Trip to zanzibar palace mseum

PALACE MUSEUM report.pptx

surface area of a cone

MY PODCAST

https://www.podomatic.com/quick_post

CMAP ON APPROACHES IN USING ICT IN EDUCATION

TEACHING WILD ANIMALS

sign presentation as an assessment method for kenyan sign language-expressive skills

Use of sign presentation in assessing expressive skills in Kenyan sign language

The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical analysis of sign presentations as a performance based assessment practice, discuss its purpose and impact in teaching and learning of Hearing impaired learners. This paper is divided into constituent parts that include; a brief description of sign presentations, principles that underpin its selection, implementation, grading and analysis of how its information is used in teaching and learning. Finally this paper will discuss the impact of sign presentations on students’ learning outcomes and on teachers’ teaching practices.

Background of Kenyan sign language

Kenyan sign language (KSL) is a dialect used by the Deaf community in Kenya and acts as their mother tongue. Just like other languages, KSL evolved through social interaction among the Deaf people. Through its rich sign language vocabulary that constantly change in movement, placement, articulation and orientation of special hand shapes, it has been adopted as the official medium of instruction in schools for the Deaf and as a subject to replace Kiswahili (Kimani, 2012). KSL borrows a lot from English grammar and uses manual alphabet and sign modes as its structure (Ndurumo, 1993). Parts of speech for KSL include the receptive skills which is assessed through sign taped videos; expressive skills which is assessed by oral presentations, interview, dialogue and recitation. The grammar part is assessed by use of close and open ended questions that represent the different levels of Bloom’s taxonomy (Muiti, 2010).

Sign presentation is a performance based assessment practice used in assessing expressive skills in Kenyan sign language subject. This method can be compared to oral presentation in English. Students are presented with a scenario in terms of a set of pictures or written statements after which they construct a story or a speech depending on the expectations of the test, which is presented before the class or a group of examiners (Kimani, 2012).

When used as an assessment method for terminal or national tests, students are first presented with questions on emerging issues inform of an interview for them to give their views and later they present their responses on the given set of pictures (Ndurumo, 1993). Interview questions may be on topics like challenges affecting Deaf learners in school and at home and how they can be solved, issues on corruption and effects on the economy, gender biasness, challenges facing current leadership in school, country and society as a whole and issues on technology and its effects on the environment (Crume, Moran & Sheikh, 2001).

Basis for selection of the method and tasks

Teachers may use a variety of assessment methods to diagnose students' strengths, needs, plan and adjust instructions. The choice of an assessment method depends on; purpose, content and age levels of the students. Oberg (2008 p. 2), argues that

“….today's pluralistic, inclusive classrooms demand a sharp lens of understanding and awareness from the teachers to reach and teach all students. This lens must serve as a microscope to magnify teachers' understanding of individual student's talents and skills as well as a stethoscope to listen deeply to their daily experiences, unique interests, and individual dreams”.

Sign presentations if used as a performance based assessment practice; it will enable the identification of strengths, weaknesses and generalization of students’ ability. This is because the teacher is able to observe the process of response or product construction to judge the students’ performance. Popham (2014) defined performance based assessment as an approach of measuring students’ status based on the student completing a given task.

Basing on constructivism theory; a philosophy of learning founded on the premise that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our own understanding of the world we live in (Shalaway & Beech, 1998), the use of sign presentations method in assessing KSL, allow the inclusion of tasks that simulate real life situations. These tasks can arouse critical thinking that will enable the student to manipulate their environment and construct meaning out of it leading to effective learning.

Sign presentation as method measures skills that are not typically assessed by traditional paper pencil method, such as students' understanding of KSL structure, abilities and skills to function in social interaction (Kimani, 2012). It is a method that provides wider opportunities and freedom for learning (Adoyo, 2007). The art of reliability and validity of sign presentation as a performance assessment practice  lie in the tension to have fairly objective standards by which to judge quality and the wish to allow students to demonstrate the full potential of their sign language abilities (Frey, 2014 p.163).

Curricular aims determine the kind of assessment methods to be used for specific subjects. (Herman, Aschbacher, & Winters, 1992) argues that though setting of learning goals may seem simple, selecting from a myriad of possibilities on the priority of what to focus on in teaching and assessment is challenging. Determining the kind of knowledge, skills, dispositions and outcomes to be achieved is quiet confusing for the classroom teachers especially for the special needs learners (Butler & McMunn, 2006).

An assessment method that assesses across multiple disciplinary areas, a wide range of learning domains and skills and allows for generalization is appropriate (Stiggins, 1994).Use of sign presentation allows for sampling of most important outcomes that represent worth instruction and generalization to be made. It takes into account the cognitive, affective, metacognitive and problem solving skills in one task and takes into account the level of performance of all the learners (Kimani, 2012).

Basis for selection of assessment tasks

Assessment need to reflect on those tasks in the real world which rarely presents people with structured choices but require one to demonstrate his abilities and skills (Weeden, Winter, & Broadfoot, 2002). The tasks used in sign presentations include scenarios like buying ingredients, cooking a meal, presenting a political or an academic speech, bargaining in a market place, interviewing a patient and ordering tests (Kimani, 2012).  In school context this abilities and skills can be developed by use typical learning activities that involve a mix of skills that culminates in a complex performance such as persuasive letter, dialogue at different contexts, group project, debate, oral and sign public speaking (Darling, 2010).

Before adopting the use of sign presentation, it is important to assess its feasibility in terms of the time required to complete a task, the resources involved, skills of the teachers and examiners and also the costs to be incurred (Darling, 2010).

Purpose of sign presentations

Sign presentations provide opportunities for students to participate actively in the learning process. Anytime I get into my KSL class; I present the topic of discussion together with a pictorial scenario. I lead my students in designing a performance criterion on what is expected of them as they sign. This enables them to understand the learning outcomes and this motivates the students since they know what is expected of them (Craig & Metler, 2003).  Specific observable attributes in presentations need to be identified; for example if the topic of discussion is on a wedding, I expect to see my learners use happy facial expressions, show the affection of the guests attending by how they shake hands, share food and even gifts, the exchange of vows, dancing and how the bride, the groom, and the maids are dressed. Articulation of signs should be within the signing space and the presentation mood should be felt and closely related to what happens in real life. Movement and placement of signs should bring out the intended meaning appropriately (Kimani, 2012).

This method promotes self and Peer assessment in the subject, when students are involved in designing the rubric and identification of the characteristics, behaviors and common mistakes you do not want to see (Nitko, 2001) they can evaluate themselves and their peers before presentations. Provision of a timely feedback also helps them to understand their strong and weak points. After presentations, oral and sign feedback on their performance is provided giving examples of the good and poor performances. Samples of students’ whose work exemplified each level (Nitko, 2001) are identified and best presenters serve as benchmarks and group guides in future lessons.

Further sign presentation helps the teachers to assess specific sign language skills, integration of knowledge from other subjects and life-long competences like decision making, negotiation, confidence and communication skills (Shepard, 2000). This is because by responding to interview questions, introducing themselves and signing their original opinions on emerging issues provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their multiple skills in different areas of learning and disciplines. Some tasks require learners to use their knowledge from other subjects and presenting them by use of sign language making learning interdisciplinary. This provide a training ground for the 21^st century skills that will enable hearing impaired learners fit in the modern and fast changing work place.

The main purpose in using sign presentations  is to get more accurate information on how  students use the basic knowledge and skills they learn at schools in real  life and to contribute to the development of their high order thinking processes in configuring the information (Reynolds et al., 2006). Students in their discussion groups, analyze the set of pictures given, relate to a specific event or topic then choose a presenter to give a report. If the topic relates to a political rally, students need to give a speech that will convince the voters to vote for him, give his manifesto and show how they will address the needs of the people in the given area.

Basis for implementation of sign presentations

In using sign presentations, assessing the expressive skills, Kimani (2012) proposed a procedure of assessment by use of sign presentations as; discussing with learners the scoring criteria and expectations, presenting learners with a topic or set of picture, observing and constructing their response, interview, presentation of response, giving scores and feedback.

Sign presentation is also used in my school context as a diagnostic tool; where teachers gauge the students understanding and knowledge on specific signing skills to find a basis for teaching. For instance, when the form ones report, we as sign language teachers conduct a one week orientation to inform and consolidate the sign language skills that the learners use to harmonize and to promote effective teaching and learning. Since there is a lot of variations in the subject and most signs are related with different contexts, there is need to inform the learners of the school contextualized signs (Kimani, 2012). It is only through sign presentations and interviews that we can identify the areas of variation rather than use of questionnaires.

Scoring and grading criteria

To enhance the use of sign presentation in assessment, teachers need to have in mind a criteria for success, standards of quality, latitude and flexibility in what the students can produce (Frey, 2014 p.145). Our motivation for incorporating assessment tools should extend far beyond our desire to calculate a mark or assign a grade (Nitko, 2001). Further, assessment should not be used to sort or select students rather it should inform learning (McTighe & Ferrara, 1992 p. 2). Herman et al. (1992) argued that by judging students’ work it shapes the decisions we eventually make about the programs and students’ progress, hence there is need for a quality scoring guideline; the criteria should at minimum address the key important outcomes being measured. For example in judging sign language presentations analytical rubric is used; it shows the important aspects being assessed such as the originality, logical presentation, proper articulation  of signs to bring out the intended meaning, appropriate movement within the signing space, critical thinking on given issue and confidence of the learner. The use of the rubric helps in reducing subjectivity and promotes reliability of the test tool across all the learners by having more than two teachers to judge students’ presentation (McMillan, 2004).

Further, analytical rubrics allow the assessment of complex learning and deep understanding and breaks learning into critical characteristics (Black, Harrison, & Lee, 2003). The value of a good rubric is on the feedback it provides both to the teacher and the learner and how it can be used to motivate learning, promote self -assessment and inform parents of learners' progress (Frey, 2014 p.145).

A good scoring criterion should be sensitive to the purpose and the kind of educational decision to be made from the results (Herman et al., 1992). The kind of inference to be made out of the results should determine the type of the scoring criterion to be used. A criterion that is holistic and analytical of student’s achievements gives adequate information about the specific aspects of students’ abilities and skills (McMillan, 2004). For the national examination a numerical rating scale is used since the purpose of these tests are used for comparison of learners and aggregation purposes. It is makes it easy to compute the means, standard deviations and coefficient of correlation that allow the policy makers to judge the assessment tools and learning programs appropriately (Reynolds, Livingston, & Wilson, 2006).

The scoring criteria should allow the involvement of others in the learning process (Herman et al, 1992). It should be elaborate enough for the; students to understand what they are expected to do, parents to understand what the school is trying to achieve, raters to make valid judgment of the students’ performance and probably the public to appreciate the quality of learning in school. A clear criterion that is understood by others increases their involvement in the learning process.

Impact of sign presentations on students’ learning

When sign presentations are embedded into classroom instruction, they engage students in the learning process, promote the development of 21st century skills, and at the same time, provide teachers with important information to be used in making instructional decisions (Darling, 2010). However, the effective implementation of  sign presentations as a performance assessment at the classroom level requires teacher collaboration, training, and adequate time allotted in the curriculum (Kutlu, 2014).

Content and nature of tests determine the kind of instructions and learning in many schools today. Ill-tests that mimic the content, place a glass ceiling on learners who cannot demonstrate the depth and breadth of their abilities on such examinations (Darling, 2010).These tests discourage teachers from teaching and testing more challenging skills like having students conduct experiments, make oral presentation, write essays and conduct research on problems. Use of sign presentations in assessing KSL has led to improvement in general academic and social performance of hearing impaired learners (Kimani, 2012). This is because teachers have adopted teaching strategies that promote critical thinking, problem solving and collaborative skills which students can apply across all the disciplines (Herman et al., 1992). 

Due to continuous poor performance of the Hearing impaired learners, KSL was introduced as a subject to promote fairness and to reduce the negative consequences of the examination on these learners. Sign presentation was introduced as a method of assessing Sign language; expressive skills as it provide varying opportunities for learners to present their abilities. This has motivated the H.I learners to engage in meaningful discussions on problems resulting from educational experiences since they feel their language is recognized and relates to what they use in their day to day experiences (Ndurumo, 1993).

The skills in greatest demand in today’s work place are non-routine interactive skills that allow for collaborative invention and problem solving (Darling, 2010). Special needs learners need to be trained on non- routine skills that make them to be go getters and innovative after school and sign presentation provides this opportunity.

Use of feedback

Feedback from students’ performance is used in improving learning, changing traditional classroom practices, clarifying learning criteria and raising achievement (Florez, Sammons, & CfBT Education Trust, 2013). The information on students’ performance enables the policy makers and curriculum developers to assess the appropriateness of the adapted curriculum to the hearing impaired learners, the assessment strategies used and to determine the appropriateness of using the same method in assessing other subjects especially for this group of learners (Kimani, 2012).

Feedback will enable the stakeholders to assess and monitor the teaching and learning in special institutions by comparing students’ performance data at different periods hence providing the necessary resources and adequate support to eliminate the challenges in the learning environment (Adoyo, 2007).

Feedback also informs the teacher on the effectiveness of teaching strategies used in the learning process and this can lead to improvement. By understanding the performance levels of the learners, their strengths and weaknesses, the teacher is able to adopt strategies that can allow for inclusion of all learners. Finally, feedback may be act as a springboard for reforms in the assessment practices used and this will be my focus in my research proposal.

Conclusion

Remembering pieces of knowledge is no longer the highest priority for learning, what students can do with knowledge is what counts (Darling, 2010).The examination policy for H.I learners should focus on high order thinking and performance skills by adopting sign presentation method in assessing other subjects. Though this method consumes time to administer, its impact in assessment is reasonable enough to make judgment on students’ ability on how they; express point of view, marshal evidence and display other advanced skills compared to traditional assessment methods.

 

References

Adoyo, P.O. (2007).Educating Deaf children in an inclusive setting in Kenya: Challenges and considerations. Electronic Journal for inclusive education. (1-13).

Black, P., Harrison, C., & Lee, C. (2003). Assessment for learning: Putting it into practice. United Kingdom, McGraw-Hill Education.

Bubb, S. (2010). Helping staff develop in schools. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Butler, S. M., & McMunn, N. D. (2006). A teacher’s guide to classroom assessment: understanding and using assessment to improve student learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Crume, P., Moran, N. and Sheik, S. (2001). Barriers to effectively educating Deaf: Peace Corps Volunteers.

Darling-Hammond, L. & Adamson, F.  (2010). Beyond basic skills: The role of performance assessment in achieving 21st century standards of learning. Stanford, CA: Stanford University, Stanford Centre for Opportunity Policy in Education.

Florez, M., Sammons, P., & CfBT Education Trust. (2013). Assessment for learning: effects and impacts. Reading: CfBT Education Trust.

Frey, B. B. (2014). Modern classroom assessment. Los Angeles: SAGE.

Herman, J. L., Aschbacher, P. R., & Winters, L. (1992). A practical guide to alternative assessment. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Ingubu, M. (2011).Widening education access. Its implications and challenges on facility exploitation. International journal of curriculum and instruction.

Kimani, C.W. (2012). Teaching Deaf learners in Kenyan classroom: University of Sussex.

Kutlu, O. (2014). The Science Teacher’s Opinions about Using Performance Assessment in Elementary Science Education. International Journal of Elementary Education, 3(6), 121. http://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijeedu.20140306.12

 Mazotti, V. Land Rowe, A. D. (2015). Meeting the transition needs of students with disabilities in the 21^st century: Council for exceptional children. Sage publication.

McMillan, J. H. (2004). Classroom assessment: principles and practice for effective instruction (3rd ed). Boston: Pearson/A and B.

Popham, W. J. (2014). Classroom assessment: what teachers need to know.

Rabinowitz, et al. (2008). An alternate assessment for special students in the southwest region states, U.S department of education.

Reynolds, C. R., Livingston, R. B., & Willson, V. L. (2006). Measurement and assessment in education. Boston: Pearson/Allyn & Bacon.

Shalaway, L., & Beech, L. (1998). Learning to teach: -- not just for beginners: the essential guide for all teachers. New York: Scholastic Professional Books.

Stiggins, R. J. (1994). Student-centered classroom assessment. New York : Toronto : New York:

Wamae,G.M., Kang'ethe R.W (2004). The concept of inclusive education:Teacher training and acquisition.

Weeden, P., Winter, J., & Broadfoot, P. (2002). Assessment. London ; New York: RoutledgeFalmer.