A Course on Testing for Blended Learning

1. A Course on Testing for Blended Learning Svetla Tashevska, NBU, Sofia

2. The aim – to present: • an overview of my course on testing in FLT for undergraduates in the New Bulgarian University virtual learning environment (VLE), Moodle; • the rationale behind the construction of the course; • the ways in which I have started adapting some of its aspects to respond to the dynamically changing reality, and accommodate the changing needs of the students, combining their studies with employment responsibilities – something which presupposes blended or entirely online learning. S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

3. The course • is a compulsory part of the teaching strand of the Foreign Languages and Literatures studies (English, German, Spanish, French, Russian, Greek) • lasts one term (15 weeks) • is delivered in 90-minute sessions once a week • is delivered in Bulgarian - but uses illustrative material mainly in English • caters for students: • who attend lectures at the University • who cannot come and attend lectures at the University • who can only attend part of the lectures and combine that with work in the Moodle VLE S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

4. Course design Based on: • A framework of course development processes – Chapter 2 in Graves, K. (1996), Teachers as Course Developersb, Cambridge: CUP S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

5. Framework components • Needs assessment • Determining goals and objectives • Conceptualising content • Selecting and developing materials and activities • Organization of content and activities • Evaluation • Consideration of resources and constraints (Graves, 1996:13) S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

6. Course objectives Competences (knowledge, skills, attitudes as a result of the course) 1. Students will know: • some basic principles of testing and assessment in FLT • methods/ techniques/ formats for testing language knowledge and skills 2. Students will be able to: • apply the assessment principles to their practical work in the classroom • analyse ready/ published FL tests • construct their own FL tests according to the principles S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

7. Course objectives (continued) 3. Students: • will be better aware of the role of testing and assessment in FLT; • will develop a positive attitude to testing and assessment in FLT. S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

8. Three types of topics • Basic (1 – 6 ) - > teaching and testing, types of test, validity, reliability, test construction –stages, framework, some testing methods/techniques • Specific skills and systems (7 – 13) - > testing receptive skills, testing productive skills, testing grammar and vocabulary • Continuous and portfolio assessment (13 -15) - > analysing and evaluating the test, continuous assessment, self-assessment, portfolio assessment, the Common European Framework of Reference on testing and assessment S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

9. Welcome to the course! S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

10. Moodle Gives opportunities to all course participants to: • familiarise themselves with the outline of the course - with its aims, topics, ways of assessment, etc. - in their own time; • re/visit the topics presented in class; • find relevant lecture plans, presentations and materials & download/ print out their own copy, if needed; • follow links to material on Internet & make their own search; • take part in course-related tasks from the place & at the time most convenient for them; • discuss issues of concern with lecturer &/ or their peers, etc. S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

11. What students can find in Moodle: • Resources • Activities: • forums • wikis • tasks/ assignments S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

12. Resources • Files: • in Word • selected scanned book pages, articles, etc. in different formats (*pdf, *jpeg, etc.) • Links to material on the net S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

13. Activities Tasks/ assignments (individual) • online text • uploading a single file/ a number of files (agreed or limited by the lecturer) • off-line activities Forums • news forum – more general • topic specific – on each topic from the syllabus • Wikis S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

14. Two types of forums • News forum – more general, with admin info, announcements, updates, clarification discussions • Topic-specific forums – discussions, in which learning can take place: • on different topics from the syllabus • Everybody is expected to contribute - sharing opinions or presenting the findings after individually investigating a question -> an example of a topic-specific forum discussion - on differences between classroom exercises and test items S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

15. A forum discussion S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

16. S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

17. Wiki • a collaborative document in response to a given topic or task • Everybody has the right to write and edit the document -> an example of a wiki – on advantages and disadvantages of some testing techniques (Multiple choice, cloze, dictation) S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

18. A wiki (the instructions) S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

19. A wiki (the completion) S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

20. Tasks (for development) - in Moodle Tests (assessed) – in class/ in Moodle Course assignment (assessed) – in Moodle Feedback & pass/fail indication 15-minute tests x 3 - with a grade (2-6) Test specification – in 3 stages (after the 1st type of topics, after the 2nd type of topics, after topic 13) - with feedback (pass/fail) & a final version with a grade (2-6) Assesment on the course S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

21. Course assignment S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

22. Main sources: • Graves, K. (ed.), (1996), Teachers as Course Developers, Cambridge: CUP • Hughes, A. (1989, 2003), Testing for Language Teachers, Cambridge: CUP S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012

23. Thank you! • svetla_tashevska@yahoo.co.uk S. Tashevska (NBU), BETA 2012