Event

How Classroom Assessments Can Improve Teaching and Learning

Saturday, November 28th, 2015, 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM

Speaker: James Dean Brown (University of Hawai'i at Manoa)

This presentation will grapple with the issues involved in using classroom assessments to improve teaching and learning. I will begin with several key questions: What is learning? And, how does assessment relate to learning? I will go on to argue that the key is to link assessment to teaching, classroom activities, and learning, and vice versa. In much more detail, I will show how all of this can be done in five steps: planning assessment (including knowing your options, matching assessment to learning, and promoting learning with assessment); writing items (including creating the best possible items, writing enough items, and checking the items again); compiling the assessments (including organizing the items, creating scoring tools, and proofreading the complete assessment procedure); using the assessments (including planning the administration, giving students feedback, and using the feedback yourself); and improving the assessments (including analyzing the items, checking reliability, and checking validity). I will end by discussing with the audience how they now feel they can best link assessment to teaching, classroom activities, and learning, and vice versa.

Biographical Statement: James Dean Brown ("JD") is currently Professor of Second Language Studies at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. He has spoken and taught in many places ranging from Brazil to Venezuela. He has published numerous articles and books on language testing, curriculum design, research methods, and connected speech. His most recent books are:

• Developing, using, and analyzing rubrics in language assessment with case studies in Asian and Pacific languages (2012 from NFLRC);
• New ways in teaching connected speech (2012 from TESOL);
• New ways of classroom assessment, revised  (2013 from TESOL);
• Practical assessment tools for college Japanese (2013 with K. Kondo-Brown & Tominaga from NFLRC);
• Mixed methods research for TESOL (2014 from Edinburgh University Press);
• Cambridge guide to research in language teaching and learning (2015 with C. Coombe from Cambridge University Press);
• Teaching and assessing EIL in local contexts around the world (2015 with S. L. McKay from Routledge);
• Developing courses in languages for specific purposes (2015 with J. Trace & T. Hudson from NFLRC);
• Introducing needs analysis and English for specific purposes (in press 2016 from Routledge);
• and two others that are currently in the works.

After-meeting social:
Hong Kong Chon Long
Type: Chinese (Dim Sum) buffet, plus all you can drink
Location: Iwataya Shinkan 7F, Iwataya Dept Store, Tenjin 2-5-35 (map to restaurant)
Phone: 092-738-3106
Time: 19:30 - (Last call at 21:00)
Price: 2,800 yen (tax incl)
RSVP to reserve your place

About the venue: Don't be confused. Yes, a previous venue is also called Office Hummingbird, but this is a different building, very close to the other one. Please see this map for the venue.

Organization: Fukuoka Chapter of the Japan Association for Language Teaching (Fukuoka JALT)

Cost: JALT Members: free
Non-members: free (through cosponsorship with JALT's TEVAL SIG)

Venue: Office Hummingbird, Shigematsu Building, above NishiNihon City Ginko, Room 301 (map)

Location: Fukuoka City, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan

Contact Fukuoka JALT

Trevor Holster