THE 4 TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL TESOL CONFERENCE Ho Chi Minh city, 29-31 August 2013

THE 4TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL TESOL CONFERENCE

Ho Chi Minh city, 29-31 August 2013

Trịnh Ngọc Anh M.A

Banking Academy of Viet Nam

[email protected]

FOSTERING LEARNER AUTONOMY THROUGH

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES IN A

“CRITICAL READING” CLASS

This paper ultimately aims to highlight the interdependent bond between Learner Autonomy (LA) and Formative Assessment (FA) activities within the discipline of Critical Reading taught to English-major students at Banking Academy of Viet Nam. It commences with theoretical insights into the notions of LA and FA on the sound basis of related research, and subsequently deals with a number of following tasks: (1) describing the implementation process of FA in teaching and learning practices within and out of classroom, which plays as a crucial setting for the enhancement of LA; (2) exploring the facets of LA through a set of the mentioned strategies.(3) proposing several recommendations to create the most fruitful conditions for LA to flourish. In order to well address these issues, three surveys of “Pre-treatment”, “While-treatment” and “Post-treatment” were administered to 80 students of three “Critical reading” classes at different points of time within the course. The findings suggest that students’ autonomous learning has been gradually progressed during the course, in particular when undertaking FA tasks. In turn, the efficiency of FA could be, to certain extent, valued by the degree of LA in learning performances. What is more, institutional and teacher factors that are likely to hinder the development of LA are also clarified.

2Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam -

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ABSTRACT

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

1

2

3

Recommendations and Conclusion Recommendations and Conclusion 4

Literature review

Q&A Q&A55

Introduction to the research context

The bond between FA and LA

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I. Introduction to the research context

I.1. Student background 80 students of post-intermediate level in

3 classes • have mastered basic and IELTS reading skills through 2

previous modules.• have possessed a team working capacity• have owned paragraph writing skillI.2. Module introduction (see the handout 1)o Module aims: To enable students to• develop their critical skills (i.e. analysis, synthesis and

evaluation) through academic reading concepts (i.e. rhetorical devices, facts, opinions, tone, purpose, bias, argument)

• foster their understanding of more complicated literature patterns

• exercise their critical skills in the study of other disciplines Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam -

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o Teaching& Learning: Under the employment of formative

assessment strategies

• Alternation between lecture time and practice

time

• Alternation between independent and

collaborative learning modes

• Frequent use of questioning and discussion

• Frequent use of mini-test

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Trịnh Ngọc Anh - Banking Academy of Viet Nam - [email protected]

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Items and weight Description

Attendance + Participation(10%)

Individual research on weekly theories + In-class activities involvement

Mid-term test 1(15%)

The average of 4 mini-tests

Mid-term test 2(15%)

Group work performance : reading sharing + 4 paragraphs of reading reflection + reading tasks fulfillment

Final Test (60%)

Final test

o Module assessment

GUIDE TO GROUP WORK PERFORMANCE

TASKS (each group of 3)

THE HOST THE READERS

- Choose a reading text from various sources, do their critical reading at home, bring the text to class and share with other groups in W6,10,14.

-Brainstorm several follow-up questions (2-4) based on the reading text to raise other groups’ critical thinking and reading skills

- Discuss and do critical reading and answer questions from the host group.

MARKING CRITERIA

- Reading content, length (relevant, suitable to input knowledge)- Quality of question items- Quality of reading reflection

- Degree and quality of task involvement

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Definitions:o “the ability to take charge of one’s learning” o “to have, and to hold all the responsibility for all the

decisions concerning all aspects of this learning:• determining the objectives;• defining the contents and progressions;• selecting methods and techniques to be used;• monitoring the procedure of acquisition properly

speaking (rhythm, time, place, etc);• evaluating what has been acquired” (Holec, 1981, p.3, as cited

in Nguyen, 2011)


II. Literature review II. 1. Learner Autonomy (LA)

Definitions:o as the capacity to take control over one’s own

learning” o as a multidimensional capacity in different forms for

different individuals, and for the same individuals this capacity may differ depending on the context.

o does not mean learning in isolation without peers and a teacher, but develop a sense of interdependence towards shared goals

(Benson, 2001, p. 2)



Definitions:o ability and willingness to make choices

independently” (Littlewood, 1996, p. 97)o capacity for detachment, critical reflection, decision-

making, and independent action” (Little, 1991, p. 4)o ability to learn without the involvement of a teacher

(Dickinson, 1987, p. 11)



The researchers mention different attributes of LA but hold the same view on the central one which is the self- awareness, self-responsibility and the aptitude of directing, regulating and managing one’s own learning process.

Multiple variations in defining LA under four main different perspectives: psychological, technical, socio-cultural and political-critical (Benson, 1997, 2006; Healy, 2007; Sin-clair, 2000; Oxford, 2003; as cited in Dang, 2012).



In the current paper, LA is

o defined as the faculty of self- monitoring, self-

regulating, self-evaluating of and self- reflecting upon learning products, progress and outcomes through formative assessment practices in collaboration with peers as well as under teacher facilitation.

o linked closely with autonomous learning (since once learners exercise their autonomy in their

learning, learning has become autonomous and vice versa)


Benefitso learners’ active participation in classroom activities

(Benson, 2007; Dam, 1995; Dang, 2012; Natri, 2007; Nunes, 2004; Rao, 2005; Nguyen, 2009,)

o increased learner motivation (Lee, 1996; Tagaki,2003, as cited in Nguyen, 2009)

o enhanced responsibility for learning (Cunningham& Carlton, 2003; Mizuki, 2003; Stephenson& Kohyama,2003, as cited in ibid)

o advanced language proficiency (Champagne et al., 2001; Dam& Legenhausen, 1996; Dafei, 2007; Little, 2007)



Definitions

o encompasses all activities undertaken by teachers and/ or by students to generate feedbacks on performance to accelerate learning and modify teaching (Sadler, 1998 cited in Mwebaza, 2005).

o “What makes formative assessment formative is that it is immediately used to make adjustments so as to form new learning” (Shepard , 2008, p. 281)


II. Literature review II. 2. Formative Assessment (FA)

Definitionso a sort of AFL which is defined as “the process of seeking

and interpreting evidence for use by learners and their teachers to decide where the learners are in their learning, where they need to go next, and how best to get them there” ( as cited in the booklet “Assessment for Learning: 10 principles” (2002) by The Assessment Reform Group, UK)

o an integral part of the learning and teaching process, and evidence is actually used to modify teaching to meet students’ needs and improve learning (Black &William ,1998)

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Summative Assessment (SA) v.s Formative Assessment (FA)

SA• provides an overall

picture of student competence and program effectiveness for the main purpose of making final judgments

• places a stress on the end product of learning

FA• allows learners to attain more

opportunities for self-regulated learning and learning ownership since they are actively involved in shaping subsequent steps of learning (Black and William, 1998).

• places a stress on the process of learning and deals with informing the learning progress and teaching efficacy through evidence of feedback.

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• shows more remarkable strengths in benefiting learners, teachers and administrative bodies.

• functions as directions for teaching and learning through providing feedbacks.



• LA and FA share a striking attribute that nominates learners to the spotlight and helps advance learning process.

HOWEVER,

• Little emphasis has been placed on this bond, hence, quite a few studies on LA in connection with Assessment have been conducted. The reason may lie in the common assumption that LA is boosted through learning practices detaching from assessment.


The bond between LA and FA

Definitions• an analytic activity in which readers identify “patterns

of elements - information, values, assumptions, and language usage throughout the discussion. These elements are tied together in an interpretation, an assertion of an underlying meaning of the text as a whole” (Kurlan, D., 2000).

• a more active way of reading. It is a deeper and more complex engagement with a text. It involves a process of analyzing, interpreting and, sometimes evaluating the larger meanings of a text and how those meanings are created by the text” (Duncan, J. (2004)


II. Literature review II.3. Critical Reading

“Critical Reading” is closely connected with “higher-order thinking” skill and requires much mental power. It is not merely the task of reading for memorizing bits of information and knowledge, but “the act of analyzing and evaluating what you are reading as you progress, or as you reflect back” (Flemming, G., 2005)


II. Literature review II.3. Critical Reading

III. The bond between FA and LA

III. 1. FA activities - degree of frequency - facets of LA

( Please see further in the handout )


FA activities Degree of Frequency

Facets of LA

1. Discussion (built based on self-study activity)

Very often(Every lecture time)

• learning responsibility and independence

2. Mini-test Often(Every 4 weeks)

• awareness of current learning level and the ways to better future learning

3. Critical reading interchange(sharing, questioning, answering, reflecting)

Often(Every 4 -5 weeks)

• learning control and management (choosing and creating learning materials, interacting and collaborating with peers)

4. Portfolio Very often • evaluating learning progress and process• learning responsibility• planning ahead

III. The bond between FA and LAIII.2. Discussion from survey findings

LA , in the present paper , could be viewed under three following

perspectives:

• Psychological Perspective (Benson, 2006): a capacity of initiating, monitoring and regularly evaluating their learning process (Little, 1990, 2003, as cited in Dang, 2010, p. 3) with clear objectives and goals set in advance (Purdie, Hattie, & Douglas, 1996; Schunk& Zimmerman, 1994, as cited in ibid). Additionally, a critical reflection upon created materials , course, and quests for significant changes (Rivers, 2001, as cited in ibid)

• Technical Perspective (Benson, 2006): a “situation” where learners are completely responsible for the performance of their learning activities (Dickinson, 1987, as cited in ibid) and free with abundant resource choices.

• Sociocutural perspective (Benson, 2006; Oxford, 2003): a socially-shaped variable (Smith& Ushioda, 2009, as cited in ibid) constructed during students’ negotiation with learning environment in which exists the teacher and peers.


III. The bond between FA and LAIII.3. Module students as autonomous learners

The students in the case are characterised as autonomous learners who:

• have experienced a gradual shift from reactive autonomy to proactive autonomy (Littlewood, 1999)

• own a range of following characteristics: being ready to cope with learning challenges, taking control of their own learning by choosing and creating learning materials, evaluating their learning progress and process, interacting and collaborating with peers.


III. The bond between FA and LAIII.3. Module students as autonomous learners

Level

Learner Action

Content Process

1 Awareness Learners are made aware of the pedagogical goals and content of the materials they are using

Learners identify strategy implications of pedagogical tasks and identify their own preferred learning styles/ strategies

2 Involvement Learners are involved in selecting their own goals from a range of alternatives on offer

Learners make choices among a range of options

3 Intervention Learners are involved in modifying and adapting the goals and contents of the learning program.

Learners modify/ adapt tasks

4 Creation Learners create their own goals and objectives

Learners create their own tasks

5 Transcendence

Learners go beyond the classroom and make links between the content of classroom learning and the world.

Learners become teachers and researchers

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These attributes of autonomous learners in the current study share some similarities with what put forward by Boud (1988) and Nunan (1997) when they feature autonomous learners and the development process of LA

(Nunan’s five- level model of LA - Nunan, 1997, p. 195, as cited in Dang, 2012, p. 54)

IV. Recommendations and Conclusion

• Like any East Asian learners of English as a foreign language, Vietnamese learners have with confronted with huge challenges in developing their learning autonomy due to the rigid “top-down” educational and training system as well as the conventional approach of teacher authority. Hence, as Littlewood(1999) claim they tend to demonstrate autonomy in the private rather than in the public domain.

• Creating the environment for the flourish of LA is not an “overnight” job. It needs much in teachers’ perception and practice since the development of LA depends on the development of teacher autonomy (Little, 2000, p. 45), or as Breen (1997, p104) states that “an essential precondition for the teacher to be able to foster autonomous learning is an explicit awareness of the teacher’s own self as a learner”. Once the gap in the teaching and learning roles has been bridged, there will definitely be a rise in LA.


IV. Recommendations and Conclusion

Although the subject matter of LA has received increasing interest from worldwide and Vietnamese researchers, particular study cases have not been much investigated. This present paper aims to highlight the interdependent relationship between LA and FA in English language learning through illustrating a formative assessment framework of a discipline within a tertiary context. It is suggested that further studies place more emphasis on LA in practice in such specific cases so that teachers and other stakeholders could promote it through their practical work on a regular basis.


V. Q&A


THE 4 TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL TESOL CONFERENCE Ho Chi Minh city, 29-31 August 2013

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