Roundtable+discussion+in+ELT:+assessing+subject+knowledge+

and+language+skills+7

Aida Rodomanchenko, PhD National Research Univeristy

The Higher School of Economics

Let’s&get&acquainted/

Aida Rodomanchenko

•  Associate Professor at HSE, Moscow.

Involved in tertiary education course

material and exam material

development

•  Member of the Federal Committee of

item writers of Russian Unified

National Exam

•  Cambridge speaking examiner

Aims&of&the&session/

Aida Rodomanchenko

•  To find the difference between traditional and

alternative assessment tools

•  To explore the use of roundtable discussions in

summative and formative assessment

•  To explore the criteria that might be

used to score the discussion

•  To step in the shoes of students and

try everything ourselves

Standardised&testing/Advantages Drawbacks

Aida Rodomanchenko

•  Reliability

•  Objectivity

•  Variety

•  Critical thinking

Testing&or&guessing?/Standardised exams Students’ approach

Aida Rodomanchenko

•  4 skills to be assessed

•  A prompt

•  Strict set of criteria

•  Juggle the prompt

•  Use clichés

•  Inflate scores beyond

the actual proficiency

level

Alternative&assessment:&types/

•  Journals. logs, blogs

•  Audio- and videotaping

•  Self-evaluation

•  Portfolios and projects

Aida Rodomanchenko

Portfolio assessment

•  A semi-authentic task,

reflecting a real world

issue

Authentic assessment

Reeves, 2000

Elliott, 1995

Alternative&assessment:&characteristics/•  To create, perform and produce smth

•  To focus on both a process and a result

•  Involves authentic or semi-authentic task types

•  Taps into higher level problem-solving and critical

thinking skills

•  Evaluates skills needed in real life

•  Encourages transparent set of criteria Aida Rodomanchenko

Alternative&assessment:&skills/•  Listening for detail

•  Organizing a large unit of oral discourse

•  Involving a partner in a conversation

•  Expressing personal opinion

•  Expanding and supporting ideas with relevant

examples

Aida Rodomanchenko

Alternative&assessment:&&forms/•  Roundtable discussion

•  Debates

•  Oral presentation

•  Conference talk

•  Role play

Aida Rodomanchenko

Drawbacks/Oral examination

Aida Rodomanchenko

•  Profound preparation

(students and teacher)

•  Time

•  2 examiners for objectivity

•  Trained raters

•  Clear criteria

•  Standardised ???

Alternative assessment

•  Profound preparation

(students and teacher)

•  Time

•  >2 examiners

•  Properly trained raters

•  Clear and transparent

criteria

•  Non-standardised

&Background/

Aida Rodomanchenko

Exams&in&Russia/Written test Oral examination

Aida Rodomanchenko

•  MCQ

•  Essay •  Question cards

Roundtable&exam/•  In a group

•  2 examiners

•  Random position

•  > 8 topics

•  30’ preparation

•  8-10’ to answer

•  >3 additional questions

Aida Rodomanchenko

Roundtable:&summative&and&

formative&assessment/

Aida Rodomanchenko

Timing&and&Participation/

• 20&minutes/• Not&obligatory/Classroom/

• 60&minutes/• Obligatory/Midterm/

• 90P120&minutes/• Obligatory/Final/

Aida Rodomanchenko

Theme/

• Issue&inside&1&theme/• Unknown&prior&to&RTD/Classroom/

• Issue&linking&>2&themes/• Known&prior&to&RTD/Midterm/

• All&themes/• Known&prior&to&RTD/Final/

Aida Rodomanchenko

Roles/

• Personal&opinion/Classroom/

• Specific&historical&person/• Might&be&chosen/• Known&prior&to&RTD/

Midterm/

• General&role&(e.g.&educator,&doctor)/• Assigned&randomly/• Known&prior&to&RTD/

Final/

Aida Rodomanchenko

Material/

• Course&book&chapter/Classroom/

• Course&book&chapters/• Additional&material/Midterm/

• Course&book/• Additional&material/Final/

Aida Rodomanchenko

Speaking:&microP&and&macroskills&/

• A&few&microskills/Classroom/

• A&number&of&microskills/• 1&macroskill/Midterm/

• 10&backbone&microskills/• A&number&of&macroskills/Final/

Aida Rodomanchenko

Subject&knowledge/

• 1&theme/Classroom/

• 2&themes/Midterm/

• All&themes&covered&during&the&course/Final/

Aida Rodomanchenko

Scoring/Criteria7 Classroom+7 Midterm7 Final7

Task7 15%/ 20%/ 20%/Content7 25%/ 30%/ 30%/Participation+and+presentation7 25%/ 20%/ 20%/

Language+components7 15%/ 30%/ 30%/

Follow?up+writing+task7 20%/ n/a/ n/a/

Aida Rodomanchenko

RTD&Criteria/• Task&understanding/• Compliance&with&the&role/Task7

• Quality&of&information/• Arguments:&use&of&facts&and&support&material/Content7

• Presentation&style/• Questions&to&other&participants/

Presentation+and+participation7

• Grammar&and&vocabulary/• Speaking&micro&and&macroskills/Language7

• Structure&,&Logic&and&Role/• Language&/Follow?up+writing+task+7

Aida Rodomanchenko

Wriden&task/

Aida Rodomanchenko

Before After

•  Piles of uncategorized

material

•  Confused arguments

•  Unstructured

presentations

•  Analysis of resources

•  Highlighted arguments

•  Structured oral talk

beforehand

•  Reduction in prep.time

RTD&&Points/

Aida Rodomanchenko

22&P&27/

10&backbone&microskills/

Aida Rodomanchenko

•  Ability to express ideas

•  Ability to provide relevant explanations

•  Ability to express an opinion

•  Ability to weigh advantages and disadvantages

•  Ability to speculate about causes and consequences

•  Ability to summarize given information

•  Ability to answer questions

•  Ability to report back to what was said to confirm or reject

•  Ability to handle interjections

•  Ability to use appropriate register

RTD&as&an&exam:&viable&alternative?/

Aida Rodomanchenko

The&advantages&and&disadvantages&of&an&RTD&exam/

Aida Rodomanchenko

References/

Aida Rodomanchenko

•  Brown, J.D., Hudson, T. (1998). The Alternatives in Language Assessment. TESOL QUARTERLY, 32(4), 653-675.

•  Buhagiar, M.A. (2007). Classroom assessment within the alternative assessment paradigm: revisiting the territory. Curriculum Journal, 18(1), 39-56.

•  Nasab, F. G. (2015). Alternative versus Traditional Assessment. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Language Research, 2(6), 165-178. Retrieved November 6, 2016, from

•  Reeves, T. C. (2000). Alternative assessment approaches for online learning environments in higher education. Educational Computing Research, 3(1), 101-111.

•  Rodomanchenko, A. (2014). From Speaking Micro Skills to General Communicative Skills Development: a Practical Approach. IATEFL Testing Evaluation and Assessment Special Interest Group, 56, 17-21

•  Sandrarajun, C. and Kiely, R.N. (2009). The oral presentation as a context for learning and assessment. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 3(1), 17

•   

Thank&you&for&your&adention!&&

Aida&Rodomanchenko&

PhD&National&Research&University&

Higher&School&of&Economics&

a.rodomanchenko@gmail.com/

Aida Rodomanchenko