TQUK Level 5 in Education

UNIT 1
Theories, Principles and Models of Education and Training

• CHAPTER 2 Communication in Education

• CHAPTER 3 Assessments in education
Chapter 2: Communication
Analyse theories, principles and models
2.1 of communication

Understand the application of theories,

L02 principles and models of communication
in education and training Explain ways in which theories, principles
and models of communication can be
2.2 applied to teaching, learning and
assessment

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 Introduction
Models and theories of communication
can help us to control the
communication process and take
account of any unfavourable
distractions.

In this chapter we will investigate some

key theories and principles of
communication. In practice this will
provide you with the insight and
information you will need to continually
refine your communication skills,
whether they are verbal, non verbal,
written, or using any other media.
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Reflection
Think about a time communication caused a
problem for you. 1 min .

Look at the Gibbs Reflection Cycle

Description – what happened?
Feelings – what were you thinking and
feeling?
Evaluation – the good and the bad?
3 mins
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Introduction
Why Good Communication is Important
● The need to establish good communication
is a key pre-requisite to any learning.
● Good communication can make the
difference between meeting/ missing your
learning goals and outcomes.
● The teacher will need to be very deliberate
in planning and conducting their
communication
● The student will need to actively listen and
interpret key points.
● Helps meet the needs of your learners
● Remember Maslow!!!
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Communication
Claude Elwood Shannon and Warren Weaver derived a basic model of communication in which the
sender transfers information/ messages to the receiver.
It is often referred to as the transmission model.

For teachers, these questions provide

opportunities for us to:
● Review the information itself(message)
Review content against learning
outcomes for the programme, whether it
needs to be changed (is it boring/ dry)
● The materials/ resources / delivery
method (channel) Is it the best solution
for the message? Is it engaging and
inclusive?
● And the features, perception and
abilities of our learners (receivers) Are
they hearing your message as you
intended? What is their cognitive ability?
What bias/ preferences do they have?
● What ‘noise’ is inhibiting the message
from being effective 6
Communication
Shannon and Weaver (1949)
● Shannon and Weaver identified that
‘noise’ interferes with the message.
● Shannon and Weaver argued that
there are three levels of problems:
● The technical problem: how accurately
can the message be transmitted?
● The semantic problem: how precisely
is the meaning 'conveyed'?
● The effectiveness problem: how
effectively does the received meaning
affect behaviour?
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Reflection – using Gibbs …..
● As teachers how can
we ensure that we
minimise 'noise' in the
communication
process with our
learners
● What features of our
own cognitive bias do
we need to be aware
of when planning,
delivering
and evaluating our les
sons

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Dean Barnlund (1970)
Transactional model of communication was aimed at mapping basic interpersonal communication.

● The transactional model demonstrates that

communication should be seen as a dynamic and
constant exchange of information which is continually
encoded and decoded.
● In addition to this the physical environment, body
language and internal cognitive processes, thoughts and
feelings, all influence exactly how the encoding and
decoding takes place and also the amount of noise which
is present.
● In reality this would all happen very quickly when two or
more people are talking in an interpersonal situation.
● It would be nearly impossible to capture this process.
However with some careful planning, we can adjust the
environment, resources, language and activities to ensure
that we minimise ‘noise’ and increase the chances that
the message is conveyed in a clear and concise manner.

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Dean Barnlund (1970)

● The model includes ‘Cues’. ‘Cues’ refers to signs

for doing something.
● Public cues- re physical, environmental or artificial
and natural or man-made.
● Private cues- re also known as private objects of
orientation which include senses of a person.
Both these cues can be verbal as well as non-
verbal
● Behavioural cues- can be verbal as well as non-
verbal.

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Reflection… using Gibbs
Reflect upon a situation
where you (or someone you
observed) have delivered a
clear, consistent, and
concise message, keeping
distractions and noise to a
minimum. What were the
variables and how were they
controlled?
1. In a classroom setting
which of the variables
are easy to control and
which ones are more
difficult?

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Role of Communication in Teaching and Learning
● The various models of communication recognise the
process of transmitting information from sender to
receiver. There are key considerations for us as
educators
● The message itself- must be relevant and clear. Clear
learning objectives/ outcomes, detailing exactly what, why
and how and to what level a task is to be performed
● The channel- Learning resources, activities, delivery method
and any additional requirements for inclusion purposes need
to be carefully considered. We must appreciate that the
channel will affect the clarity and impact of the message.
Face to face group interactions, one to ones, e-learning, case
studies will all have complex variable in how the learner is
engaged.
● Perceptions of the sender- education, experience, cognitive
features, cultural background, personal bias
● Perceptions of the receiver- prior education, experiences,
cognitive features, cultural background.
● The environment- temperature, comfort, visual aesthetics,
facilities.
● Noise-Any distractions. Something that distorts or changes the
transmission of the message. Noise may also occur in the
absence of something that is needed. For example ‘The lack of
refreshments/ lunch facilities made it really difficult for the
learners to concentrate on the lesson as they were too
distracted with their hunger’
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Summary and Reflection
● We can conclude that for any situation where we are
communicating information to others, we need to be aware of
and work around a variety of variables which can enhance or
reduce the effectiveness of the messages we are trying to
convey.
● We cannot be in control of everything, but we can carefully
construct the communication process to control as many
variables as possible to ensure that in a teaching and learning
situation the information reaches the learners in a consistent
and valid format.
Activity
If you consider the variables above in conjunction with Maslow's
Hierarchy of Needs, how can we meet some of the basic needs
listed?
1. How should the 'channel' be selected?
2. What key documents can help with the process of
communicating clear and concise learning outcomes to the
learners?

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Chapter 3: Assessment
Analyse theories, principles and
3.1 models of assessment
Understand the application of
theories, principles and models
L03
of assessment in education and
Explain ways in which theories,
training
3.2 principles and models of assessment
can be applied in assessing learning

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 Assessment
Entry card –

What words come to mind when you

think of Assessment?

What feelings come to mind when

you think of Assessment?

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 Assessment

Definition:
● The action of assessing someone or something.
● ‘the assessment of educational needs’
● https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/assess
ment

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Theories of assessment
● Behaviourism- learner outcomes in terms of
behaviours that can be measured

● Cognitivism- learner outcomes in terms of processes

used to express output- which may be a behaviour that
is measurable.

● Constructivism- How of learning, collaboration, peer

learning, baseline to current progress

● Humanism- consider the personal needs of students in

the process of learning, not just the academic output.

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The Purpose of Assessment
● Counselling and guidance

● Assessment can be used for a variety of reasons and many
different stages during the learning process.
● On a national level, educational assessments are used to
make decisions about:
● Policy-district and national policy
● Selecting students
● Credentialing and certifying students
taken from Nitko (1996) cited in Journal of Education and Practice
www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1735 (Paper) ISSN 2222-288X (Online) Vol.7,
No.24, 2016

● Curricula and Programmes-Formative and Summative

evaluations
● Students-
○ Managing instruction: Placing instructional activities,
placing students into learning sequences, monitoring
student progress, diagnosing learning difficulties,
Feedback (to parents and students about
achievements, and to teachers about effectiveness),
assigning grades to students.
● Placing students into programmes
● Classifying students

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Different Types of Assessment

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Different types of Assessment
● Diagnostic- Sometimes referred to as pre-assessment, ● Click on the image to watch a short video summary for the
diagnostic assessment measures the students’ prior various types of assessments we have discussed so far
knowledge and any misconceptions they may have. It also
provides a ‘baseline’ to measure learning before and after the
teaching process has taken place. Therefore the diagnostic
assessment results and summative assessment results
provide an accurate reflection of learning that has taken place.
Activity
1. Reflect upon the advantages and disadvantages of formative
assessment?
2. What does formative assessment determine?
3. Reflect on different methods of formative and summative
assessments and make some notes on the different methods
you could use for your teaching practice and why.

Formative vs. Summative vs. Diagnostic Assessment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JI-YgK-l4Sg&feature=youtu.be
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Criterion vs
Norm
Referenced
Assessment
https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=O5hJNpO0JPE

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=XyAmZyF-8l0

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Criterion vs Norm Referenced Assessment
● Activity 17
● You can see the main problems with using Norm-
referenced assessment. Reflect on the problems with
using Criterion-referenced assessments?
● Can Criterion- Referenced assessment measure
whether the learner has contextualised and made sense
of abstract knowledge/ information?
● There is more information, comparing criterion and
norm-referenced assessments in the following article

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Ensuring Assessments are Reliable, Valid and Fair
Reliability
● Assessments need to be completely reliable.
● Different independent assessors should reach exactly
the same decision using the criteria and marking
scheme.
● We increase the chances of reliability if learning
outcomes and assessment criteria are explicit and
clear to the learners, teachers and assessors.
Validity
● The validity of the assessments relies on only
assessing what you need to assess.
● It is also important to think about your assessment
method. If we are asking learners to create and deliver
a PowerPoint presentation on a particular topic/
learning outcome, we need to remember that we are
also assessing their ability to use an IT software
programme (PowerPoint) and then their ability to
present to and engage an audience.
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Ensuring Assessments are Reliable, Valid and Fair
Transparency, Equity and Freedom from bias
● When creating or reviewing assessments we need to
ensure that the assessments do not unfairly
discriminate against or offend an individual/ group of
individuals. Careful consideration needs to be given
to any bias which may exist in the learning outcomes/
criteria/ assessments.
● Bias can be explicit or we may not realise implicit
bias.
● An example of bias may be where a certain learning
style is favoured by the writer of the assessment.
This would provide unfair advantage to learners with
that particular preference and disadvantage learners
with different learning style preferences.

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Good practice in Assessment:
Activity
1. Study the Ten Principles of Good Assessment and Feedback
opposite. Answer the following reflective questions:
2. When should learners see and work with goals, standards and
criteria (learning objectives and outcomes)?
3. What should learners be expected to do in order to develop a
deeper learning of the subject?
4. What does good feedback aim to enable the learner to do?
5. Think of ways in which you could motivate learners through
feedback.
6. How can you encourage learners to discuss the learning with each
other and with you?
7. Can learners be encouraged to reflect? How could you help them?
8. What opportunities could you have in your teaching practice to
negotiate assessment methods and criteria with your learners?
9. How could you encourage learners to develop learning
communities and depend on each other for support?
10. How can you use the results of assessments and the feedback
you provide to your learners to meet the learning needs of your
groups/ individual learners?
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 Reflection – using
Driscoll’s Model
Think about the last time you had/conducted an
assessment
What went well? What did not?
Why do you think…?
What would you do now…?

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 Assessment
Exit card –

What words come to mind when you think

of Assessment?

What feelings come to mind when you

think of Assessment?

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