LIFELONG LEARNING

Roles, Responsibilities and Relationships in Lifelong Learning

Roles, Responsibilities and Relationships in Lifelong Learning

Unit 20: Principles of Assessment in Lifelong Learning

Question 1.1

Assessments are extremely important to ensure that every individual within the program is progressing as expected and trained. Two different types of assessments are used simultaneously in Lifelong Learning due to the unique and natural requirement of every individual who is a part of the program. The two assessment types are:

Formal Assessment

Formal Assessment refers to one which is graded on the basis of the performance shown. Moreover, formal assessment is always documented and kept for review and feedback. For e.g. research papers, essays etcetera (Federation for Children with Special Needs, n.d., p. 2).

Informal Assessment

Informal Assessment on the other hand is one which takes place throughout and is not graded. Common examples include 5 minute quizzes, peer discussions etcetera (Federation for Children with Special Needs, n.d., p. 2).

Question 1.2

Different methods of assessments are used in Lifelong Learning with reference to the formal and informal assessment types.

The methods include:

Professional Discussions - to evaluate progress of individuals on a personal basis through formal discussions.

Examinations, Assignments & Essays - to get an insight into the academic progress of the candidate on theoretical and conceptual grounds.

Multiple Choice Evaluations - to check the candidate's knowledge on the objectivity level.

Apart from the above mentioned methods, many other methods are used to evaluate the progress of the candidate and to counsel or grade them accordingly.

Question 1.3

The strengths and limitations of the different assessment methods from the individual perspective include:

Assessment Method

Strength

Limitation

Professional Discussions

Effective for candidates with good personal communication skills

Ineffective for candidates good on objective level and weak in communications

Examinations

Good for majority of candidates due to standardized questions

Bad for candidates who are weak in certain fields of education due to standardized questions

Question 2.1

It is rather important to involve the learner in the process of his/her assessment to make the process more effective and useful for the learner. The following techniques are used to involve the learner in the assessment process:

Engagement

In this method, the learner is involved within the assessment by being in correspondence with the evaluator regarding the progress of self. The common techniques used include involvement in preparation of the individual learning plan and individual level tutorials etcetera.

Activity

In the method, the learner himself/herself experiences the process of assessment through techniques such as evaluation of self and peers, discussing and negotiating with other learners etcetera.

Question 2.2

Assessment of self and peers is quite necessary from the point of the assessment process. The reason behind this is that such an evaluation helps the learner in developing portfolios of self and his/her friends. Moreover, after the portfolios are prepared, the learner can set goals and targets for improvement through comparison. The biggest advantage of self and peer assessment is that it helps in developing management and leadership skills within the learner.

Question 3.1

The records of every learner's evaluation should be available at every point in time. There are multiple reasons because of which assessment records are needed to be kept in record ...