For ages, assessment translates into writing for hours in a crowded exam hall. How can teachers conduct an alternative assessment to foster a 21st-century learning environment in their classrooms?
On 6th May 2020, the School of Education organized a Webinar entitled “Trends in Educational Assessment: Alternative Assessment in IR4.0”. The guest speaker was Dr. Umawathy A/P Techanamurthy, Senior Assistant Director, Instructional & Digital Learning Division, Department of Polytechnic and Community College Education, Ministry of Education, Malaysia.
This webinar was moderated by Dr. Lee Yee Ling, Lecturer from School of Education. The participants consisted of bachelor and postgraduate students from School of Education, Taylor’s lecturers, lecturers from local universities and teachers from Seychelles. The discussion topics revolved around the alternative assessments more specifically self-reflection and portfolios which could be adopted by teachers to assess student learning.
During the first part of the webinar, Dr. Umawathy shared some implementation tips for conducting self-reflection; various types of reflection strategies such as exit ticket, video and audio recording; as well as different types of questions which could guide students to self-reflect. The participants actively participated in the first Q&A session. Next, Dr. Umawathy continued her sharing session on utilizing portfolios to monitor students’ progressive development throughout their learning journey.
Finally, Dr Umawathy recommended some useful digital tools for designing reflection tasks and portfolios. Dr Umawathy also discussed some emerging issues in assessment, including effective peer assessment, alternative assessment for quantitative subjects and mindful learning among young students during the second Q&A session.
The webinar ended at 7.15 p.m. with a summary and words of appreciation for the guest speakers and participants for their support.