DepEd Teaches Episode 17 |Understanding nontraditional assessment in various learning delivery modes

The Department of Education (DepEd) aims for every Filipino learner to realize their full potential and achieve their dreams through quality education, even amidst the unprecedented changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. DepEd leverages this vision to elevate its educational goals.

The Microsoft Educator Center offers various resources like trainings, courses, webinars, and programs to help teachers enhance their skills for the new school year. The Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) community fosters global connections and collaborative learning through tweet meets and Microsoft Teams, promoting continuous professional development and accessible learning on any device.

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift in educational priorities. DepEd proactively developed its Learning Continuity Plan (LCP) to ensure continued learning opportunities, even with school closures. The LCP prioritizes the health and safety of learners and personnel, streamlines the K-12 curriculum, and allows for distance learning modalities such as modular, online, TV, and radio-based instruction. The plan aims to provide accessible education for all learners, including those in special education, alternative learning systems, and Madrasa students.

DepEd's mission for quality basic education involves aggressive reforms in four key areas: K-12 curriculum review and update, improving the learning environment (including ICT infrastructure), upskilling and reskilling teachers, and engaging stakeholders for support. The National Educators Academy of the Philippines (NEAP) and the Education Futures Program are instrumental in teacher development and innovative solutions.

The discussion introduces non-traditional assessment, contrasting it with traditional methods. It highlights the need for flexible and appropriate assessment strategies across various learning delivery modalities like modular, online, TV, and radio-based instruction, particularly in the new normal. The segment includes an interactive game to guess different types of non-traditional assessments such as portfolio, reflection, case study, and interview.

Dr. Olga Alonso explains the differences between traditional and alternative assessments. Traditional assessment comprises single-occasion tests (e.g., true/false, multiple-choice, essays) that primarily measure knowledge at a specific point. Alternative assessment, also known as authentic assessment, focuses on higher-order thinking skills, learner growth over time, and provides meaningful feedback. It allows learners to express their knowledge in various ways, catering to multiple intelligences.

Various alternative assessment strategies are introduced, including open-ended questions that encourage elaboration and critical thinking, exhibits as culminating demonstrations of mastery, demonstrations involving practical examinations and skill displays, computer simulations for problem-solving, portfolios to showcase effort and progress, and projects (individual or group) like plans, research proposals, and multimedia presentations. The integration of reflection papers and e-portfolios is suggested to enhance authenticity and tracking of student learning in distance learning.

Shifting to alternative assessment offers several benefits, especially for distance learners. It fosters independent study skills, promotes educational dialogue between teachers and learners, helps identify and address misconceptions, provides clear direction for learning, relates learning to real-world experiences, and enables learners to self-assess their progress. Additionally, it offers fair, valid, and reliable assessment outcomes that indicate the quality of teaching and materials.

To enhance alternative assessment, it is crucial to align tasks with learning goals, share scoring rubrics with students beforehand, provide clear statements of standards and models of acceptable performance, and encourage self-assessment. Assessments must be developmentally appropriate for learners. The speaker emphasizes that there is no single 'best way' to assess distant learners and advocates for a balanced approach combining traditional and alternative methods, considering factors like content, context, and the audience (learners and parents).