Biology Upper Secondary Teacher Guide - Department of Education

BiologyAssess in classUse class time to carry out and to assess tasks. Presentations or projects,marked by you or the students, enable instant developmental evaluation andfeedback. Brief assessments of projects, stages of the design process, orpractical work take less time to mark and are useful because they giveimmediate feedback to students on their progress and allow you to mark theproject in stages with minimum effort.Feedback to the whole classFeedback to the whole class can cut down on the amount of individualfeedback required. On returning assessed work, emphasise the criteria forjudging the work, discuss the characteristics of good and bad answers, andhighlight common strengths and weaknesses.Set group-work alternativesAssess one presentation per group. The student’s mark is the group mark,but may include a component based on the individual’s contribution. Astrategy for allocating an individual mark includes each member of the groupusing criteria to evaluate the relative contributions of individuals, with themarks averaged for the individual.Set clear deadlinesSet aside a time for marking. Be careful about extending this period (byallowing students to hand in work late).Shift the responsibilityIntroduce self-assessment and peer assessmentDevelop in students the skills to evaluate their own work and that of theirpeers. With the students, use the assessment criteria against which work isjudged, highlighting strengths and weaknesses. Self-assessment increasesthe amount of feedback students get. It can supplement or replace teacherassessment.Treat each task differentlyEvery piece of work need not be evaluated to the same degree; a mark neednot be the outcome in every case; and not every piece of student workneeds to contribute to the final grade. Assessment is designed to enhancethe learning and teaching experience for the teacher and the learner, not justto give marks.22