Dear colleagues , teachers of English
Thank you for your great efforts in your schools .
We inform you of the program of the general directorate of the educational supervision concerning the English language teaching strategies . Such program and strategies aim at having well-professional teachers as well as well-educated learners . Eight strategies are inducted in this program : Formative Assessment, Role Playing, Inquiry Based Learning, Science Processes, Language Communication, Concept Mapping, Critical Thinking and Creative Thinking . The application of this program starts this term with the formative assessment strategy .
Formative Assessment
The Definition and Concept :-
Formative assessment is the diagnostic use of evaluation to provide feedback to the teacher and to the student as well over the instruction during the learning process. This evaluation can be employed by the teacher's observation, classroom discussion and the analysis of student work such as : tasks in the classroom , homework and tests . Also, the teacher may start the teaching process through judging what the student know, and what they don't know in order for him to determine the intended goals that expected to take place at the end of the instructional course . Therefore, the teacher in this strategy can identify the weaknesses of his students as well as the troubles that they might have in order to provide more opportunities for learners practice or alter the instructional techniques and approaches when necessary. In contrast with the summative assessment which concerns about grades and occurs at the end of the instruction, the primary objective of the formative evaluation is to improve and promote students learning through the use of continuous and ongoing teaching and assessment .
Teacher's Role In Formative Assessment :-
Since the main goal of the formative assessment is to enhance the students level during the learning process, the teacher can implement this strategy effectively through the following :-
1- The focus of the teacher should turn to the quality of his students rather than the quantity of activities and grades .
2- Giving the students the opportunity of self-assessment and goal settings .
3- The teacher raises the students awareness on the target language by the useful teaching process according to the learner's context and nature .
4- Providing opportunities for learners to express their understanding by the classroom discussions .
5- The teacher encourages students to participate in order to improve their own learning outcomes .
6- The emphasis in the formative assessment model should be on the instruction and learning process rather than focusing on grades and marks .
7- The activities inside the classroom can be done cooperatively between students , and sometimes competitively according to the classroom context .
Goals and Objectives of The Formative Assessment :-
The employment of the formative evaluation model result in many benefits and positive outcomes as well as achieving the goals and objectives of the formative assessment such as :-
1- Increasing motivation among learners as a result of the teacher's adapting to their needs and relating the material to their own life .
2- The learner can enhance his self-autonomy and take more responsibilities resulting from the participation in goal setting and self-evaluation .
3- Applying the formative assessment effectively result in promoting social skills among learners through cooperation in tasks and activities .
4- Developing the learner's self-esteem when he realizes his role in modifying or even changing the instructional process given by the teacher .
5- Enhancing learner's own self-regulation when he takes control of his learning, doing tasks and evaluating his own work .
6- Provoking students abilities by the use of fruitful activities in the classroom and dialogues .
7- Reinforcing the self-confidence of the learner when he become aware of his significant role in the classroom and even contributes greatly in changing the instructional techniques if they are not appropriate to the learning environment .
8- Eliminating the psychological barriers that learners might encounter such as: anxiety and boredom resulting from keeping the same routine to pave their way into the English language learning .
Examples of Formative Assessment :-
Now, after what we have explained above , we take for granted that the formative assessment strategy influenced mostly about the following factors :-
Starting from what the students know to the unknown, classroom dialogues and discussions, the observations of the teacher toward his students reactions alongside the analysis of their performance at homework and tests . Thus, according to the formative assessment model, the teacher is prescribed to involve everyone in his procedures in the classroom, and we have some suggested strategies to encourage learners to participate and they are the following :-
1- Giving the students a certain activity, task, topic or question , then dividing them into small groups for sharing their ideas and thoughts about such problem .
2- Asking students to summarize and point out the main ideas they have taken or discussed during their classroom activities and discussions .
3- Interviewing students in groups or individually about the group's work to solve the problems or the intended activity .
4- Developing cooperation and collaboration among learners through correcting each others' mistakes in the group .
5- Checking the students understanding and making decisions about their practices by the employment of the following :-
questioning , admitting slips , self and peer assessment , constructive quizzes and practicing presentations .
Finally , we appreciate your contributions in the educational field, and we wish for all of you success and the best of luck with best regards of the English Language Department
Prepared by the English Language Supervisors :-
Abdulelah Matar Al-Otaibi
Bandar Dhahwi Al- Otaibi
العرض العادي
