DEAR EDITOR – Spare me few lines to share my humble view on the OBE issue.
Learning is a mutual process. Both teachers and students should be able to understand and learn from each other.
Students should not alone listen and conscripted to follow instructions, but be able to share their views and opinion freely.
In order to bridge the gap thus exists between learners and educators a mechanism must be created.
The notion surrounding teachers as ‘Know all’ is setting its foot on the floor of many classrooms today.
Teachers seemed to dominate the whole aura failing to create a freedom of learning. As learning is a relative activity a reciprocal relationship should be bonded amongst learners and the teacher.
To understand learners is a pertinent step in the learning process. The only channel that educators can read through the mind of learners is by assessment.
Standing in contrast to the summative form the formative method is an important tool in the process.
Formative assessment according to Black and William include all activities that teachers and students undertake to get information that can be used diagnostically to alter teaching and learning.
By the way of assessment a teacher is able to collect feedbacks which involve the learners learning needs, level of progress and where they are having trouble.
Having this information can enable the teacher to make necessary instructional adjustments.
Planning without the knowledge of learners’ background is a blind attempt. How should a teacher plan without assessment?
Effective planning is one that provides a focus and a sense of purpose for guiding student learning; and assists to create a balance between what the student currently knows and what is needed to help the student develop new knowledge.
Before a teacher should do the planning he/she needed to recognise the learners learning needs.
Carrying out assessment will guide the teacher to plan accordingly and effectively.
Bell and Cowie figured out that gathering information through assessment tasks will allow the teacher to do interpretation and decisions about how to move the learning forward.
When teachers know how students are progressing they can use the information to make instructional adjustments such as re-teaching, trying alternative instructional approaches, or offering more opportunities for practices.
These activities can lead to improved student success.
Formative Assessment is centrally not about keeping records or archival of student profiles, but immensely a way to enhance learning. What load of work is there if learning is transitionally smooth?
Morally, planning without assessment is more frustrating and even exhausting. Teachers turning into vagabonds while on the run to monitor learning.
The approach emphasising assessment as a starting point is infallible. Before any planning should take place cognizing the learners’ potential as an onset is necessarily important.
We need to assess the learners to plan with accuracy.
David Maesulia
Malaita Province
