Teaching Methods and Classroom Assessment
What is tested
Selection of a method that fits a stated objective, and correct use of assessment tools, feedback and item statistics.
Methods matched to purpose
- Demonstration - psychomotor and safety-critical skills.
- Project and problem-solving - application over several lessons.
- Discussion and role play - values, fluency, perspective-taking.
- Inquiry and discovery - concept formation from data.
- Cooperative learning - interdependence with individual accountability.
- Micro-teaching - skill rehearsal with structured feedback.
Assessment essentials
Continuous assessment records participation, projects and observation through rubrics, checklists and portfolios. Summative tests follow a specification grid weighting content areas against Bloom levels. Item quality is judged by the difficulty index p = R ÷ N and the discrimination index D = (R upper − R lower) ÷ n.
Worked example
Forty students take a test. In the upper 27% (10 students), 9 answered correctly; in the lower 27% (10 students), 3 answered correctly. D = (9 − 3) ÷ 10 = 0.60. If 24 of all 40 answered correctly, p = 24 ÷ 40 = 0.60. Interpretation: moderately difficult and strongly discriminating - retain the item. An item with p near 0.95 and D near 0.10 should be revised or replaced.
Traps that cost marks
- Calling a test formative because it is short; the label depends on use.
- Giving only a score as feedback; task-focused comments move learning further.
- Writing rubrics as vague adjectives without descriptors.
- Confusing reliability (consistency) with validity (measuring what it claims).