Sáng kiến kinh nghiệm Applying self - Assessment rubrics to improve 10th graders writing skill

Nội dung tóm tắt: Sáng kiến kinh nghiệm Applying self - Assessment rubrics to improve 10th graders writing skill

1. 2.4. Finding and Evaluation Before the study began, all subjects ( class 10A2 and 10D6) were tested their writing skill. I chose the writing task of Unit 1 as a pre – test. Students were asked to write a paragraph about how people in their family share housework. I then graded them and used the grades as pre-test results. The students of class 10A2 were purposefully assigned as the experimental group while class 10D6 was a control group. In the experimental group, each student was asked to independently assess his own writing after each session. I also instructed them to self-assess their pre-test. At first, the students showed that they were unable and afraid of self- evaluation. Besides, they were not serious and began complaining and explaining that they were not used to it. Before the beginning of each writing lesson, the teacher urged the students to use the rubric and they followed the teacher's instructions until they got used to using it. Gradually, they changed from reluctant to better writers. They could confidently self- assess their own writing products. In the control group, students were taught with the same traditional method without self- assessing their own writing. The study was conducted in a period of six months (from Unit 1 to Unit 8). At the end of this period, all subjects were tested on the writing skill. I chose the writing task of Unit 8 as the post test. The results of pre-test and post – test were illustrated as follow: 7 6 5.76 4.95 5 4.45 4.63 4 Pre-test 3 Post-test 2 1 0 Control Group Experimental Group Figure: Pre-test and post-test mean scores by the control and experimental groups It can be seen from the chart, there were no significant differences between the two groups prior to the inception of the innovation because the mean score of the pre-test results for both groups was 4.45 and 4.63 respectively. However, the difference is significant in that of the post-test. In the post-test, the mean score for the control group is 4.63 compared with 5.76 for the experimental group. This shows the improvement in students‟ writing performance after applying self- assessment with the use of rubrics. From the results above, it 32
2. can be inferred that the innovation with self-evaluation rubrics utilized in a writing lessons for 10th graders seemed to ameliorate the writing skill in this class. The table below illustrated the remarkable improvements in students‟ ability in their writing achievement after implementing self- assessment with the use of rubrics Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Level 1 ( Score: 5- ( Score: 7-> ( Score: 9-> Results of ( Score: under 7) under 9) 10) No % No % No % No % Pre-test 18 45% 16 40% 6 15% 0 0% Post-test 8 20% 22 55% 8 20% 2 5% Table: Pre-test and post-test results by experimental group PART C: CONCLUSION With the respect to the fact that many Vietnamese high school students are passive learners primarily concerned with getting good marks, rubric-referenced self-assessment can be implemented as an ultimate tool to foster 10th grade students‟ writing skill. Besides, along with enhancing students‟ learning, they are proved to effectively help them to become a “self regulated learners”, which supports the educational goal of student- centred approach. Since rubric-referenced self- assessment concerns both reflection and evaluation of one‟s work, it helps students to accurately locate their own strengths and weaknesses and allows them to think clearly about what they need to do to accomplish their goals, enhancing their motivation and self-efficacy so as to improve learning overall. Within this process, students can develop a sense of autonomy and responsibility in their learning; consequently, they may become independent learners in control of their own learning, which is one of the prominent general competencies in the General Education Program 2018 of MOET. 33
3. However, using rubrics for self-evaluation is not really easy for all students due to their various level of proficiency. I, therefore, attempt to make some following pedagogical suggestions To begin with, teachers should not be the only one creating rubrics. Therefore, after a considerable amount of time getting used to using teacher- designed rubrics to assess some products, students should be encouraged to create their own version of rubrics. Nevertheless, it is advisable that students should know the expectations from their teachers prior to their rubric design. In fact, assessment has never been an easy task even for teachers. For this reason, teachers should bear in mind that students will need a great deal of assistance when it comes to self-assessment. Indeed, rubrics should be widely used in teaching writing. It is clear that learners need frequent practice of using rubrics when writing so that they can take on the rubric criteria and as such they can get better writing performance. Besides, students should be promoted to identify the strengths and weaknesses in their own and peers‟ writing work, recognize the reasons for these weaknesses, and have discussions about possible improvements with their peers and their teachers. This will allow students to flourish a more visible individual voice in their writing attempt. Moreover, through responses to the feedback regarding self-assessment, teachers may understand students‟ affective states, use of strategies, and goals. Ultimately, this facilitates teacher-student interaction, while also alleviating some of the burden of assessment for teachers. In short, the study suggests the clear feasibility of implementing self- assessment in high school English classrooms: with proper preparation, implementing rubric-references self-assessment can be a good alternative to traditional assessments, fostering self-regulated learning and a student-centered learning context and enhancing students‟ overall English learning. 34
4. REFERENCES • Andrade, H. L., & Cizek, G. J. (2010). Handbook of formative assessment. Routledge. • Andrade, H., Du, Y., & Mycek, K. (2010). Rubric-referenced self-assessment and middle school students‟ writing. Assessment in Education, 17(2), 199-214. • Arter, J., & McTighe, J. (2002). Scoring rubrics in the classroom: Using performance criteria for assessing and improving student performance. California: Corwin Press. • Boston (Ed.), Understanding scoring rubrics: A guide for teachers (pp. 5-13). College Park, MD: University of Maryland Press. • Busching, B. (1998). Grading inquiry projects. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 74(2), 89-96. • Carver, C. S., & Scheier, M. F. (1981). Attention and self-regulation: A control-theory approach to human behavior. New York: Springer Science & Business Media. • Dawson, P. (2017). Assessment rubrics: Towards clearer and more replicable design, research and practice. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 42(3), 347-360. • Johnson, R. L., Penny, J., & Gordon, B. (2000). The relation between score resolution methods and interrater reliability: An empirical study of an analytic scoring rubric. Applied Measurement in Education, 13(2), 121-138. • Hoang Van Van, Hoang Thi Xuan Hoa. (2021). Tiếng Anh 10. NXB Giao Duc. • Stiggins, R. J. (2001). Student-involved classroom assessment (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/Prentice-Hall. • Perlman, C. C. (2002). An introduction to performance assessment scoring rubrics. In Popham, W. J. (1997). What‟s wrong and what‟s right with rubrics. Educational Leadership. Whats-Right_With-Rubrics.pdf • Zimmerman, B. J., & Schunk, D. H. (2004). Self-regulating intellectual processes and outcomes: A social cognitive perspective. In D. Y. Dai & R. J. Sternberg (Eds.), Motivation, emotion, and cognition: Integrative perspectives on intellectual functioning and development (p. 323-349). New York: Routledge. 35
5. APPENDIX APPENDIX 1 QUESTIONNAIRE FOR TEACHERS This survey questionnaire is intended for the study “APPLYING SELF- ASSESSMENT RUBRICS TO IMPROVE 10TH GRADERS’ WRITING SKILL” We are grateful for your goodwill and cooperation in truthfully completing the questionnaire, which hopefully takes you just little time. Please be assured that the information you provide will be treated in the strictest confidence. Thank you very much! Please tick or write answer where necessary. 1. What problems do you face when correcting students' writing tasks? A. Students‟ limitation of vocabulary and grammatical structures B. The lack of students‟ background knowledge of writing tasks C. The limited time D. Large classes E. Others (please specify) 2. What techniques do you usually use to correct students' writing tasks? A. students' self-assessment B. peer editing C. teacher‟s quick correction D. alternative assessment techniques 3. How often do you use self- assessment rubrics to correct students' writing tasks? A. Always B. Usually C. Sometimes D. Seldom E. Never 36
6. 4. Do you think that it is useful to use self- assessment rubrics in writing lesson? A. Strongly disagree B. Disagree C. Neither disagree nor agree D. Agree E. Strongly agree 37
7. APPENDIX 2 SELF – ASSESSMENT SHEET 38
8. APPENDIX 3 Some writing products of the experimental class (10A2) 39
9. APPENDIX 4 Some writing products of the control class (10D6) 42