English Teaching Forum Magazine January 2002, Volume 40

J ULY 2002 E NGLISH T EACHING F ORUM

Ghazi Ghaith

LTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT IS A USEFUL MEANS OF GATHERING EVIDENCE REGARDING

how learners approach, process, and complete real life tasks in the target lan-

guage. Labels such as performance, authentic, informal, and situated, have been

used to describe alternative assessment. Despite the different labels, what is com-

mon among these types of assessment is that they do not adhere to the tradi-

tional testing criteria of objectivity, machine scorability, standardization, or cost-

effectiveness (Huerta-Macias 1995).

Alternative assessment uses a wide variety of formats, such as checklists, journals,

reading logs, portfolios, videos of role-plays, audio-tapes of discussions, self-eval-

uation questionnaires, teacher observations, and anecdotal records to assess the

performance of students. These formats show what the students can actually do

rather than what they are able to recall. Alternative assessment reflects the cur-

riculum being taught and provides information on the strengths and weaknesses

of each student. Furthermore, it provides multiple ways of determining the

progress of students and can be more culturally sensitive and free of the linguistic

and cultural biases inherent in traditional testing (Huerta-Marcias 1995).

Using

ooperative L

earning

Facilitate

lternative

ssessment

L EBANON

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Alternative assessment is closely intertwined

with classroom instruction. It does not require

a separate block of time to be administered

because it is based on day-to-day instructional

activities. Finally, alternative assessment pro-

vides valid and reliable documentation of stu-

dents’ achievement and progress. This is because

it utilizes various procedures and formats that

provide multiple sources of evidence based on

students’ products and performance tasks.

There are a number of issues, however, that

teachers need to consider when doing alterna-

tive assessment. These issues are multifaceted

and need to be integrated properly into an

ongoing instructional program. They range

from the purpose, focus, and setting to the

stakes and shareholders of assessment. John-

son, Johnson, and Holubec (1993) maintain

that the purposes of assessment can be diag-

nostic, formative, or summative, whereas the

focus can be the process of learning, the process

of instruction, or the outcomes of learning and

instruction. Likewise, the setting can be artifi-

cial (classroom) or authentic (real world) and

the stakes can be low or high, depending upon

whether the purposes of assessment are to

determine, for example, the students’ instruc-

tional needs (formative) or their admission to

college (summative). Finally, the shareholders

of assessment can be students and parents, the

teaching staff, the administrators, colleges, and

even potential employers.

The issues involved in assessment become

even more diversified when we consider the

question of what gets assessed and evaluated.

For instance, Johnson and Johnson (1996a)

maintain that teachers need to measure stu-

dents’ academic abilities, skills, and competen-

cies as well as their attitudes and work habits.

This suggests that in conducting alternative

assessment, teachers need to integrate assess-

ment procedures into an ongoing instruction-

al program. These procedures will enable

teachers to gather and interpret valid and reli-

able evidence regarding the progress of their

students in the cognitive and non-cognitive

domains of schooling.

The purpose of this article is to show how

cooperative learning can be used to facilitate

alternative assessment in the second or foreign

language classroom. Cooperative learning is an

instructional strategy that utilizes group work

to structure classroom interaction. It is based on

the principles of positive interdependence, indi-

vidual accountability, face-to-face interaction,

interpersonal skills, and group processing as

means to achieving individual and group goals.

Cooperative assessment activities

The following seven examples of coopera-

tive assessments were selected based on the

assumptions that language teaching involves

instructional objectives in the linguistic as

well as paralinguistic domains and that meet-

ing these objectives requires continuous and

performance-based assessment. Likewise, it is

assumed that cooperative learning facilitates

language assessment given that it provides

opportunities for continuous improvement

and possibilities for assessing individual and

group outcomes in a supportive and stress-

reduced environment.

Correcting individual quizzes and homework

This is an activity that enables teachers to

save time when correcting individual quizzes

and homework assignments. The activity can

be used with students at the beginning, inter-

mediate, and advanced levels of language pro-

ficiency. The activity is most useful to assess

material that lends itself to single right answers,

such as language rules and mechanics. It can

also be used to assess reading and listening

comprehension of ideas that are directly stated

in the text, rather than implied. The procedure

for this activity is as follows:

1. Assign students to heterogeneous groups of

four.

2. Assign each group member a role. Four

roles can be used to complete this assess-

ment: runner, explainer, accuracy checker,

and reporter. The group runner gets mater-

ial and takes it to the group. The explainer

explains step by step how to complete the

homework or answer the quiz correctly. The

accuracy checker verifies that the explana-

tion is accurate based on answer keys, text-

books, or class notes. The reporter records

the group responses and reports the score of

each group member. These roles should be

rotated to ensure that all members of the

group do an equal amount of running,

explaining, checking, and reporting.

3. Ask students to submit their individual

quizzes or homework assignments and

arrange them in group folders.

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4. Have the group runner collect the group

folder and hand out the material to the

group members.

5. Have the group explainer explain the task

and discuss answers, the accuracy checker

verify correct answers, and the reporter report

the performance of each group member.

6. Finally, have the group runner return the

group folder to the teacher and the group

members analyze their performance and set

goals for further improvement.

Observing students at work

Observing students at work provides valu-

able information regarding a number of core

objectives related to student behavior, for

example, work habits, persistence in complet-

ing tasks, and development of leadership and

social skills. These skills include giving encour-

agement, respecting others, using a quiet voice,

staying in group, and checking for understand-

ing. The procedure of this activity is as follows:

1. Specify exactly what behaviors, actions, or

events you need to observe and define them

operationally by generating a list of the ver-

bal phrases and nonverbal actions that

demonstrate the skills.

2. Devise or use existing observation forms

such as those suggested by Johnson and

Johnson (1996b). See Appendix 1.

3. Assign students to heterogeneous groups

and give them an assignment, such as com-

pleting a task sheet, answering comprehen-

sion questions, or practicing language rules

and mechanics.

4. Move from one group to another and listen

to students’ explanations and discussions on

how to complete the assignment, and fill in

the observation form. Assess students’ level

of understanding and cognitive reasoning,

and assess the strategies they use to com-

plete the assignment.

6. Teachers may appoint student observers or

ask class visitors to help them. In addition,

individual group members may fill out a

checklist or questionnaire at the end of this

activity to assess how well and how often

they performed certain behaviors and mas-

tered certain social skills.

Interviews

Interviews can be very useful in determining

students’ levels of learning, cognitive reasoning,

and problem-solving abilities. However, inter-

views require a certain level of proficiency in

order for students to express themselves in the

target language. As such, this activity may not

be applicable at the beginning level of profi-

ciency. The procedure is as follows:

1. Assign students to heterogeneous groups of

four or five and give each group a set of

questions.

2. Instruct the groups to prepare all members

to respond to the questions. Give the

groups some classroom time to practice so

that all members can answer the questions

correctly.

3. Select randomly a student to answer a cer-

tain question or a series of questions. Ask

follow-up questions if necessary to probe

for more information. When the student

finishes responding to the question, have

other group members add to the answer.

4. Call on other students to answer different

questions until all the questions are

answered adequately.

Peer composition

This activity enables students to assist each

other in generating ideas for writing and

incorporating peer feedback in order to

improve their written work. The procedure is

as follows:

1. Based on instructional objectives, explain

the criteria for success in writing, such as

punctuation, organization, content, gram-

mar, and word choice.

2. Assign students to cooperative learning

pairs and give them a writing assignment.

3. Have student A describe his/her writing

plan to student B. Student B takes notes

and develops an outline of student A’s ideas

and gives it to him/her. Reverse roles so that

student A prepares an outline for student B.

4. Ask students to research their topics indi-

vidually. If possible, they can also look for

material useful for their partners.

5. Have students write the first paragraph of

each composition together, making sure

that they have a good start on their compo-

sitions. Ask students to finish the writing

individually.

6. Have students proofread their partner’s

composition and make corrections.

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7. Have each student revise his/her own paper,

then reread and sign their partner’s revised

paper.

8. Collect and grade the individual papers on

the basis of the criteria presented in step 1

as well as the number of errors made by the

pair of students. Have the pairs discuss how

effectively they worked together, focusing

specifically on what they need to emphasize

in their next writing assignment.

Oral presentations

This activity is intended to enable students

to give group presentations and assess their

performance. Working cooperatively in small

groups, students prepare an oral presentation

together, which they will then give individual-

ly to other members of the class. Like the

interviews described above, this activity

requires a certain level of oral proficiency, and

it may not be suitable for beginning level stu-

dents. The procedure is as follows:

1. Assign students to heterogeneous groups of

four with the responsibility that all group

members will prepare an oral presentation

together on a topic provided by the teacher.

2. Give students time to prepare and rehearse

so that all group members are able to give

the group’s presentation.

3. Divide the class into four sections in differ-

ent parts of the classroom, and have one

member of each group go to each section.

In their sections, each student gives their

group’s presentation to the other students.

4. Provide the audience (the other students)

with an evaluation form and have them

evaluate each presentation on the basis of

whether it was informative, concise, easy to

follow, engaging, and well organized.

5. Give a copy of the rating to the presenter

and keep a copy for your records.

6. Have the groups reconvene to evaluate how

effectively each member made the presenta-

tion and provide remedial support for any

member who had problems presenting.

Group projects

This activity assesses group assignments

and can be applied at all levels of proficiency:

The procedure is as follows:

1. Assign students to heterogeneous groups of

three or four.

2. Assign each group a project. Depending on

their level of proficiency, students could

prepare a poster, summarize a chapter, or

write a research report.

3. Provide each group with necessary material,

set a time limit, and monitor their work.

4. Have students present their group project

to the rest of the class.

5. Have students develop relevant evaluation

criteria and evaluate the final group projects

to determine which is the most original and

which is the best overall.

Group Processing

This activity enables each student to assess

the quality and quantity of his or her own

work habits and those of the other students in

the class. These habits include arriving on

time, preparedness to learn, and positive atti-

tudes towards self, peers, subject matter, and

school. The activity is also an opportunity for

students to reflect on their individual perfor-

mances and the performance of their groups.

The procedure is as follows:

1. Assign students to small groups and have

them each complete a checklist about their

individual work habits. See Appendix 2 for

a sample checklist.

2. Ask them to compare their self-ratings with

the ratings of their group mates. Ask stu-

dents to discuss their learning experiences

and reflect on the performance of group

members in terms of their achievement lev-

els, work habits, and ability to assist others.

Have them specify what was most success-

ful and what could be improved for future

work.

3. Have students celebrate their success, for

example, by planning a class party.

Conclusion

This article has proposed seven cooperative

learning activities that can facilitate alternative

assessment in the second and foreign language

classroom. The activities bring assessment

closer to the language course objectives in the

cognitive, communicative, and socio-cultural

domains. Furthermore, the activities reflect

the dynamics of real life situations where,

more often than not, success is based on group

rather than individual performance.

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References

Huerta-Macias A. 1995. Alternative assessment:

Responses to commonly asked questions.

TESOL Journal, 5, 1, pp. 8–11.

Johnson, D. W. and R. T. Johnson. 1996a. The role

of cooperative learning in assessing and com-

municating student learning. In ASCD year-

book: Communicating student learning, ed. T. R.

Gusky. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervi-

sion and Curriculum Development.

Johnson, D. W. and R. T. Johnson. 1996b. Mean-

ingful and manageable assessment through cooper-

ative learning. Edina, MN: Interaction Book

Company.

Johnson, D. W., R. T. Johnson, and E. J. Holubec.

1993. Cooperation in the classroom (6th ed.).

Edina, MN: Interaction Book Company.

Ghazi Ghaith is an associate professor of

language education at the American Univer-

sity of Beirut.

J ULY 2002 E NGLISH T EACHING F ORUM

[Adapted from Johnson and Johnson (1996b)]

Group members: _______________________________________________________

Behavior Yes No Comments

1. Do students understand

the task?

2. Are students thinking

aloud by explaining step

by step how to complete

the assignment?

3. Are students challenging

each others’ reasoning

and searching for new

information and under-

standing?

4. Are students using the

social and cognitive skills

they are expected to

practice in this lesson?

Observation Checklist

A PPENDIX 1

Using Cooperative Learning |

Ghaith

APPENDICES 1-4

[Adapted from Johnson and Johnson (1996b)]

Student: _______________________________________________________________

Indicators Observed Observed Comments

Frequently Sometimes

1. Accesses information

2. Does not give up

3. Tries different strategies

4. Seeks several solutions

5. Other (specify)

Persistence Checklist

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E NGLISH T EACHING F ORUM J ULY 2002

Social Skills Checklist

[Adapted from Johnson and Johnson (1996b)]

Student: __________________________________ Date: ____________Grade: _____

N = Needs Improvement S = Satisfactory E = Excellent

Facilitates Understanding Intellectual Challenge

____ Seeks accuracy (corrects) ____ Criticizes ideas, not people

____ Relates new learning to old ____ Differentiates members’ ideas

____ Helps group recall knowledge ____ Integrates members’ ideas

____ Checks for understanding ____ Asks for rationale, justification

Shows Cooperative Attitude Leadership Skills

____ Moves into group quietly ____ Clarifies goals

____ Stays with group, no wandering ____ Gives direction to group’s work

____ Uses quiet voice in group work ____ Contributes ideas, opinions

____ Takes turns ____ Requests others’ ideas, opinions

____ Uses others’ names ____ Summarizes, integrates

____ Is positive about group work ____ Encourages others’ participation

____ Is willing to help others ____ Supports, gives recognition & praise

____ Follows directions

____ Shows courtesy toward others

[Adapted from Johnson and Johnson (1996b)]

Student: __________________________________ Date: ____________Grade: _____

N = Needs Improvement S = Satisfactory E = Excellent

September December February May

Completes work on time

Uses time in class wisely

Checks work

Welcomes challenge

Is persistent

Accepts responsibility

Strives for high quality work

Asks for help appropriately

Participates in discussions

Follows school rules

Work Habits Checklist

A PPENDIX 2

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