Lesson 7: AFFECTIVE ASSESSMENT

Sub-topics: Taxonomy in the Affective Domain

Affective Learning Targets (Competencies)
Development of Assessment Tools

Intended Learning Outcome:

1. Discuss the levels of taxonomy in the affective domain to measure the learning outcomes.
(CLO 2)
2. Develop an assessment tool to measure affective outcomes of learning. (CLO 2)

Introduction:
Assessing the affective domain is also one of the important goals in the teaching learning process.
The development of desirable values and attitudes among the learners should be emphasized in all levels
of learning. This domain of learning is difficult to assess objectively.
There are varied assessment tools that teachers can utilize to assess the learning objectives
focusing on attitudes, motivation, valuing what is learned and other values. These assessment techniques
must not be used for grading purposes, but should be used by the teachers to gather information about
the student’s behavior. In this manner this will help teachers understand the nature of their students.
Classroom Assessment 2-Lilia Jazmin-Hena

Preliminary Questions
Share your ideas about the pictures in terms of: (written/oral participation)
1) your experiences in the classroom.
2) your feelings/emotions about the experiences.

https://bit.ly/2NlAWpO

https://bit.ly/3k5IrN
 Preparation

Review/ Recall about the previous topic on Bloom’s Taxonomy

(Cognitive Domain).

- Let the students share their ideas about

the Bloom’s taxonomy.

Video presentation: Classroom teaching

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkF447SADYg&t=75s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAgT1NaDdq8

Based on the video presentation the students will give some observations about the students in the class.
(Student-teacher interaction)
-

Presentation

The affective domain is part of a system that was published

ective in 1965 for identifying, understanding and addressing how
people learn. In the Bloom’s taxonomy published in 1965,
three domains were identified: cognitive, affective and
psychomotor domains. In this lesson, we shall be
concerned with the second of these domains which is the
affective domain.
Unlike the cognitive domain which emphasizes measurements of
reasoning and the mental faculties of the student, the affective domain
describes learning objectives that emphasize a feeling of tone, an emotion, or a degree of acceptance or
rejection. It is, admittedly, a far more difficult domain to objectively analyze and assess since affective
objectives vary from simple attention to selected phenomena to complex but internally consistent qualities
of character and conscience.

Taxonomy in the Affective Domain

The taxonomy in the affective domain contains a large number of objectives in the literature
expressed as interests, attitudes, appreciations, values, and emotional sets or biases. (Krathwohl et.al,
1964). The descriptions of each step in the taxonomy culled from Krathwohl’s Taxonomy of Affective
Domain (1964) are given as follows:
 Receiving is being aware of or sensitive to the existence of certain ideas, material, or phenomena
and being willing to tolerate them. Examples include: to differentiate, to accept, to listen (for), to respond
to.
Responding is committed in some small measure to the ideas, materials, or phenomena involved
by actively responding to them. Examples are: to comply with, to follow, to commend, to volunteer, to
spend leisure time in, to acclaim.
Valuing is willing to be perceived by others as attaching importance to certain ideas, materials, or
phenomena. Examples include: to increase measured proficiency in, to relinquish, to subsidize, to
support, to debate.
Organization is relating the value to those already held and bring it into a harmonious and
internally consistent philosophy. Examples are: to discuss, to theories, to formulate, to balance, to
examine.
Characterization (Internalization) by value or value set is to act consistently in accordance with
the values he or she has internalized. Examples include: to revise, to require, to be rated high in the value,
to avoid, to resist, to manage, to resolve.
Assessment of Learning 2-R. Navarro & R. Santos

https://bit.ly/3uguT6H

https://bit.ly/3kelIPG
The affective domain is the least studied and the most often overlooked domain in the educational
literature despite the fact that almost every researcher or author begins with a premise on the importance
of the affective domain in the teaching-learning process. The reason, perhaps, is the fact that the affective
domain the most nebulous and the hardest to evaluate among the Bloom’s three domains. Traditional
assessment procedures, for instance, concentrate on the cognitive aspects of learning and as teachers
majority of us typically focus our efforts on the development of tests and instruments for measuring
cognitive learning. However, it is important to realize that by tapping the potentials of the affective domain
in enhancing learning, we increase the likelihood of real and authentic learning among our students.
Similarly, students may experience affective roadblocks to learning that can neither be recognized nor solved
when using a purely cognitive approach.

Affective learning competencies are often stated in the

Affective Learning Targets form of instructional objectives
(Competencies) > Instructional objectives are specific, measurable,
short-term, observable student behaviors.
⮚ Objectives are the foundation upon which you can build lessons
and assessments that you can prove to meet your over-all course
or lesson goals.
⮚ Think of objectives as tools used to make sure you reach your
goals; arrows you shoot towards your target (goal).
⮚ The purpose of objectives is to ensure that learning is focused
clearly enough that both students and teachers know what is
going on, and so learning can be objectively measured. Learning
in the affective domain is assessed and measured in schools but
not used as grade of students in this domain.
Classroom Assessment 2-Lilia Jazmin-Hena

We have reproduced the taxonomy of educational objectives in the affective domain as adopted
from Krathwohl. Each level of the affective domain is given a description and an example of an appropriate
objective or learning competency is provided. Notice that it is far more difficult to state an objective in the
affective domain because they often refer to feelings and internal processes of the mind and body that
cannot be tested and measured using traditional methods. We also mention in passing that we assess and
measure the affective domain in school but such measurements will not be used to grade students on this
domain.

Level Definition Example

Receiving Being aware of or attending to
something in the environment
Responding Showing some new behaviors as a
result of experience
Valuing Showing some definite involvement
or commitment
Organization Integrating a new value into one’s
general set of values, giving it some
ranking among one’s general priorities
Characterization Acting consistently with the new value
by Value
Individual would read a book
passage about civil rights.
Individual would answer questions
about the book, read another book
by the same author, another book
about civil rights, etc.
The individual might demonstrate
this by voluntarily attending a
lecture on civil rights.
The individual might arrange a civil
right rally.
The individual is firmly committed to
the value, perhaps becoming a civil
rights leader.

Likewise, we provide some examples of verbs or behavioral terms that can be used to express learning
competencies or objectives in the affective domain. We cannot stress enough the importance of using
behavioral terms in specifying our learning competencies, Behavioral objectives focus on observable
behaviors which can then be easily translated in quantitative terms.
 Behavioral Verbs Appropriate for the Affective Domain

In the affective
consider the following focal concepts:
Attitude. Attitudes are defined as a mental predisposition to act that is expressed by evaluating a
particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor. Individuals generally have attitudes that focus on
objects, people or institutions. Attitudes are also attached to mental categories. Mental orientation towards
concepts are generally referred to as values. Attitudes are comprised of four components:
Cognitions are our beliefs, theories, expectancies, cause and effect beliefs, and perceptions
relative to the focal object. This concept is not the same as “feelings” but just a statement of beliefs and
expectations which vary from one individual to the next.
The affective component refers to our feeling with respect to the focal object such as fear, liking,
or anger. For instance the color “blue” evokes different feelings for different individuals: some like the color
blue other do not some associate the color blue with “loneliness” while others associate it with “calm and
peace”.
BEHAVIORAL INTENTION Behavioral intentions are our goals, aspirations and our expected
responses to the attitude object.
Evaluations are often considered the central component of attitudes. Evaluations consist of the
imputations of some degree of goodness or badness to an attitude object. When we speak of a positive or
negative attitude toward an object, we are referring to the evaluative component. Evaluations are a
function of cognitive, affect and behavioral intentions of the object. It is most often the evaluation that is
stored in memory, often without the evaluation corresponding cognitions and affect that were responsible
for its formation. (Robert School, University of Rhode Island, 2002)
https://bit.ly/3pIEnUB
Assessment of Learning 2-R. Navarro & R. Santos
 Why study attitudes? Obviously, attitudes can influence the way we act and think in the social
communities we belong. They can function as frameworks and references for forming conclusions and
interpreting or acting for or against an individual; individuals, a concept or an idea. For instance, think
about your attitudes toward “drinking alcoholic beverages” or “gambling” or “going on an all-night bar
hopping spree every night”. Or perhaps, think about your attitude towards “mathematics and mathematical
equations”. Do these attitudes shape the way you think and correspondingly act? What is your response?
How is your response informed by each of these attitudes?
Several studies in the past, for instance, concluded that poor performance in school mathematics
cannot be strictly attributable to differential mental abilities but to the students’ attitudes toward the subject.
When mathematics classes are recited, students with negative attitude towards mathematics tend to pay
less attention and occupy their minds with something else. Thus, attitudes may influence behavior. People
will behave in ways consistent with their attitudes.

Motivation. Motivation is a reason or set or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior,

especially human behavior as studied in psychology and neuropsychology. The reasons may be include
basic needs (e.g., food, water, shelter) or an object, goal, state of being, or ideal that is desirable , which
may or may not be viewed as “positive,” such as seeking a state of being in which pain is absent. The
motivation for a behavior may also be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism or morality.
According to Geen (1995) , motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of human
behavior. There are many theories that explain human motivation. The need theory is one of these
theories.
Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs theory is the most widely discussed theory of motivation.
Theories that explain Human Motivations:
> Human beings have human motivation
> Since needs are many, there arranged in order of importance from basic to the
complex
> The person advances to the next level of needs only after the lower level of needs
> The further the progress up the hierarchy the more individuality, humanness and
physiological health a person will show.
ABRAHAM MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF HUMAN NEEDS
> Physiological Needs : food, clothing, shelter
> Safety and Security Needs : Home and family
> Social Needs : being in a community
> Self-esteem : self-understanding, self acceptance
> Self-actualization : recognition, achievement

Herzberg’s two factor theory is another need theory of motivation. Frederick Herzberg’s two factor
theory, concludes that certain factors in the workplace result in job satisfaction, while others do not, but if
absent lead to dissatisfaction. He distinguished between:
> Motivators; (e.g. challenging work, recognition, responsibility) which give positive
Satisfaction, and
> Hygiene factors ; (e.g. status, job security, salary and fringe benefits) which do not
motivate if present, but if absent will result in demotivation.
The name hygiene factors is used because , like hygiene, the presence will make you healthier, but
absence can cause health deterioration. The theory is sometimes called the “Motivator-Hygiene
Theory.”
Finally, created by Clayton Alderfer, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was expanded, leading to his
ERG Theory ( Existence, Relatedness, and Growth Theory) Physiological and Safety, the lower order
needs, are placed in the existence category while Love and Self-esteem needs in the relatedness
category. The growth category contained the self-actualization and self esteem needs.
SEVERAL BEHAVIORS TOWARD SUBJECT MATTER (Ormrod, 2003). It can:
> Direct behavior toward particular goals.
> Leads to increased effort and energy.
> Increase initiation of and persistence in the activities.
> Enhance cognitive processing.
> Determine what consequences are reinforcing.
> Lead to improved performances.
Because students are not always internally motivated, they sometimes need situated motivation,
which is found in environmental conditions that the teacher creates. There are two kinds of motivation:
> Intrinsic Motivation Occurs when people are internally motivated to do something
because it either brings them pleasure, they think it is important , or they feel that
what they are learning is morally significant.
> Extrinsic Motivation comes into play when a student is compelled to do something
or act a certain way because of factors external to him or her (like money or good
grades). The act of a certain way of individual motivated externally.
Distinction Between Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy:
> Self-Efficacy Is an impression that one is capable of performing in a certain manner
attaining certain goals. It is a belief that one has the capabilities to execute the
course of actions required to manage prospective situations.
> Self-Esteem relates to a person’s sense of self-worth, whereas self-efficacy relates
to a person’s perception of their ability to reach a goal.
For example, say a person is a terrible rock climber. He/she would likely have a poor self-efficacy
in regard to rock climbing, but this wouldn’t need to affect his/her self-esteem; most people don’t invest
much off their self-esteem in this activity.
https://www.slideshare.net/leahamper29/why-study-attitude
Assessment of Learning 2-R. Navarro & R. Santos

Assessment
tools in the
Development of affective
Assessment Tools domain, in
particular, those
which are used
to assess
attitudes, interests, motivations, and self-efficacy, have been
developed. There are certain good practices in developing
these instruments. We consider a few of the standard
assessment tools in the affective domain.

Affective Assessment Tools

The varied assessment tools that can be utilized by teachers to assess the affective domain are as
follows:
> Self-Report. Self-report is the most common measurement tool in the affective domain. It
essentially requires an individual to provide an account of his/her attitude or feelings toward a concept or
idea or people. Self-reports are also sometimes called “written reflections”.
> Rating Scales. A rating scale is a set of categories designed to elicit information about a
quantitative attribute in social science. Common examples are the Likert scale and 1–10 rating scales for
which a person selects the number which is considered to reflect the perceived quality of a product. The
basic feature of any rating scale is that it consists of a number of categories.
> Anecdotal Records. An anecdotal record is an observational method used frequently in
classroom or learning settings in which the observer summarizes a single developmental incident after the
event has occurred.
 Anecdotal records should always be objective recordings of the student’s actions and behaviors.
The records should be written in a nonjudgmental manner. With a collection of anecdotal record about the
a student, the child’s developmental progress can be documented and teaching can be tailored to meet
the student’s individual needs.

Semantic Differential Scales. The Semantic Differential (SD) tries to assess an individual’s
reaction to specific words, ideas, or concepts in terms of rating on bipolar scales defined with contrasting
adjectives at each end.

GOOD BAD
3 2 1 0 1 2 3
The position marked 0 is labeled neutral, the 1 positions are labeled slightly, the 2 positions
quite, and the 3 positions are extremely.

Thurstone and Likert Scales. Thurstone is considered the father of attitude measurement. He
address the issue on how favorable an individual is with regard to a given issue. He developed an attitude
continuum to determine the position of favorability on the issue.

Below is an example of a Thurstone scale of measurement (1931).

Directions: Put a check mark in the blank if you agree with the item.
______1. Blacks should be considered the lowest class of human beings. (scale value= 0.9)
______2. Blacks and whites must be kept apart in all social affairs where thy might be taken as
equals. (scale value=3.2)
______3. I am interested in how blacks rate socially. (scale value=5.4)
______4. A refusal to accept blacks is not based on any fact of nature, but on a prejudice which
should be overcome. (scale value=7.9)
______5. I believe that blacks deserve the same social privileges as whites. (scale value-10.3)

Below is an example of the use of a Likert Scale.

Statement 1. I do not like to solve algebraic equations.

Response options:
● 1. Stongly Disagree
● 2. Diasagree
● 3. Agree
● 4.ongly Agree

Checklist. The most common and perhaps the easiest instrument in the affective domain to
construct is the checklist. A checklist consists of simple items that the student or teacher marks a “absent”
or “present”. Here are the steps in the construction of a checklist:
> Enumerate all the attributes and characteristic s you wish to observe relative to the
concept being measured.
> Arrange these attributes as a “shopping” list of characteristics.
> Ask the students to mark those attributes or characteristics which are present and
to leave blank those which are not.
Below is an example of a checklist:

ASSESSMENT CHECKLIST
ASSESSMENT REVIEW AGREE SOMETIMES DISAGREE
I understand my roles, duties & responsibilities
in the company.
I understand what we represent as a company
& how we must achieve our goals & objectives.
I received clear training & orientation from my
team leader of what I need to do.
I am able to recognize who my supervisor is &
the correct people to approach for pending
concerns.
I am able to ask questions to my supervisor with
no hesitation.
I am committed to my work & able to remain
productive.
I am satisfied with my team’s cooperation.

I am comfortable in the work environment.

I am capable of doing more than what I actually

do to improve myself.
I am contented with my overall work
performance.
https://bit.ly/37tLTwz
Assessment of Learning 2-R. Navarro & R. Santos
Classroom Assessment 2-Lilia Jazmin-Hena

Practice

EXERCISES:
A. Direction: Read and answer the questions/statements carefully.
1. Discuss the different levels in the taxonomy of the affective domain.
2. Give one example of a learning competency objective in the affective domain for
each of the levels in the taxonomy of Krathwohl, et.al. Assume that you are
teaching a subject in your field of specialization.
3. Describe the potential of tapping the affective domain in enhancing the learning of
students.

B. Construct/Develop a suitable assessment tool for each of the following situations:

At least 5 statements/sentences for each assessment tools.
1. Good practices in typing
2. Predisposition to work
Assessment of Learning 2-R. Navarro & R. Santos