Alternative assessment
Project work
Alternative assessment
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The primary goal of alternative
assessment is “to gather evidence about
how students are approaching,
processing, and completing ‘real-life’ tasks
in a particular domain’’
(Garcia & Pearson as cited in Huerta-Macias,2002,
p.339)
Characteristics of Alternative
Assessment
Integrate assessment and learning
activities.
Indicate and highlight successful
performance and positive traits.
Consider students' needs, interests, and
learning styles.
Alternative Assessment Options
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Self- and peerassessment
Cooperative test
construction
Dialogue journals
Portfolios
Projects
Features of Project Work
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Focus on content learning rather than specific
language forms
Student-centeredness, as opposed to teacher
centeredness
Cooperative rather than competitive
Authentic integration of skills and processing
of info from varied sources
Project work culminates in an end product (a
stage performance, an oral presentation, etc.
(Based on F. Stoller, 2002, p.110 )
Project Stages
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Classroom planning
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Real world/carrying out the project
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Agree on a theme
Determine the final project
Gathering, analyzing the information
Reviewing and monitoring the work
(discussion and feedback sessions)
Returning to the classroom & presenting
final product
What about the teacher’s role?
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To suggest topics for
the project.
To prepare students
for the language
demands.
To act as a counsellor
and consultant
Project Types:
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Collection projects
Informational projects
Orientation projects
Social welfare projects
Read more about types of projects and
their products in in
Teaching English as a second or
foreign Language Ed. M. CelceMurcia pp. 339-340
Some project tips:
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Staff portrait gallery
Tourist broadsheets
Street interviews on a specific topic
Czech/world cuisine in English
Twinned towns
School Exchange projects
‘Playing’ the role of a museum guide
Staging a play for junior students, etc.
Suggested reading
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Eyring, J. (2001).Experiential and negotiated language
learning. In M. Celce-Murcia (Ed.), Teaching English as a
second or foreign Language (pp.333-344). Heinle &
Heinle.
Fried-Booth, D.L. (1990). Project work. Oxford University
Press.
Stoller, F. (2002). Project work: A Means to Promote
Language and Content. In J. Richards & W. Renandya
(Eds.), Methodology in language teaching: An anthology
of current practice (pp. 107-119). Cambridge University
Press.