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and Trials in Hong Kong (China), Thailand
and Australia
INTRODUCTION
The last two decades have witnessed great changes in how we think about the assessment of learning. This has important implications for environmental education. Perhaps the most noticeable change is a new focus on the relationship between learning and the measurement and reporting of what has been achieved. The goal today is towards integration in which assessment becomes an integral part of students' day-to-day learning experiences rather than a series of an end-of-course tests. This goal is especially important in environmental education because of its focus on a wide range of knowledge, skill, attitudinal and action objectives - and these cannot be assessed merely by 'memory recall' testing.
This workshop focuses on this integrated focus for assessing learning and suggests methods to achieve such integration. The activities seek to help teachers understand their own assessment practices and how they might further develop their skills in this area.
OBJECTIVES
The objectives of this workshop are:
- to provide a sense of direction and innovation in the assessment
of learning in environmental education;
- to analyse key assessment issues and make decisions that will integrate
assessment with effective teaching and learning; and
- to illustrate some interesting ways that knowledge, skills, values and actions developed through environmental education programmes can be assessed.
WORKSHOP OUTLINE
Theme A: The What and Why of Assessment
This activity provides participants with an outline of the workshop and involves them in an 'ice breaker' activity.
2. Clarifying Definitions of Assessment
This activity invites participants to work individually and in groups to clarify definitions of assessment in environmental education.
3. Changing Attitudes to Assessment
In this activity, participants work in pairs to investigate the reasons for contrasting views and changing attitudes to assessment.
4. The Purposes of Assessment for Environmental Education
This activity involves a group discussion of the value of assessment for learning in environmental education instead of just for certificiation.
5. Formative and Summative Assessment
This activity focuses on assessment practices that can support and encourage effective teaching and learning in environmental education by recognising distinctions between formative and summative assessment and the varying contexts within which each is likely to occur.
Theme B: The How of Assessment
This activity introduces several assessment methods and invites participants to evaluate their suitability for environmental education.
7. Perspectives on Assessment in Enviromental Education
In this activity participants analyse assessment criteria and develop their own marking schedule for a piece of student writing.
8. Assessing Skills and Values through Structured Questions
This activity allows participants to critically examine a method of assessing thinking skills and valuing processes.
This activity examines methods associated with objective forms of assessment.
This activity provides participants with an opportunity to explore the value of self-assessment.
11. Assessment that Meets the Objectives of Environmental Education
Participants work in groups to evaluate how well various assessment methods can address the objectives of environmental education.
This activity returns to the introductory 'Tea Party' and invites participants to discuss how their responses to the questions in Activity 1 may have changed or been clarified through the workshop.
NOTE TO FACILITATORS
- The materials seek not only to introduce ideas about assessment
in environmental education but also to place thesein the broader context
of assessment in general. It is important that links are established
between how assessment takesplace in traditional school subjects and
the assessment needs for environmental education.
- Reading 1 and Reading 2
provide an overview of current thinking about assessment for facilitators.
- Facilitators will need to think about the prevailing attitudes to
assessment in their own area. In many educational systems, formal
summative assessment exerts a strong influence; in some systems, it
is dominant. It is important to adapt the materials to work from the
existing knowledge and attitudinal base of participants in the workshops.
- Facilitators should also review their national and local curriculum
guidelines to identify opportunities for innovative assessment practices.
- The degree of curriculum choice and flexibility for teachers can
be very high in certain education systems and countries. However,
syllabus and examination requirements can exert a strong influence
in other education systems, especially for secondary schools. Workshop
facilitators will need to adapt activities and emphasise different
aspects of the workshop according to the curriculum contexts and needs
of participants.
- The depth of treatment and amount of time allocated to each activity
will vary according to the background experiences of participants
in classroom teaching and in environmental education. The activities
may need to be adjusted according to whether participants are experienced
environmental educators seeking to update their appreciation of environmental
education, experienced teachers who are relatively new to environmental
education, or pre-service trainees relatively inexperienced in teaching
and environmental education.
- Facilitators should analyse all resources and activities for educational
and cultural relevance and adapt and/or replace any ideas in this
module with local examples.
MATERIALS REQUIRED
Overhead Transparency Masters
OHT 1 Overview of Workshop
OHT 2 Definitions of Assessment
OHT 3 Questions on Changing Views of Assessment
OHT 4 The Value of Assessment for Learning in Environmental Education
Resources
Resource 1 Tea Party Questions
Resource 2 Some Teachers' Views on Assessment
Resource 3 Changing Views on Assessment
Resource 4 What is Assessment For?
Resource 5 Two Assessment Situations
Resource 6 How to Assess
Resource 7 Possible Methods of Assessment in Environmental Education
Resource 8 Assessment Methods for Environmental Education - Merits and Pitfalls
Resource 9 Summative Assessment
Resource 10 An Assessment Task on the Topic of 'Air Pollution'
Resource 10A Cleaner Air Will Add to Vehicle Costs
Resource 10B Expert Warns of Unleaded Petrol Cancer Dange
Resource 10C Air Pollution in Hong Kong
Resource 10D Air Pollution Standards
Resource 10E Role Cards
Resource 11 'Objective' Assessment
Resource 12 Examples of Student Self Assessment Reports
Resource 13 Meeting the Objectives of Environmental Education
Readings
Reading 1 What are Assessment and Evaluation?
Reading 2 Should Environmental Educators be Concerned with Matters of Assessment?
Reading 3 Methods of Assessing Environmental Understanding and Awareness
ADDITIONAL READING
Department of Education Queensland (1993) P-12 Environmental Education Curriculum Guide, Department of Education, Brisbane.
Dorion, C. (1994) Planning and Evaluation of Environmental Education, WWF, Godalming.
Eckstein, M. and Noah, H. (1992) Examinations: Comparative and International Studies, Pergammon, Oxford.
Gayford, C. and Dorion, C. (1994) Planning and evaluation of environmental education in the school curriculum, The New Bulmershe Papers, University of Reading.
Gayford, C. and Macintosh, H. (1986) Profiling: A User's Manual, Stanley Thornes, Cheltenham.
Hart, C. (1982) Values Enquiry in Practice, Schools Council Geography 16-19 Curriculum Development, Occasional Paper Number 3, Institute of Education, University of London.
Hunt, G., Murdoch, K. and Walker, K., (1996) Assessment and evaluation: Profiling achievement in SOSE, in R. Gilbert, ed., Studying Society and Environment: A Handbook for Teachers, Macmillan, Melbourne.
Lloyd-Jones R. and Bray, E. (1986) Assessment From Principles to Action, Macmillian, London.
Palmer, J. and Neal, P. (1994) The Handbook of Environmental Education, Routledge, London.
Rowntree, D. (1977) Assessing Students: How Shall We Know Them? Harper Row, London. Satterly, D. (1989) Assessment in Schools, Basil Blackwell, Oxford.
Sumner, R. (1991) The Role of Assessment in Schools, NFER-Nelson, London.
Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Board (VCAB) (1990) Geography Study Design, VCAB, Melbourne.
Wilson, J. (1992) Assessment and evaluation, in M. Wooley and K. Pigdon, eds., The Big Picutre: Integrating Children's Learning, Eleanor Curtain, Melbourne.
ACTIVITIES
1. Introduction
A. Assessment Tea Party
The first activity, "Assessment Tea Party", seeks to promote initial discussion about the major issues which will arise during the workshop. It also helps to provide a framework for evaluation at the end of the workshop in which participants will be invited to review what they have learnt.
- Form participants into two concentric circles of even numbers with
the inside circle facing outwards and the outside circle facing inwards.
Each participant in the outside circle should stand facing a person
in the inside circle to form a discussion pair. Explain that each
pair represents a couple of guests at a tea party.
- Distribute a copy of Resource 1 to each participant,
drawing attention to the unfinished statements.
- Give each discussion pair one minute to discuss "Unfinished Statement
1" on Resource 1. Call 'stop' or blow a whistle
when the minute is up.
- Now ask people in the outside circle to move one place to the left
so that each person is facing a new partner in the inside circle.
Give the new discussion pairs one minute to discuss "Unfinished Statement
2" on Resource 1. Call 'stop' when the minute
is up and motion for the outside circle to move again one place to
the left to form new discussion pairs.
- Continue this process, giving one minute for the discussion of each
successive statement, until all have been addressed.
- To debrief the activity, explain that the tea party discussions
have introduced most of the key issues of the workshop and relate
directly to the workshop objectives. Points to look for in the debriefing
include participants' different views on:
- the nature of assessment;
- the role of assessment;
- individual experiences of assessment; and
- the context of environmental education in assessment.
- Show OHT 1 to provide an overview of the two
themes of the workshop.
- Explain that the tea party discussion will be conducted again at the end of the workshop as a review and evaluation activity.
Theme A- The What and Why of Assessment.
The purpose of this theme is to outline a broad understanding of the ways in which assessment can be organised to match the aims of environmental education. The underpinning ideas of assessing process as well as product, and of assessing informally as well as formally, will be established through the activities in this theme.(See Reading 1 for background ideas on this theme.)
2. Clarifying Definitions of Assessment
The aim of this activity is to encourage participants to refine their ideas about assessing learning in environmental education. Definitions are not important in themselves, but may help participants to broaden their concepts of assessment.
- Divide participants into groups of 4-5 and ask each person to give
a one or two sentence statement of his or her views, hopes or concerns
about assessment in environmental education to the rest of the group.
- Ask each group to select one statement that all members believe
and to report this to the large group. Record these on an OHT, whiteboard
or chart.
- Distribute a copy of Resource 2 to each participant.
This contains a list of other teachers' views about assessment. Ask
participants to comment by identify the one(s) which are:
- most similar to the class's list of statements,
- most different from theirs, and
- most pertinent to assessment in environmental edu cation.
- Discuss each comment on Resource 2 by asking,
'Who agrees that it is relevant to environmental education and why?'
- Direct attention to OHT 2 which provides a definition of assessment, noting the difference between assessment and evaluation using the information provided in Reading 1.
The key point to note in the debriefing is that assessment is concerned with the collation of various pieces of evidence of pupil learning in environmental education in both formal and informal situations.
3. Changing Attitudes to Assessment
- Ask participants to continue working in their groups. Start the
activity by distributing and asking participants to read Resource
3 which contains two contrasting views about assessment.
- Show OHT 3 and discuss the following questions:
- What are the views of John Holt (written in 1969)?
- What do you think is the reasoning behind his views?
- In what ways do his views have relevance for environmental education today?
- In whole group discussion, contrast the views of John Holt with
the more recent ideas put forward by Murphy and Torrance in 1988 by
discussing the next three questions on OHT 3.
- What are the views of Murphy and Torrance and how do they differ from those of John Holt?
- What is the reasoning behind Murphy and Torrance's views?
- What has happened in education systems in recent years which may have led to this change?
- Think about the impact of the changing socio-economic fortunes on education.
- What implications does/will this have on your education system and, consequently, for environmental education?
- Conclude by summarising why teachers of environmental education
should be concerned with assessment and what challenges/issues arise
from an acceptance of the need to assess environmental learning.
Note to facilitators
Reading 2 provides an overview of the topic as
a whole and can be provided to participants at this point if appropriate.
4. The Purposes of Assessment for Environmental Education
The purpose of this activity is to help participants realise the value of assessment for learning in environmental education in contrast with its traditional use as a tool for certification.
- Arrange participants into groups of 4-5 people and give each group
a copy of Resource 4. Show OHT
4 with a copy of the questions, and ask groups to answer the questions
(listed below):
- Why should environmental educators want to assess learning? List as many reasons as you can.
- Compare your list with that in Resource 4. In what ways, if any, does it differ?
- Classify the various purposes of assessment shown in Resource 4?
- Debrief by explaining the need to compare and contrast purposes
of assessment as a vehicle for:
- selection, certification and accountability; and
- feedback to students to aid learning.
- Facilitators might like to discuss with the group some tensions which arise between these two perspectives at this point.
5. Formative and Summative Assessment
The aim of this activity is to focus attention on assessment which supports and encourages learning as opposed to assessment which only provides a final check on what has been learned. This is important in environmental education because of the focus on the transformative effects we seek in students' levels of awareness, their attitudes and their citizenship potential.
- Distribute Resource 5 and Resource
6. Ask participants to work in their small groups to read the
two descriptions of assessment and answer the questions in Resource
5.
- Debrief by developing an OHT or whiteboard summary of the differences
and explore, using Resource 6, the question of
why we need to be aware of both formative and summative modes of assessment
in environmental education. This discussion should lead to questions
about the purpose of assessment.
Theme B: The How of Assessment
The purpose of this theme is to examine methods of assessing students' environmental knowledge, skills and values. It addresses the nature of some methods and explores ways in which assessement tasks can be constructed. Reading 3 provides an overview of assessment methods referred to in these activities. Give a copy of this reading to particpants at the end of this theme if appropriate.
6. Different Methods of Assessment
This activity presents a sample of the wide range of assessment tasks that are available and provides participants with an opportunity to consider which ones are suitable for particular aspects of learning.
- Ask participants to individually brainstorm as many methods of assessing
learning as they can.
- Match participants into pairs and ask them to select, from their
two lists, the 10 methods of assessment which they believe are most
useful for the formative assessment of knowledge, skills (eg. data
analysis, argument, decision-making) and/or values and attitudes in
environmental education.
- Next arrange the pairs into groups of four. Ask the groups of four
to show their two lists and compile a group list of three assessment
techniques that are most suitable for the formative assessment of
each of the following objectives of environmental education.
- Knowledge
- Data analysis and interpretation
- Reporting
- Decision making
- Attitudes and values
- Citizen Action
Compare the final group lists with those in Resource 7 and Resource 8.
- In the debriefing, draw out the point that there is a wide range
of assessment options available but that different methods are suited
to different objectives of environmental education and that it is
important to match assessment methods with the goals of assessment
in any given situation.
7. Perspectives on Assessment in Environmental Education
In this activity, participants discover that qualitative differences between answers are as important, if not at times more important, in environmental education than quantitative point-marking.
- Hand out the sample of student writing in Resource
9 and allow participants time to read through it. Ask participants
to discuss, in pairs:
- How they would mark it; and
- What criteria for assessment they could suggest.
- Are these suggestions in essence quantitative (i.e. concerned with
marks) or qualitative (i.e. emphasise descriptive comment).
- Ask participants to work in groups of four to design a marking schedule.
Ask participants to reflect on how they would prepare students for
a task in order to ensure that students are aware of the teacher's
expectations embedded within the marking schedule.
- Debrief by drawing participants attention to the differences between assessing content recall and assessing thinking skills.
8. Assessing Skills and Values Through Structured Questions
This activity presents participants with an example of an assessment task that can be used with senior secondary school students to assess thinking skills and valuing processes. The focus of this assessment task is on methods of enquiry. The materials are lengthy and some time will be needed to read them through.
- Handout Resource 10 and allow participants
time to read through it. Ask participants to work in groups of four
and to:
- Summarise the basic structure of Resource 10 in a flow diagram which outlines the main steps.
- Determine the skills being assessed and the learning intentions.
- Identify how the values element is being tackled.
- Comment on the validity of the method used.
- Review the suggestions that the participants made.
This activity is optional since many teachers may already be familiar with the basic methods of objective tests.
- Arrange participants in pairs and hand out a copy of the knowledge
test in Resource 11. Participants should read
it and then discuss the following:
- What assessment methods are used?
- To what degree are the methods illustrated suitable?
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of these sorts of test questions?
- What would you need to consider in writing such questions?
- Conclude by conducting a discussion to share group answers to these questions.
This activity examines the nature and purpose of self-asessment.
- Ask participants to consider the extent to which they feel self-assessment
should have a part to play in environmental education. Discuss in
pairs:
- the advantages and disadvantages of the approaches to self assessment shown in Resource 12; and
- ways in which they would organise student self-assesment.
- In the debriefing you may want to emphasise the need for balance between questions of reliability and the value to the learner of self-assessment. Discuss when reliability should be a major issue.
11. Assessment That Meets The Objectives Of Environmental Education
In this activity participants work in small groups to identify how the various methods they have discussed in previous activities can meet the objectives of environmental education.
- Handout Resource 13 and ask participants to
work in pairs to put 'Yes', 'No' or 'Maybe' in the boxes to show whether
each method meets the various knowledge, awareness, skills, attitudes
and action components of environmental education.
- Ask participants to identify a topic that they teach and to create
a sample assessement item for this topic. Disucss these with the whole
group.
The workshop concludes with a second tea party (Activity 1). This helps participants to review what they have learnt in the workshop.
- Using a fresh set of copies of Resource 1, if
needed, and the same process as for the tea party (Activity
1), ask participants to 'revisit' each question and discuss how
(or if) their understandings of the related issues have changed or
developed as a result of the workshop activities.
- As well as helping participants to review their professional development through this evaluation activity, this will help the workshop leader gain insight into the success of the workshop in achieving its objectives.
OHT 1
Overview of the Workshop
1. What are we trying to do in assessing learning in environmental education, and why?
- The need to assess learning in environmental education
- The purpose of assessing learning in environmental
education
- Forms of assessment suitable for environmental education
2. How can we assess the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes?
- Assessing the different domains of learning within
environmental education
- Evaluating the suitability of various assessment
tasks for environmental education
- 'Qualitative' versus 'quantitative' assesment
- Assessing skills, values and knowledge in environmental
education through a decision making exercise
- Self assessment of learning by students
OHT 2
Definitions of Assessment
Assessment is an all embracing term. It covers any of the situations in which some aspects of a students education is in some sense, measured, whether this measurement is by the teacher, an examiner or indeed the pupil him or herself. It is concerned with how well the pupil has done, evaluation is whether is was worth doing in the first place. Evaluation cannot take place without assessment ... Assessment is often equated with tests and examinations. This is misleading since neither are essential to assessment.
Lloyd-Jones, R. and Bray, E.(1986) Assessment: From Principles to Action, Macmillian, London, p.1.
Educational assessment is an omnibus term which includes all the processes and products which describe the nature and extent of children's learning, its degree of correspondence with the aims and objectives of teaching and its relationships with the (classroom) environments which are designed to facilitate learning. Satterly, D. (1989) Assessment in Schools, Basil Blackwell, Oxford, p.3. · Nor should we hesitate to turn the definition in upon itself and think of the person finding out about himself - self assessment.
Rowntree, D. (1977) Assessing Students: How Shall We KnowThem? Harper Row, London, p. 4.
OHT 3
Questions on Changing Views of Assessment
- What are the views of John Holt (written in 1969)?
- What do you think is the reasoning behind his views?
- In what ways do his views have relevance for environmental
education today?
- What are the views of Murphy and Torrance and how
do they differ from those of John Holt?
- What is the reasoning behind Murphy and Torrance's
views?
- What has happened in education systems in recent
years which may have led to this change?
- Think about the impact of changing socio-economic fortunes on education. What implications does/will this have on your education system and, consequently, for environmental education?
OHT 4
The Value of Assessment for Learning in Environmental Education
- Why should environmental educators want to assess
learning? List as many reasons as you can. · Compare your list
with the one in Resource 4. In what ways,
if any, does it differ?
- How could you classify the various purposes of assessment
shown in Resource 4?
Tea Party Questions
1. My definition of assessment is
2. I think teachers assess because
3. I am concerned about assessment because
4. The most important objective of assessment to me is
5. Some of the best examples of assessment I have seen in practice
are
6. Some types of assessment that would be particularly useful in an
environmental education context would be
Resource 2
Some Teachers' Views on Assessment
Questions
- Do any of the following statements of teachers' views on assessment
match your views?
- Which have relevance to environmental education? Why?
Teachers' Views
- It's to do with the tests and exams we set involving learning.
- It's finding out how good children are at developing understanding.
- It's something we use to keep a check on children in classes.
- Assessment is all about finding out if we are effective in our lessons.
- It's finding out children's strengths and weaknesses in learning.
- It's something that the educational psychologist does.
- It's something we use to sort out children .
- It's something done by the examinations authority and the education
department.
- Assessment is all about keeping records of children's marks and
things like that.
- It's to do with the government raising standards of environmental
understanding and awareness.
- Assessment is all about finding out where children need help.
Resource 3
Changing Views On Assessment
View 1
Let me not mince words. Almost all educators feel that testing is a necessary part of education. I wholly disagree - I do not think that testing is necessary, or useful, or even excusable. At best, testing does more harm than good; at worst it hinders, distorts, and corrupts the learning process. Testers say that testing techniques are being continually improved and can eventually be perfected. Maybe so - but no imaginable improvement in testing would overcome my objections to it. Our chief concern should not be to improve testing, but to find ways to eliminate it. [W]e teachers say that we test children to find out what they have learned, so that we can better know how to help them learn more. This is about ninety-five percent untrue. There are two main reasons why we test children: the fist is to threaten them into doing what we want done, and the second is to give us a basis for handing out rewards and penalties on which the educational system - like all coercive systems - must operate.
Holt (1969) pp. 51-52.
View 2
It is a central argument of this book that assessment should play a critical part in any educational process. Wherever learning takes place, or is intended that it should take place, then it is reasonable for the learner, the teacher and other interested parties to be curious about what has happened both in terms of the learning process and in terms of any anticipated or un-anticipated outcomes. We would argue that good education, by definition, encompasses good assessment. However, we would wish to disassociate ourselves immediately from much of what has gone under the guise of 'good' educational assessment... Assessment has been viewed for far too long as a formal process, which normally involves the administration of formal tests and examinations through procedures that are totally divorced from the educational process and setting to which they are supposed to relate.
Murphy and Torrance (1988) p.7.
Resource 4
What Is Assessment For?
- To find out what students know about the environment, what they
understand and what they can do.
- To find out what students do not know, do not understand and cannot
do.
- To provide a basis for feedback to learners to help them in their
environmental education.
- To motivate learners to learn about the environment and for the
environment.
- To motivate environmental educators.
- To support teaching and learning in environmental education.
- To monitor and control standards in environmental education through
certification.
- To act as a measure for the accountability of environmental educators.
- To raise educational standards in environmental awareness, understanding
and action.
- To improve environmental curricula.
- To see whether learning objectives in environmental education are
being met.
- To rank order students by level of environmental learning.
- To diagnose environmental learning problems and needs.
- To diagnose teaching problems as a basis for evaluating the needs
of schools.
- To screen students who may not be environmentally aware or active.
- To select people for future careers or learning paths in environmental
education (eg. to stream children).
- To provide parents and others outside the school with information
about the environmental learning of children.
- To predict likely future environmental attitudes and actions of students (and teachers and schools!).
Resource 5
Two Assessment Situations
Sketch A
Yim-lin comes into her class of eleven year olds. She asks whether they have all brought their lunch and with what they have wrapped their sandwiches. Most of the children have used cling-film. "Why did they use it?" Yim-lin asks. She continues, "What will they do with the cling-film when they have finished eating?" The morning develops with a discussion on plastic wrappings, how they are made and how they can be disposed of when they are no longer needed. The morning develops with a lesson on plastics, how they are made, their impact on material and energy resources and the problems they pose as waste. The children become interested in investigating the way in which plastic waste enters the sea and the effects this has on marine mammals. The children conclude the day by completing a set of worksheet questions based on a library search.
Sketch B
At the end of Year 6, Yim-lin's 11 year-olds will be moving to secondary school. There is a question of which school students would go to and what particular problems students might carry with them. Yim-lin gave the class a set of graded questions to test the children's level of knowledge. She also asked the children to complete a self-reporting questionnaire to assess pupil's attitudes and environmental/community awareness; she used this information to generate a descriptive profile for each child.
Questions
- List differences in the foci of assessment in the two sketches.
- Use the descriptive terms given in Resource 6
to analyse the form of assessment which is taking place in each. What
are the main differences of purpose?
Resource 6
How To Assess
There is often a tension in environmental education between summative and formative, formal and informal, terminal and continuous assessment. However, they emphasise different aspects of learning and seek to perform different educational functions.
Formative assessment emphasises the on-going collection of information about children's learning in environmental education which is used to make decisions about how to enhance the learning capability of students. Its main purpose is to assist learning. It is largely a matter between the learner and the teacher and is described as 'low stakes' assessment. It is often informal and usually non-judgemental. It is concerned with what students can do and helping them with what they cannot do in relation to expected criteria. Consequently it is often either implicitly or explicitly criterion-referenced in terms of environmental knowledge, enquiry skills or values.
Summative assessment occurs at the end of a study and often reflects the final product of environmental learning. It is generally judgemental and is often described as 'high stakes' assessment as it may be a critical determinant of access to future learning paths or jobs. It is often concerned with ranking people and is consequently norm-referenced in terms of relative environmental understanding of students.
Informal assessment occurs as an inevitable, integral part of day-to-day classroom activities, eg. teacher questioning, classroom observation, home and class-work. It is often uncontrolled and seeks to be unobtrusive. It is responsive to the needs of students. Spin-offs for environmental learning is generally at the forefront of the teacher's mind.
Formal assessment has no direct teaching function. Its sole function is to provide knowledge about environmental education achievements for someone else. It usually takes the form of tests and occurs at defined times within conventional examination settings. It is contrived and there are generally predetermined answers. The significance of data collected is usually for summative purposes.
Terminal assessment occurs only once at the end of the environmental education programme or at the end of a stage in the programme. It is consequently periodic and final. It is often associated with formal examinations in environmental education.
Continuous assessment is intermittent, regular and cumulative. It is often, though not inevitably, associated with course-work assessment in environmental education.
Resource 7
Possible Methods Of Assessment In Environmental Education
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Knowledge |
Completion items Multiple choice (MC) Short answer questions |
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Data analysis & interpretation |
Structured questions Laboratory practicals Field work |
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Reporting |
Oral presentation Essay Report/Assignment Individual/group research project |
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Decision making |
Structured questions Decision-making exercises Projects Role play |
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Attitudes and values |
Oral presentation Classroom observation Self-evaluation profile Teacher produced profile |
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Citizen Action |
Observation of students' action Self-evaluation profile |
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Resource 8
Assessment Methods for Environmental Education - Merits and Pitfalls
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Knowledge |
Multiple choice (MC), completion, matching, true/false assertion reasoning, short answer questions |
Wide curriculum coverage possible; risk of overemphasis on facts; easy to mark but can be difficult to construct forms which assess higher order learning; can trivialise learning. |
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Essays |
Timed essays, resource based essay, extended writing, report, open-book examinations |
Easy to construct; difficult to mark reliably; good for higher order thinking skills (e.g. evaluation) and argument; may overemphasise writing; require criteria for useful feedback. |
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Projects/enquiries |
Based on field work or on secondary data |
Assess ability to identify, describe, analyse & draw conclusions; emphasises study and information processing skills; risk of copious copying; time consuming to mark; need criteria for effective marking and feedback. |
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Structured questions |
Stimulus response, data based |
Many of the advantages of projects but more restricted, manageable and easier to mark; can trivialise learning and generate routine responses. |
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Oral assessment |
Presentations, debates, drama, discussion groups |
Can encourage outgoing students to think creatively about the environment but the shy may be overwhelmed; time consuming; perhaps the least permanent and structured form of evidence; difficult to grade without set criteria; useful in formative assessment. |
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Classroom observation |
Teacher notes, checklists, comment banks, profiles, interviews |
Rich source of evidence of enviro-sensitive behaviour; very time consuming and therefore a problem with large classes; risk of data overload; difficult to grade without set procedures and criteria. |
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Self-assessment |
Student checklists, diaries, peer group assessment, negotiated self-reports, can-do statements |
Can be (but not always) rewarding for students; difficult to set up as an effective tool; needs practice and time to acclimatise to method. |
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Resource 9
Summative Assessment
This is a piece of summative writing about the environment by a 10 year-old girl in Hong Kong who had just completed a lesson on pollution in her local area
Hong Kong: World of Contrast
Steaming chimneys clouds of black smoke
In between buildings green trees poke
Container ships hooting junk boats chugging
Shrugging at the sight of the tug boats tugging
From hill to hill the bird-calls flow
In the evening red sunsets glow
Out in town everything's busy
All the big buildings make me dizzy
Squatter villages made of tin
Rubbish everywhere but in the bin
Cicadas singing
Telephones ringing
Blue sea shimmering
Yellow sun glimmering
On lantern festival everything's filled with light
Too bad it can't be every night
This land that was called a barren rock
Is now an international dock
Charlotte
Resource 10
An Assessment Task on the Topic of Air Pollution
The Curriculum Objectives are:
- To become aware of the seriousness of air pollution as a problem,
its causes and consequences.
- To understand the different attitudes taken to the problem and why
these differences arise.
- To describe and evaluate the effectiveness of solutions in the local area.
The Assessment Objectives Focus on the Ability of Students to:
- Interpret and analyse information presented in statistical and written
forms.
- Extract information to identify different view points.
- Use knowledge of the nature, causes and consequences of air pollution to reach decisions on what might be done to solve the problem.
The Assessment Task
The assessment task takes the form of an environmental enquiry. It centres on the issue that some people in Hong Kong argue that, as an industrial city, air pollution is an inevitable cost to be borne if the people wish to maintain a high standard of living; others believe that air pollution is so serious that the very quality of life is threatened.
The enquiry task comprises 4 exercises.
Exercise 1 - Analysis of news-cuttings to identify different perspectives on the problem of air pollution.
Exercise 2 - Analysis of statistical and text data to clarify the pupils' understanding of air pollution.
Exercise 3 - Analysis of the different view points on how to solve the problem of air pollution.
Exercise 4 - Synthesis of understanding of the air pollution problem and ways of alleviating it.
Student Questions
Exercise 1: Identifying the Problem
- Study the 2 newspapers reports (Resource 10A
and Resource 10B) on an international conference
on urban pollution which was held in Hong Kong.
- List ten descriptive words or phrases which summarise your impressions
of what people were talking about at the conference. Compare your
list with a neighbour's.
- What two views are being expressed. What do you think are the different
values of the people who hold these opposing views? What questions
would you want to ask to see which group of people held an environmentally
sensitive view? What evidence would you need to collect?
Since people clearly hold different views about the problem of air pollution, this is an important topic for study. The exercises which follow aim to clarify what we mean by the term 'air pollution', and why people have different attitudes towards the issue.
Exercise 2: Understanding the Problem: Air Pollution and its Impact on Life
Having recognised that air pollution is a feature of life in many urban areas including Hong Kong, we need to take a closer look at what air pollution is, why it occurs and its effects.
Analyse Resource 10C and Resource 10D and answer the following questions.
- What is air pollution?
- What are the main sources of air pollutants?
- What are the possible causes of air pollution?
- In what ways does air pollution affect human lives?
- In what ways does air pollution affect climate?
- In what ways can we solve the air pollution?
- Are these methods feasible? Comment on advantages and disadvantages.
Exercise 3: Finding Solutions - One Problem: Different Solutions
So far the study has attempted to investigate the nature of the air pollution problem and its likely effects. What do people think should be done and why do they hold those views.
One way of trying to understand what decisions different people are likely to make is to take on the roles of interested parties and to act out discussions which might have taken place.
Imagine that a televised seminar has been set up to bring together people with differing views about what can and should be done concerning air pollution.
Groups of 4 students are allocated one of the following roles:
- A Government Environmental Protection Department Officer
- A representative from industry
- A citizen
- A representative of 'Friends of the Planet'
- A taxi-owner
- A doctor
The role of each group is explained on Resource 10E (Role cards 1-6). These describe the background of each person involved.
In groups, write down what view you believe the person in your role would take, why that view is taken and why you would think that the other people are wrong. Prepare, as a group, a 5 minute presentation.
Debrief the presentations by considering the main points of the attitude of each person to air pollution. and the reasons for differences in viewpoint.
Exercise 4: Summing Up
Look back over the work you have done. Assess your understanding of the topic and what can be done in Hong Kong by writing a short essay on:
To what extent is air pollution today worse than it was 25 years ago? Explain why and how the present situation has arisen and what different group in society see as possible actions in response to the problem.
You will be marked on the basis of:
- conceptual knowledge
- organisation/structure
- argument
- illustrations/examples
- use of library resource materials.
Resource 10A
Cleaner Air will Add to Vehicle Costs
Hong Kong will have to pay more for vehicles or their maintenance if it is to tackle its air pollution, caused mostly by traffic.
Diesel vehicles are the worst offenders. They account for over 80 % of traffic emissions. However, the Government backed down on plans to phase them out in favour of petrol vehicles, because this would cause inflation.
The alternative was make sure that diesel users maintained engines, and reduce pollution.
But William Barron of the University of Hong Kong and Raymond Leung of the Environmental Protection Department said there were costs in this option and it might not be as reliable.
Vehicles would have to be inspected twice a year, and preferably 3 or 4 times.
Inspections carried out by law would need extra manpower. They would not necessarily prevent people altering engines, a tactic used by some taxi and minibus drivers in the mistaken belief that it makes their engines more powerful.
"It's a higher risk but a lower cost. But can you enforce inspection and make inspections frequent enough?" Dr Barron asked.
By relying on petrol vehicles with catalytic converters to control pollution emissions, there would be no manpower requirement and drivers would not be able to tamper with engines.
The study found that the only major pollution problem with cars with catalytic converters was carbon dioxide. Fitting converters cost $5,000 and fuel costs were 10 to 20 per cent higher.
It would cost $500 a year for diesel inspections, plus the cost to operators of their cars being off the road. But diesel vehicles emitted nitrous oxide and respirable suspended particles, as well as carbon dioxide.
Air pollution is the main pollution concern of Hong Kong residents, according to various polls.
"If inflation overrides all concerns, as long as inflation is the main policy, we're not going to get very far. Environmental protection is rarely free." Dr Barron said.
"(Air pollution) affects people most directly - they breathe it into their lungs. and for a moderate cost we can do something about it."
Dr Barron was speaking at the "Pollution in the Metropolitan Environment" conference in Hong Kong. The theme was global warming, to which transport contributes greatly because of carbon dioxide and other emissions.
Levels of greenhouse gasses are increasing every year, according to Rosina Bierbaum of the US Congress Office of Technology Assessment.
She said carbon dioxide levels were rising 0.5 per cent per year, chlorofluoro-carbons four per cent, methane one per cent and nitrous oxide 0.25 per cent. Carbon dioxide, coming mainly from road vehicles, accounted for over 50 per cent of all these emissions.
Other speakers praised Hong Kong's reliance on public transport, since privately-owned vehicles were a significant contributor to emission problems in other countries.
But US consultant, Michael Walsh, said the territory faced the same air pollution problems as other Asian countries because of the use of diesel, which accounts for 65 per cent of road kilometres travelled.
Resource 10B
Expert Warns of Unleaded Petrol Cancer Danger
UNLEADED petrol - particularly the controversial new 98 octane fuel - may contain dangerous levels of cancer-causing chemicals, a leading expert on air pollution claimed.
The chemicals are derivatives of benzene, which is added to unleaded fuel to make it more powerful and has also been linked to cancer.
The 98 octane fuel, which was recently introduced in Hong Kong amid substantial controversy, contained greater amounts of the chemicals than the 95 octane it replaced, according to toxicologist, Mr. George Leslie.
Mr Leslie said combustion of unleaded petrol emitted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a confirmed carcinogenic.
"In order to stop the petrol mixture from exploding during the compression stroke, you must have a high octane level ... aromatic hydrocarbons put in unleaded fuel (to raise the octane level) give rise to carcinogens," he said.
The 98 octane fuel was introduced last month by oil companies who said they were responding to customer demand. It costs 21 cents a litre more than 95 octane.
"If you have high octane unleaded petrol you must have more of the cyclic compounds and that means you get more of these PAHs released into the air," Mr. Leslie said.
But Mr Fred Tromp of the Environmental Protection Department said he was not "overly concerned" about the PAHs because their levels were not likely to be high here.
PAHs are difficult to measure but measurements of air-borne benzene, to which they are linked, showed it was one-tenth the American recommended level.
Mr Tromp also said oil companies had promised to keep benzene levels in fuel to the British standard of a maximum of five per cent.
This pledge was made earlier this year before the introduction of unleaded petrol on April 1, and at the time applied only to 95 octane.
The Consumer Council earlier this year had advocated imposing controls on the benzene content.
Mr Leslie said much more research remains to be done on the effects of unleaded petrol.
He suggested that fitting catalytic converters to vehicles using unleaded petrol could reduce the problem by destroying most of the pollutants emitted.
All new cars imported into Hong Kong from January 1st will be required by law to carry catalytic converters.
More than 70 per cent of Hong Kong's road kilometres are travelled by diesel vehicles.
Resource 10C
Air Pollution in Hong Kong
Source: Environment Hong Kong (1990)
Monitoring by the Environmental Protection Department in Hong Kong showed that, in 1989, carbon monoxide levels were within safe limits. However, sulphur dioxide was a problem particularly in the industrial area of Kwai Chung. Nitrogen dioxide was a more widespread problem than sulphur dioxide and was highest in Kwun Tong and Western which are also industrial areas.
Average levels of total particulate (TSP) and respirable particulate (RSP) have consistently exceeded objectives by as much as 50%. Particulate, as a problem, seem to be getting worse. There is concern about toxic air containments such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCSs), benzol-a-pyrene (BaP), toxic metals (mercury, arsenic, beryllium, chromium and cadmium) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). PCBs are largely derived from leakages of transformer fluids and platicizers but, as with metals, are within acceptable limits. BaPs arise from the burning of oil and coal and, however, are a source of concern.
Table 1 Causes of Air Pollution Complaints in Hong Kong
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Smoke |
30.2 |
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Dust |
22.2 |
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Chemical Vapour |
8.1 |
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Paint Mist |
4.1 |
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Steam |
3.1 |
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Odour |
26.5 |
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Cooking Fumes |
3.1 |
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Other |
3.8 |
Table 2 Average Annual Pollution Levels (1989) in ug/m3
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Kwai Chung |
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Kwun Tong |
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Western |
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Table 3 Maximum Daily Pollutant Concentration (1989) in ug/m3
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Kwai Chung |
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Kwun Tong |
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Western |
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Table 4 Daily Concentrations (ug/m3) of Sulphur Dioxide and Suspended Particulate in Selected Cities in 1984.
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Shenyang (China) |
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Caracas (Venezuela) |
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Calcutta (India) |
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Chicago (USA) |
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Frankfurt (Germany) |
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Auckland (New Zealand) |
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Toronto (Canada) |
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Table 5: The Effects of Different Forms of Air Pollution
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Suspended Particulate Matter* and Sulphur Dioxide** (SO2) |
Heart and lung disease among young and elderly when levels over 250 ug/m3 in short term and over 100 ug/m3 for long periods. Harms plant growth. SO2 contributes to acid rain. |
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Ozone and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) |
Sore throat, eye irritation, headache; leads to mottling of leaves and plant damage; causes cracking of rubber products e.g. tyres. |
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Oxides of Nitrogen. (NO2, NO3) |
Lung problems and headaches, particular problem if other diseases are present. Contributes to acid rain. |
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Carbon monoxide |
Lung & heart problems, headaches, drowsiness, reduced work capacity |
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Toxic metals (Particularly lead) |
Brain damage |
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Toxic chemicals (e.g. PCBs). |
Cancers, birth defects, haemorrhaging |
Resource 10D
Air Pollution Standards
Setting standards for "acceptable" or "tolerable" levels of public risk is a contentious subject and is being vigorously debated throughout the world. The Hong Kong Government has set guidelines to limit the risk of death of any individual to no more than 1 in 100,000 per year in any potentially hazardous industrial site. For accidents involving large numbers of people, a "risk aversion" approach is adopted.
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Averaging Time |
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(ii) |
(iii) |
(iii) |
(iv) |
(iv) |
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Sulphur Dioxide |
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Respiratory illness; reduced lung function; morbidity and mortality rates increase at higher levels. |
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Total Suspended Particulate |
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Respirable fraction has effects on health. |
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Respirable Suspended Particulate (v) |
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Respiratory illness; reduced lung function; cancer risk for certain particles; morbidity and mortality rates increase at higher levels. |
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Nitrogen Dioxide |
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Respiratory irritation; increased susceptibility to respiratory infection; lung development impairment. |
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Carbon Monoxide |
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Impairment of co-ordination; deleterious to pregnant women and those with heart and circulatory conditions. |
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Photochemical Oxidants (as ozone) (vi) |
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Eye irritation; cough; reduced athletic performance; possible chromosome damage. |
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Lead |
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Affects cell and body processes; likely effects on rates of incidence of heart attacks, strokes and hypertension. |
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(ii) Not to be exceeded more than three times per year.
(iii) Not to be exceed more than once per year.
(iv) Arithmetic means.
(v) Respirable suspended particulate (RSP) means suspended particles in air with a nominal aerodynamic diameter of 10 micrometres and smaller.
(vi) Photochemical oxidants are determined by measurement of ozone only.
Resource 10E
Role Cards
Role card 1 - An Environmental Protection Department Officer
* Your concern is with protection of the environment
* You have strict regulations and provisions to control air pollution, for example
- a network of monitoring stations to measure air quality have been
set up throughout the territory;
- unleaded petrol became available after April, 1991;
- the whole of HK has been declared an Air Control Zone since December
1989;
- smokey vehicles are examined in Vehicle Emission Testing Centres;
- Air Pollution Control (Smoke) Regulations were amended in 1990 to
tighten control of dark smoke emission from stationary combustion sources;
- Fuel Restriction Regulations (1 July 1990) prohibit use of high sulphur
fuel oil.
Role card 2 - A representative from industry
- Your concern is with the ability to make a profit and keep costs
as far as possible. However you also want a good public image.
- You feel that there is NO clear evidence that industry is the only
sector which is responsible for the emission of air pollutants.
- If too strict regulations are imposed, it will reduce the competitive
power of HK products as production costs will rise. The economy of
HK will be affected.
Role card 3 - A citizen
- Your main concern is with the quality of your daily life.
- You lack technical knowledge about air pollution. What you notice
is the discolouration of paintwork in the home, dusty furniture despite
regular cleaning, frequently respiratory illnesses.
- You like the convenience of modern life in Hong Kong and worry about anything which makes life more expensive.
Role card 4 - A Representative of Friends of the Planet
- Your concern is to help people become more aware of the environment
and to force the government to impose stricter regulations by, for
example
- forcing industry and vehicle drivers to use lead free fuel and to use oil with a lower sulphur content;
- imposing stricter regulations on vehicle exhausts to maintain them within acceptable limits.
- You think that there are several methods to improve environmental
air quality, for example
a) educate the public and industries;
b) reduce the number of cars on the road;
c) change the sort of machines used by industry; and
d) improve the design of vehicle engines.
Role card 5 - A taxi-owner
- Diesel is a cheaper and more efficient fuel than petrol or electricity.
- Freezing the number of vehicles would result in price speculation
in taxi permits and raise costs.
- It is the narrow streets which trap the fumes produced by the congested traffic; the problem is in the roads not the vehicles.
Role card 6 - A doctor
- People have frequently suffered from respiratory illnesses over
the past few years.
- In areas where air pollution is high, people are more likely to
suffer from heart and lung diseases.
- It has recently been proved that children who have breathed in large
amounts of lead dust particles from vehicle fumes have a lower level
of concentration in studies as lead accumulates in the brain.
- All means should be taken to reduce air pollution.
Resource 11
'Objective' Assessment: A test of environmental knowledge for 13 year-old pupils on Natural Resources
1. Fill in the blanks to complete the following paragraph:
Natural resources are things that are found within or on the _________ that can be used by ________.
Natural resources can be grown in the _______ or dug out of the ground in ______. They are different
from manufactured goods because manufactured goods are made in a _______ from _______ _______.
Natural resources must be used carefully if we are to have a ____________ future. [7 marks]
2. Complete the following sentences:
(i) A non-renewable resource is __________________________________________________________
_____________________________________ eg. ___________________________________
(ii) A renewable resource is ______________________________________________________________
____________________________________ e.g.___________________________________ [6 marks]
3. Which of the following is not a fossil fuel?
- Coal
- Solar power
- Oil
- Natural gas
[1 mark]
4. One way to classify resources is into renewable and non-renewable. Given the following natural resources:
A. coal
B. natural gas
C. wood
D. oil
E. water
F. wind
Which of the following is a correct classification of resources A-F?
1. renewable - C,E,F; non-renewable - A,B,D
2. renewable - B,C,E; non-renewable - A,D,F
3. renewable - A,E,F; non-renewable - C.D.F
4. renewable - C,D,E; non-renewable - A,B,F
[1 mark]
5. The life of existing non-renewable resources can be increased by:
A. Recycling
B. Using less
C. Finding alternatives
D. Raising the price
Which of the above are correct?
- None
- A B C
- B C D
- All
[1 mark]
6. As citizens, which of the following should we do to help solve the energy resource crisis?
A. Turn off lights etc when they are not needed
B. Use public transport whenever possible
C. Write letters to members of the Government
D. Keep the neighbourhood tidy
Which of the above are correct?
- A only
- A and B
- A, B and C
- All of them
[1 mark]
7. Read the two statements below. Decide if each is correct and whether Statement A explains Statement B.
Statement A
The main non-renewable sources of energy today are the fossil fuels such as coal and oil. These, result when burnt give off carbon dioxide.
Statement B
In recent years, the planet seems to be getting warmer. This is probably as a result of the green house effect.
Chose which of the following is correct:
- A is correct; B is correct and explains A
- A is correct; B is correct but does not explain A
- A is correct; B is false
- A is false; B is correct
- A is false; B is false
[1 mark]
8. Write down 2 things you can do at school to help solve the energy resource problem.
(i) ___________________________________________
(ii) ___________________________________________
[2 marks]
[Total = 20 marks]
Examples of Student Self Assessment Reports
Example 1 'I Can-Do' Self-Assessment Report
After completing this project:
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I can analyse satellite photographs to see how much of the rainforest is being lost.
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I can understand how deforestation is causing problems of soil erosion, lowered diversity and habitat loss.
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I can understand different peoples' view points about logging in the rainforest.
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I am using less paper and re-using envelopes to save timber.
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Signed: ______________________________________________ Date ___/___/___
Example 2 Negotiated Self-Assessment Report
After completing this project:
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I can analyse satellite photographs to see how much of the rain forest is being lost.
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I can understand how deforestation is causing problems of soil erosion, lowered diversity and habitat loss.
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I can understand different peoples' view points about logging in the rainforest.
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I am using less paper and re-using envelopes to save timber.
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Signed: _____________________ (pupil)____________________ (teacher) Date: ___/___/___
Agreed action ________________________________________________________________________
Resource 13
Meeting the Objectives of Environmental Education
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Objective Tests |
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Short Answer Tests |
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Essay |
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Decision Making Exercise |
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Checklists |
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