Improve your assessment: Assessing Climate change and self-in-society

Assessing your teaching and learning is essential. Knowledge and competencies uptake can be assessed in diverse ways, including

• Knowledge: What is known and remembered by students? (CAPS assessment)
• Action / Awareness: The understanding and application acquired through participation in learning.
• Synthesis / Innovation: An emerging capacity to work with knowledge and skills of analysis, evaluation and innovation.

(O’Donoghue, 2013).

The Life Orientation CAPS document recommends various types of assessment such as written tasks: design and make, case study and assignment (DBE, 2011). The diverse ways of assessing knowledge, action/awareness and synthesis/innovation must be included. Interestingly, the CAPS documents stipulate that learners should be exposed to a variety of these forms of assessment across the three grades within a phase so that learners do not repeat the same form of assessment across the grades. These assessment types are described as:

• Design and make
• Design and make involve producing the actual product using creative processes to achieve a certain competency. Making is the end product of a design.
• Learners will be required to design, make and write a descriptive paragraph(s) on the task. Learners are required to show an understanding of knowledge gained and the application of knowledge and skills. The focus will be determined by the content covered according to the annual teaching plan.
• The teacher will provide learners with the resources and information required to deliver the task.
• All assessment criteria applicable to the task must be discussed with the learners prior to the commencement of the task.
• Examples:
  • Make a collage or poster that describes your diet concerning your dietary habits and nutritional value. Write one to two paragraphs describing and reflecting on your dietary habits and how to improve bad habits or sustain good habits.
  • Design a poster using pictures, photos and drawings which reflect your goals concerning your lifestyle and future career. Write brief notes and provide a plan on how to achieve your goals.

2) Assignment

• The assignment will allow for a more holistic assessment of knowledge, skills and values and their application in different contexts. The assignment is less open-ended than the project in that it does not require learners to collect, analyse and/or evaluate data and information that will result in synthesising the findings.
• Competencies: However, it, will be a problem-solving and/or decision-making and application of knowledge exercise with clear guidelines regarding a specified length. The focus will be determined by the content covered according to the annual teaching plan. The teacher will provide learners with the resources and information required to deliver the task.
• All assessment criteria applicable to the task must be discussed with the learners prior to the commencement of the task.

3) Case study

• A case study will involve a detailed description of a specific situation or phenomenon.
• The description can be real or hypothetical and can be taken from a book, newspaper, magazine, video or radio. Case studies will assess whether a learner can apply knowledge, skills and values to an unfamiliar context.
• The focus will be determined by the content covered according to the annual teaching plan.
• The teacher will provide learners with the resources and information required to deliver the task. All assessment criteria applicable to the task must be discussed with the learners prior to the commencement of the task. (DoE, 2011 – CAPS document Grade 7 to 9).

Assessment activities will vary according to the content knowledge that is being assessed. Not all assessments have to be written, some can be practical, and others can be oral. The assessment activities tables in the three units illustrate some possible links between the content in the learning unit and assessment activities and skills. In the content knowledge topics, the activities have been aligned with the different grades in which they are applicable.