Integrating Assessment to Classroom Learning

Abstract

Classroom interaction is a fertile ground for formative instruction and assessment, and knowing when and how to embed assessment in day-to-day student-teacher interactions is considered essential. Using the initiation–response–evaluation (IRE) model of classroom interaction, the study looked into how formative assessment is utilized by teachers among the selected Higher Education Institutions – State and Local Universities and Colleges – in Cebu City. The Colaizzi method of data analysis was used to identify the emerging assessment practices from a series of recorded classroom sessions that were segmented and analyzed according to the variables of the study. Data showed that teachers initiated formative interaction by maximizing learners’ viewpoints, activating prior knowledge, and using a well-prepared instructional activity. They engaged students in active and collaborative learning interaction with teacher and peers through facilitated and active learning, small group management activity, and low affective filter learning environment; and they evaluated students’ engagement in learning through evaluative, discoursal, and descriptive feedback. These formative assessment strategies and activities can be readily tailored according to the needs of the learners, especially if teachers design learning to consider the four elements of the teaching and learning process, plus the assessment element. Finally, the methods utilized by teachers in implementing formative assessment in the classroom develop the student’s cognitive abilities, and such processes can be readily tailored for application to flexible learning modalities.