Assessment has become a weapon for all teachers in the 21st century – Dr Mensah
Dr. Kofi Ashiboe Mensah, Head of Quality Assurance at Ho Technical University, stated that assessment has become a weapon for all teachers in the 21st century; hence, they must take assessment as seriously as teaching.
He advised teachers to assess the students by identifying if they were performing well or not, and the strategy they need to use should be assessment for learning and of learning.
Dr Mensah stated during an assessment strategies and test item construction workshop organized for teachers by the Diamond Key Consult, a National Teaching Council-accredited service provider, in collaboration with the Kpone-Katamanso Education Directorate.
He said the strategic forms were all formative; hence, teachers should assess students by allowing them to assess themselves, termed ‘self-assessment’, by writing answers to questions on the board for them to answer personally with a marking scheme that helped them learn on their own.
He added that the ‘peer assessment’ was where students exchanged scripts amo
ng themselves with three marking schemes provided to aid in opening the child’s oralism.
‘This strategy, when inculcated in the students by teachers, would help them excel’, he stated.
He said group presentations by mixing up the average and low-average students would reduce the task on teachers, even though it is time-consuming; therefore, teachers should not look at time but instead, focus on the students based on what they know.
He urged teachers to supervise the students when they were marking their own scripts to ensure if they are on the right path, and then after the teachers should remark the scripts.
Dr. Mensah pleaded with teachers to refrain from using mobile phones in the classroom when lessons are ongoing, even though taking videos of them answering questions in class serves as evidence. This is a good initiative by him.
He advised teachers to set their questions immediately after every class lesson, which should consist of an objective test and an essay-type test for them to learn more with
understanding, and to make the low-average students their favourites for them to catch up with learning easily.
According to Ms. Ivy Ablordepey, coordinator of Diamond Key Consult, in an interview with Ghana News Agency, Tema Regional Office stated that the organisation runs a continuous professional development programme for teachers.
She said the decision to host the workshop for teachers in districts by identifying the areas where the National Teaching Council wants them to develop programmes based on their needs.
She noted that the programme was based on assessment and test item construction for teachers to educate them well on how to set examination questions.
She said as part of the criteria for the renewal of the teacher licence, they must attend such programmes to build CPD points, of which they had a maximum number of points they needed to build every three years; therefore, every district should help the teachers plan such programmes for some points.
She added that this programme held for teach
ers would give them two CPD points, which was the maximum number of points the National Teaching Council had given all service providers when they engage teachers.
‘All participating teachers would be awarded a certificate after the workshop,’ she said.
Madam Janet Atamudzi, a grade 3 teacher at Gos Favour School Complex, said she had learnt that as a facilitator, it was important to know the child’s capacity or ability by imparting their knowledge.
Mr. Eric Aggrey, a teacher at Pride Future Crown Academy, emphasised that the training would help him encourage the students to learn well and also not discourage them from learning.
Source: Ghana News Agency