Assessment & Critique
Assessment
Purpose
- To determine how students’ progress in their training
- A good assessment provides practical and specific feedback to students, including direction and guidance on how to raise performance.
- Contributes to decision making and judgment skills
Characteristics
Objective
- Focus on student performance, not on personal opinions, likes, dislikes, or biases
- To be objective, a critique must be honest and based on the performance as it was
Flexible
- The performance must be examined in the context it was accomplished
- Fit the tone, technique, and content of the critique to the occasion as well as the student
- Allow for variables and be flexible to satisfy the requirements of the moment.
Acceptable
- Before accepting the critique, students must accept the instructor
- Must be confident in qualifications, teaching ability, sincerity, competence, and authority
- Present the critique fairly, with authority, conviction, sincerity, and from a position of competence.
Comprehensive
- Cover strengths & weaknesses
- What will provide the greatest benefit?
- A few major points or more minor points (tailor to the student)
- Critique what needs improved most or only what can be reasonably expected to improve
Constructive
- The critique is pointless unless the student profits from it
- Don’t offer a negative critique without a solution
Organized
- It should follow a pattern of organization, otherwise, it may lose its impact
- Any pattern is acceptable if it is logical and makes sense to the student and instructor
- Options Include:
- The sequence of the performance itself
- Work backward from where the demonstration failed (or was successful)
- Break the whole into parts or build the parts into a whole
Thoughtful
- Reflects thoughtfulness to self-esteem, recognition, and approval from others
- Ridicule, anger, or fun at a student’s expense have no place in a critique
Specific (Rather Than General)
- Tell the student why something was not good and how to improve it
- Students should have no doubt what was good, and what was poor, and how they can improve.
Traditional Assessment
- Generally, refers to written testing
- Characteristics of a good test
- Reliability
- Validity
- Usability
- Objectivity
- Comprehensiveness
- Discrimination
Authentic Assessment
- The student is asked to perform real-world tasks, and demonstrate a meaningful application of skills and competencies
- Students must generate responses from their knowledge rather than choosing from options
- Open-ended questions and set criteria are important characteristics.
Oral Assessment
- The most common method of assessment
- Comprised of direct or indirect questioning of the student
Characteristics of effective oral questions
- Have only one correct answer
- Must apply to the subject of instruction
- Should be brief and concise, but also clear and definite
- Must be adapted to the ability, experience, and stage of training of the students
- Center on only one idea
- Should be limited to who, what, where, when, why, or how and not a combination
- Must present a challenge to the student
- Demand and deserve the use of proper English
Types of Questions to Avoid
- “Do you understand?” “Do you have any questions?” have no place in effective quizzing
- Puzzle Questions
- Oversize
- Toss-up
- Bewilderment
- Trick Questions
- Irrelevant Questions
Critique
Instructor / Student Critique
- The instructor leads a group discussion in which students offer criticism of a performance
- This should be controlled carefully and directed with a firm purpose (not a free-for-all)
- It’s often beneficial (if the student being critiqued approves) to allow other students to sit in on post-flight debriefs to learn from other’s mistakes and/or successes.
Student-Led Critique
- A student is asked to lead the critique
- This can generate student interest and learning, and be effective
Small-Group Critique
- Small groups are assigned a specific area to analyze and present their findings on
- Results in a comprehensive critique
Individual Student Critique by Another Student
- Another student is requested to present the entire critique
- The instructor must maintain firm control over the process.
Self-Critique
- A student critiques their own personal performance
- Do not leave controversial issues unresolved, or erroneous impressions uncorrected
- Make sure the student realizes the mistakes
Written Critique
- Three Advantages
- The instructor can devote more time and thought to it
- The student can keep written critiques and refer to them whenever they wish
- The student has a record of suggestions, recommendations, and opinions of all other students
- A disadvantage is that the other members of the class do not benefit
Ground Rules
- Do not extend the critique beyond its scheduled time limit and into the time allotted for other activities
- Point of diminishing returns is reached very quickly
- No more than 10-15 minutes (never more than 30 minutes)
- Avoid trying to cover too much
- Get the main points (4-5 things to correct at most)
- Allow time for a summary of the critique to reemphasize the most important things to remember
- Avoid absolute statements (most rules have exceptions)
- Avoid controversies with the class and don’t take sides
- Never allow yourself to be maneuvered into defending criticism!
- Don’t let the student argue and tell you that you are wrong
- If part of the critique is written, ensure it is consistent with the oral portion
Conclusion & Review
Briefly review the main lesson points & anything in question
Review
- Assessment:
- Purpose of assessment
- General characteristics of effective assessment
- Traditional assessment
- Authentic assessment
- Oral assessment
- Characteristics of effective questions
- Typers of questions to avoid
- Critique:
- Instructors/student critique
- Student-lead critique
- Small group critique
- Individual student critique by another student
- Self-critique
- Written critique