ KAS control and test forms.
5. KAS control methods.
6. The students’ advancement in studies evaluation criteria.
7. Rating system of KAS evaluation.
To the date, solving of the problem related to improvement of the graduates training process quality assumes significant improvement of the student’s studies control being an important tool for studying process administration.
The need for the student’s studies control and their knowledge evaluation has the objective character. There is a regular relationship within the chain: the objective of studies – the process – the result – the next objective. However, in order to set pedagogically proper objective it shall be necessary to know exactly what has been achieved as a result of studying. Henceforth we shall use such terms as: ‘Control’ – that is generic definition; ‘Test’ – that is a process of control; ‘Evaluation’ – that is quantitative representation of the gained knowledge expressed in grades; and ‘Record’ – that is documentary support (grade report, record of credits, progress books, etc.).
The control (from French - control) has several meanings. In the terms of didactics it is understood as supervision, observation and verification of the student’s advancement in studies. The following are the functions of control:
Educative (assisting in extension, broadening and improvement of the students’ knowledge, clarification and systematization of the educational material for specific topics);
Diagnostic & Corrective (revealing of knowledge, abilities and skills, difficulties, drawbacks, poor progress; provision of the feedback for types: ‘Student – Teacher’ and ‘Student – Student’);
Supervisory (determination of the students’ knowledge, abilities and skills levels, readiness for adoption of the new material; evaluation of the student’s progress);
Nurturing (directed for improvement of the personal discipline, development of the will, character, skills for systematic self work, and so forth);
Developing (assistance in development of the mental processes of the personality – attention, memory, thinking, interests, cognitive activity and speaking culture of the students);
Stimulating & Motivational (stimulation of the students for improvement of the advancement in studies, development of the personal responsibility and formation of the motivation for studies);
Administrative (Provision of the purposefulness in the time of studying);
Predictive & Methodological (related to both, either to teacher who gets rather accurate data about evaluation of his work, results of own teaching methods application and the ways of the further improvement of the educational process, or the students as it helps them in forecasting of their studies and academic work progress).
The students’ progress control and evaluation control organization principles are defined by the objective of the teaching & educational process in the higher educational institutions, and as well by the objective regularities of the pedagogical process in the said institutions.
Main principles of the students’ academic work verification and evaluation of progress in studies are based upon:
Individual approach to verification and evaluation of the students’ advancement (it is assumed that the teacher works individually with each student considering his individual traits);
Systematic character and systemacy of the knowledge verification and evaluation (supervision within a whole period of the student’s studying in the Higher School);
Subject orientation (it concerns all control levels and assumes the students’ academic activities evaluation on half-year or year basis by each educational topic):
Differentiated evaluation of the students’ advancement in studies (it is assumed that advancement in studies is evaluated on the basis of the multilevel approach);
Unified requirements to the students from the side of teachers’ staff (it is assumed that all staff of departments and, in particular, teachers shall meet requirements specified by effective national standards);
Objectivity (it is systematic analysis of the half-year examinations results and showings of the advancement in studies according to the unified criteria for the purpose of timely taking appropriate measures in order to improve the scope and organizational aspects of the teaching & educational process; to enhance the efficiency and quality of lectures and self work of the students for prevention (minimization) of their dropout from the higher educational institution;
Publicity (notification of the students about results of control).
Being the regulative tools of the students’ academic activity control and their progress evaluation, the stated above principles define the specific types, methods and forms of its organization, as well as criteria and norms of the students’ knowledge level evaluation. The following types of control have been established for educational theory and practice: diagnostic, current, training, delayed, topic-based, cross-type, interim, post-program and final ones.
The types of the students’ academic activities verification are defined by the level of its compliance with stated principles of the knowledge control.
The control includes different types of the KAS verification.
Traditionally, the types and forms of the students’ KAS verification are known to include:
Preliminary, current and topic-based tests (inter-examination control);
Tests, term papers, spoken tests and tutorials (interim control);
Half-year examinations, degree examinations and degree thesis (post-program and final control).
The preliminary tests are performed for determination of the student’s level of readiness for study depending on the studying stage and the place of control.
The topic-based tests are performed in order to check the students’ scope of knowledge in the time of seminars, spoken tests and tutorials. Main task of the topic-based test is to enable apprehending and understanding of the whole topic and its relationships by the students.
The inter-examination control assists in providing the conditions for continuous work of the students, development of skills for clear organization of their work, and as well it assists the teacher in timely revealing of slowly progressing students with following helping them and finally, in organization of individual classes for advanced students. The results of the inter-examination tests are used for making amendments to material being studied in the time of lectures, to the content of tutorials and modification of the principles of individual work with the students, and finally, for determination of the written and spoken tests scope.
Main organizational forms of the students’ knowledge verification, mainly applied by the modern higher educational institutions are: individual, group and frontal check, self-control and rating system.
Participation of the student in research work is considered to be an important criterion for checking the student’s level of readiness for the creative activity.
Negative consequences inherent to any type of control can be maximally avoided even through strict meeting of the requirements for such control. Main drawbacks of the traditional control are:
a) Reproductive character (impossibility to verify the ability for conscious application of the gained knowledge in practical activities):
b) It is impossible to ascertain the level of knowledge, abilities and skills stored in the long-term memory at certain grade level;
c) Subjectivity of the educational & cognitive activity evaluation.
In our opinion, implementation of the students’ progress test control shall to some extent assist in overcoming of the above. The English word ‘Test’ means ‘Trial, try-out, experiment, verification’. Being applied in pedagogical literature, the didactic test is understood as the preliminarily approved set of tasks prepared according to the specific requirements and intended for determination of the qualitative showings. Such tests are used for determination of the testees’ competence levels and its results are evaluated on the basis of the criteria set in advance.
As a rule, the test consists of two parts – informative and operative ones. The informative part shall include clear and simple guide assisting the testee to pass the test. It is preferable that such guide is accompanied with a specific example. The operative part of the test includes the certain number of the test tasks. Done test tasks require the appropriate evaluation and determination of the testee’s level of knowledge.
The test control has the following advantages over the other methods for knowledge level verification, in particular:
1) Knowledge quality of significant part of the students can be verified within rather short period of time;
2) Possibility of checking knowledge, abilities and skills at required and planned in advance level;
3) Availability of the self-control option within the preliminary phase of the test control implementation;
4) More objective evaluation of the knowledge level;
5) Creation of the due conditions for permanent feedback between a student and a teacher.
However, the knowledge test control is known to have significant drawbacks that may be divided into three groups.
I. Drawbacks underlying in the basis of the control essence:
- Probability of random selection or guess about the proper answer;
- Possibility for evaluation of only final result (wrong – correct) in the time of close type tests, while the process resulting in the answer is not revealed.
II. Drawbacks having the psychological nature;
- Standardization of thinking without taking into account of the personality development level.
III. Drawbacks based upon organizational & methodological showings:
- Spending a lot of time for preparation of the required ‘bank’ of tests, its variations; complicity and intensity of the process;
- Need for high qualification of the teachers and experts preparing the test tasks.
In our opinion, there are real ways for elimination of the said drawbacks. For example, the optimal numbers of the close type test variants – 4-5. The more the variants, the less is a probability of guessing about the answer. At the same time, it is necessary to understand that time spent for preparation of the test assuming five answers is two times more than for the same but with four answers. As compared with tests having two answers, the probability of guessing about the answer in case of three available options is 17%. Otherwise, when comparing test with four and three options, the probability shall be 8%. Application of five instead of four answering options shall reduce the probability of guessing about the proper answer only by 5%, while of six instead of five – by 3.4%.
Improvement of the evaluation objectivity promotes the application of test tasks having different structure. In order to provide the efficiency of the test control it is necessary to meet the following psychological & pedagogical requirements in the time of such tests:
1. Gradual implementation of the test control, thus enabling to improve the psychological readiness of the students. Initially the simple tests are to be done with following introduction of more complicated ones.
2. The tasks are to be of comprehensive character.
3. The test control shall guarantee the objectivity of the knowledge, abilities and skills evaluation, assist in elimination of the subjectivity, thus forming the positive attitude to the subject and as well to the teacher in charge of its teaching.
4. It is important to follow strict organization in the time of the test control that assumes: availability of the organizational moment, in the time of which the teacher explains the test tasks, answer the students’ questions and definitely determines the time required for passing the test; providing of each student with standard answering form, thus significantly saving the time of the students and a teacher.
5. The test tasks stand for significant reduction of the period, within which the students are to wait for the grades upon the test is passed. This is extremely important psychological and educational factor.
6. It is obligatory requirement that the test results are to be analyzed.
In conclusion it is necessary to stress the point that being the system of tasks having specific form and scope, the test is the scientifically grounded tool for evaluation of the students’ knowledge, abilities and skills that assists in individual control of the each student progress results and mobile supervision of the teaching & educational process.
According to the pedagogical experience, it is extremely difficult to determine objectively the level of anyone’s skills for adoption of knowledge and activity styles. In order to facilitate fulfillment of this task it is proposed to separate two permanently interconnected terms: evaluation criteria and forms.
1) Evaluation criteria are the provisions to be mandatory followed in the time of giving certain grades;
2) Evaluation norms are the conditions to be met by the teacher in the time of giving certain grade to the student.
It is highly important to explain the evaluation criteria as thereof analysis is the analysis of the verification object. Giving the certain grade to the student, the teacher shall take into account:
1) Character of just known knowledge adoption (the level of understanding, remembering ability, scope, comprehensiveness and accuracy of knowledge);
2) Quality of the knowledge shown by a student (logic of thinking, argumentation, consistency and independence in exposition, culture of speech, etc.);
3) Level of mastering just known activity styles, abilities and skills for practical application of the gained knowledge;
4) Gaining the experience of the creative activity;
5) Quality of the work done (appearance, performance rate, accuracy, etc.).
The following are the structural components of the academic activities (studying) that may represent the evaluation objects:
1. Substantive component – knowledge about the object of studies (idea, concept, phenomenon, inclusive of the rules and means for its conversion, requirements to the result; components and consistency of the fulfillment of the task as the item of the academic activities, etc.). The scope of knowledge defined by educational programs and the state standards.
In the time of evaluation, the following knowledge characteristics are to be analyzed: comprehensiveness; correctness, coherence; consciousness (understanding, dividing into essence and secondary items, verbalization – oral representation in the form of reproduction (exposition), and explanation); application of knowledge (adequacy, independence under new conditions (according to example, analogy and relative novelty), providing the assistance).
2. Operative & organizational component – actions, conduct modes (abilities, skills) and activities:
Subject based (according to the subject programs)
Mental (comparison, abstracting, classification, generalization, and so forth);
Comprehensive educational (analysis, planning, organization and control of process and results of carried out tasks, and the activity on the whole; skills for work with books and the other available information sources).
Moreover, the following characteristics of actions, conduct modes and activities are to be also analyzed:
Fulfillment correctness;
Independence under new conditions (according to example, analogy and relative novelty);
Providing the assistance: practical (common activities of a teacher and the students, demonstration and giving an example); verbal (re-instructing, explanation, questions, prompts and directions); general (stimulation, support, commendation and attention promotion);
Consciousness about the way of conduct – understanding and verbal representation: reproduction (exposition), explanation, application under new conditions (according to example, analogy and relative novelty);
3. Emotional & motivational component – attitude to studies. The following characteristics are to be analyzed:
Character and power (indifferent, not enough expressed positive, interested, clear positive);
Efficiency (from contemplative (passive) to effective);
Stability (from occasional to constant).
These characteristics of the subject based, operative & organizational and emotional & motivational components of the educational process may just represent the basis for determination of the students’ advancement levels (I – elementary, II – medium, III – satisfactory and IV – advanced) and general criteria for its evaluation and appropriate grades.
Being the functional components of the studying process in the modern Higher School, the control and evaluation are subjected to the significant reconsideration. It is obvious that anyone could trace the trend for its maximum differentiation and multiplication.
Humanization and democratization of the education, reorientation of the secondary education from the reproductive process to the creative development of the pupil’s personality, formation of his primary skills and competences require modification of approaches to evaluation of the academic advancement of the future teachers.
In our opinion, it is also important that the teachers’ attention is being paid not only to the need for the equipment of the students with certain scope of knowledge, abilities and skills, but to the necessary formation of the certain competences. The term ‘Competence’ includes the set of personal qualities and general awareness, and it is based not only upon knowledge, experience, certain values adopted in the course of study in the Higher School, but also upon personal skills.
The following competence groups shall be used as criteria for the students’ advancement evaluation:
- Social (Social activities, participation in the NGOs’ activities, ability for prevention and settlement of conflicts, for independent making of decisions and bearing the responsibility for thereof results, etc.);
- Polycultural (skills in reaching a consensus when solving different issues related either to the professional activity, or everyday communication with people having different views, representing different religious confessions and various nationalities, etc.);
- Communicative (high level of group communication culture, fluent speaking different languages and their practical application under certain conditions);
- Informational (skills for getting different information with help of the modern information technologies, its understanding based upon principle of criticism and application for the purpose of knowledge gaining);
- Self development and education (need for self-improvement, improvement of the professional competence, general cultural level, development of personal skills, etc.);
- Competences being defined as skills for rational productive and creative activities.
It is specified in modern educational regulations that personality-oriented secondary education shall provide for:
- Application of the new pedagogical ethic of communication between teachers and pupils (mutual respect, mutual understanding and creative interaction);
- Necessary personal communication;
- Making use of dialogues (as prevailing form of cooperation) in the time of communication that forms the ability for free exchange with thoughts and modeling of the lifelike situations;
- Orientation to development of creativity and creative activities in the course of the teaching & educational process;
- Strengthening of children’s personality value by all available means;
- Availability of teachers with skills for simultaneous teaching the students according to ‘multilevel complicity’ programs, etc.
Reform of the modern comprehensive secondary school sets up more strict requirements to the new generation of the teachers playing the role of main guides for the further life style and professional advancement for those, who are going to live and act in the third millennium.
In our opinion, the module-rating education that was firstly applied by the USA in the 60-s and being widely spread to the date among English speaking countries and the Western Europe can be just the option enabling the improvement of the quality of the higher education in our country. This new technology has radically changed pedagogical relations between the student and the teacher and assisted in increase of the specialists training quality.
To the date, the Ukrainian higher educational institutions, in particular Zhytomyr State University n.a. I. Franko, have gained significant experience in the rating system applied for the organization of studies and thereof results evaluation.
What is the essence of the rating system for evaluation of knowledge? What is the academic rating? First of all, it is specific evaluation scale, grade, rank (Eng. – Rating). This is a comprehensive indicator of the advancement in studies, peculiar index (integral) or class.
The rating system is based upon principle of accumulation of the grades for the certain studying period (module, half-year, year, 5 years) given for different activities. The total of the said grades is considered to be the quantitative result of the student’s work quality compared with his mates. However, it reflects not only quality of knowledge and skills, but also an accuracy of work, activity, independence and creativity. It is assumed to perform regular ranking of the students (as well as the final one – for graduates).
This work is aimed to making of the rating system able to stimulate self work of the student and evaluate the quality and plenitude of the material adoption. The scope of adopted material is evaluated by the scale:
-From 70% to 79% of actually adopted material – ‘Satisfactory’;
-From 80% to 89% of actually adopted material – ‘Good’;
- From 90% to 100% of actually adopted material – ‘Excellent’.
Therefore, the total rating of the students is defined via the following formula:
Where 0(5), 0(4) and 0(3) - is the number of positive grades (‘Five’, ‘Four’ and ‘Three’ accordingly) given in the time of mastering the complete course; n - is the number of classes according to curriculum.
High grades given for separate topics of the educational course can not compensate the lack of knowledge on the other topics. In order to stimulate the independence and activity of the students in the course of lectures, and as well to improve their stimulation for studying it is proposed to evaluate the passive attitude by grade ‘Unsatisfactory’.
Therefore, the total rating of the student is defined via the following formula:
Where 0(2) – is the number of ‘unsatisfactory’ grades given in the time of mastering the complete course.
Rating shall be no less than 70% of material adopted with ‘Satisfactory’ grade, while the number of ‘Unsatisfactory’ grades shall be no more than 30%, i.e.:
R = 0.7 x 3-0.3 x 2 = 1.5;
For grade ‘Good’:
R = 0.8 x 4-0.2 x 2 = 2.8;
For grade ‘Excellent’:
R = 0.9 x 5-0.1 x 2 = 4.3
Introduction of the additional rating in the time of the students’ academic activity evaluation provides for thereof differentiation. Therefore, the quality of homework or individual task may be determined according to ‘the Harrington's desirability function’ by application of the table of correspondence between desirability ratios within empirical and psychological systems:
‘Satisfactory’ -0.4 – 0.6
‘Good’ -0.6 – 0.8
‘Excellent’ -0.8 – 1.0
Rating of the student’s individual work is determined via the following formula:
R іnd = P/n,
Where P – is the total of points given for self work; n – is the number of laboratory and practical classes according to curriculum.
Moreover, grade point average for the student’s individual work becomes significant only upon the number of the classes according to curriculum is exceeded by the number of the individual classes.
The individual work is organized within three levels:
1 – Reproductive one, when the student is required to know primary laws and regularities and be able to apply them for carrying out of the elementary tasks;
2 – Reproductive & creative one, when the student is required to know primary laws, regularities and principles and be able to apply them according to algorithms for solution of standard pedagogical tasks examined in the course of practical classes.
3 – Creative & Searching one that assumes availability of the skills for independent building of the algorithm for solution of training or pedagogical task.
If the student is known for active participation in the self work he can be given the total rating with grade being one point higher upon carrying out the ‘lower’ level task.
Such a comprehensive approach to the knowledge evaluation provides for taking into account the scope and quality of the adopted material, stimulation of the student’s self work and dynamic analyzing of the educational process.
In case of module program implementation, the post-program evaluation grade of the students is composed upon academic activities within the half-year study on the whole. The level of creative activity is defined by number and scope of the students’ positive activity deeds upon the results of current control (participation in quizzes, preparation of abstracts, crossword puzzles; submitting of the grounded proposals, etc.). In doing so, the individual factor of the student’s creative activity (CAF) is determined as the relationship between individual creative activity deed number (CAD) and the best student’s CAD or normative value.
In the time of current, interim and post-program module control, the points of rating are totalized and converted into individual cumulative index for each student upon completion of the course, thus enabling anybody to see clearly his intellectual and professional achievements and to compare it with rating of his mates. Such motivational conditions provide for implementation of the competitive principle in the academic activities, and stimulation of each student for improvement of personal work and organization of the educational process on the whole.
The creative contact between the teacher and the student under such conditions is being significantly improved, thus enabling the possibility for intensification of the educational process. At the same time, the most part of students shall schedule their own individual strategy of studying (by the scope, rate and forms of adoption), thus avoiding the contingency and subjectivity in the time of examination, and resulting in meeting the set objectives.
The students going to improve their rating and get the higher examination grade shall pass the examination. In the course of examination the student may be given not more than 22% from the total points got during the half-year course. The ‘value’ of the examination grade is added to the student’s rating for the half-year academic period. The post-program grade is defined on the basis of the aggregate rating. In case of unsatisfactory grade, the evaluation of the student’s knowledge is left at the previous level.
Therefore, the model of rating system for evaluation of the student’s academic activities shall consist of the certain elements of the academic and creative activities, and include motivational stimuli complying with various motivational demands by its form, and finally be permanently improved depending on implementation of the pedagogical principle assuming the cooperation between the teacher and the students.