Assessing Achievement with the ELL in Mind

Go to Course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/ell-assessment

Introduction

**Course Review: Assessing Achievement with the ELL in Mind** **Overview** The “Assessing Achievement with the ELL in Mind” course offered on Coursera is an indispensable resource for educators striving to effectively assess English Language Learners (ELLs). This course intricately weaves together language proficiency and content learning, enabling teachers to create assessments that cater specifically to the diverse needs of ELL students. As classrooms become more culturally and linguistically diverse, the importance of understanding the unique challenges that ELLs face cannot be overstated. This course effectively addresses these challenges by guiding educators on how to craft both formative and summative assessments that support ELLs’ language development while measuring their academic achievements. **Course Structure and Content** The course is structured over six weeks, each week focusing on pivotal aspects of assessment tailored for ELLs: 1. **Introduction to Authentic Assessment**: The initial week sets a strong foundation, explaining the nuances of different assessment types and their implications for ELLs. Participants will come away equipped to identify authentic assessment concepts and apply techniques for effective assessment design. 2. **Formative and Summative Assessment**: Week two delves deeper into how these assessments can uniquely influence ELLs. Educators will learn strategies for implementing formative assessments in content areas, ensuring that assessments are both meaningful and accessible. 3. **Alternative Assessments**: The third week focuses on innovative assessment formats. Educators will be empowered to create and modify assessments, catering to ELL students across varying language proficiency levels. The emphasis on visual assessments is particularly beneficial for beginners. 4. **Grading with the ELL in Mind**: Addressing one of the most pressing issues in education today, week four tackles the complexities of grading ELLs and introduces peer and self-assessment strategies. Participants will learn to design rubrics that adequately reflect both content mastery and language objectives. 5. **Project-Based Assessment**: Week five emphasizes the potential of project-based learning as an assessment method for ELLs. This hands-on approach helps educators design engaging assessments that bolster language skills and foster critical thinking. 6. **Final Assessment**: The concluding week allows participants to apply everything they have learned, culminating in a final exam and optional peer review. This comprehensive synthesis solidifies the understanding of course concepts and their practical application in classroom settings. **Who Should Take This Course?** “Assessing Achievement with the ELL in Mind” is ideal for educators at all levels—from K-12 teachers to university instructors—who engage with ELLs in their classrooms. If you're looking to diversify your assessment strategies and ensure that all students are being evaluated equitably, this course is a fantastic opportunity to enhance your pedagogical expertise. **Recommendation** In summary, I wholeheartedly recommend the “Assessing Achievement with the ELL in Mind” course for its thoroughness, practical application, and focus on a crucial aspect of education today. The diverse course material, along with its strategic approach to assessment design, equips educators to meet the needs of their ELL students effectively. Enrolling in this course will not only improve your assessment strategies, but it will also foster a more inclusive and supportive learning environment for ELL students. Embrace the opportunity to refine your skills and make a substantial difference in the academic journeys of your ELL learners.

Syllabus

Introduction to Authentic Assessment with the ELL in Mind

Welcome to week 1 of the course! The material presented in the lessons this week is key to understanding assessments and its impact on ELLs. By the end of this module, you will be able to identify the purpose of different types of assessment, identify key concepts in authentic assessment, understand the difficulties associated with assessing ELLs, review language and learning objectives within a lesson or unit plan for assessment purposes, apply techniques for authentic assessment design using specific questions as criteria. Let's get started!

Welcome to week 2 of the course! The lessons this week focus a bit more specifically on the different types of assessment and how they uniquely impact our ELLs. We hope that you find some helpful strategies in the lessons provided. By the end of this module, you will be able to: identify purposes of formative and summative assessment types, employ a variety of formative assessments in the content classroom while keeping in mind ELL language acquisition, design plenary activities within the lesson plan as a means of formative assessment design summative assessments in the content classroom while keeping in mind ELL language acquisition, use “can-do” statements as a means of describing assessment criteria for language and content objectives. Let's get started!

Welcome to week 3 of the course! This module will give you an opportunity to take a look at some of the ways that you can create and modify the assessments you use in your class. By the end of this module, you will be able to: use alternative assessment formats to best assess your ELL, create modified assessments to allow for content assessment of ELLs at any language level, use visual assessments for basic-level ELLs, apply a variety of support strategies for assessment, and assign appropriate grades for modified assessment. Let's get started!

Welcome to week 4 of the course! This module covers the hot topic of grading and the many ways that ELLs are impacted by grading. By the end of this module, you will be able to use peer-and self-assessment strategies specified for your content classroom, design rubrics for peer-and self-assessment specified for your content classroom and/or lesson, design rubrics appropriate for assessment of content and necessary language objectives for your ELL, identify appropriate use of linguistic error correction in assessment. Let's get started!

Welcome to week 5 of the course! We are excited to focus on project based assessment in this module and the many benefits it can have when assessing ELLs. By the end of this module, you will be able to: understand the impact of project and task-based learning and assessment, align project and task-based assessment to learning and language outcomes, design project and task-based assessments, use scaffolding strategies for project and task based assessment, use revision in project and task-based projects as a means of encouraging summative assessment grades. Let's get started!

Welcome to week 6! Congratulations and well done. It is now time to apply the many strategies for lesson planning with the ELL in mind to your own teaching context. By the end of this module, you will be able to synthesize course material, complete the final exam and complete the optional peer review. Good luck!