CHAPTER 8 ASSESSMENT IN THE AFFECTIVE DOMAIN @ “On Assessment: Measure what you value instead of valuing only what you can measure.” + Andy Hargreaves Learning Outcomes CBA At the end of the Chapter, the student should be able to: ¢. explain the meaning of assessing learning outcomes, in the affective domain; ; © discuss soft skills in relation to assessment in the affective domain; © cite the methods and tools for assessing learning in the affective domain and # develop assessment tools to measure leaming in the affective domain, Introduction In the Bloom's taxonomy, three domains of learning were identified: cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains, The cognitive domain includes mental skills (knowledge), the affective domain dwells on growth in feelings or emotional areas (feelings, emotions, attitude) while the psychomotor domain is concerned with manual or physical skills (skills). In short, the three domains of learning are KSA, meaning knowledge, skills and attitude. In this Chapter, we sisc!l be concemed with the affective domain. For a balanced education, let us not pay attention only to the development of the mind (cognitive) and the hands (physical skills). Let us also give attention to the development of the heart (affective). For, as the Bible says.” what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul”? Indeed, what does it profit a man/woman if he/she accumulates a lot of wealth with the use of his/her mind (cognitve) and hands (psychomotor), if he/she is not happy or has no sense of fulfillment (affective)? 113114] Assesswent w Leanna 2; Aunennc Assessuent We have heard people say he/she is “schooled” but! not “educated”. This statement points to the fact much of what has happened in the education process was focused on the cognitive development. Today, however, we talk about whole child approach, social and emotional learning (SEL), emotional intelligence quotient )), positive discipline and growth mindset which deliver the same basic message, the equally important affective function of education, Navarro and Santos (2013) assert: The affective domain is the least studied and most often overlooked domain in 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 is the most nebulous and the hardest to evaluate among Blooms three domains. 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. (p. 59) Indeed, learning is not only a cognitive process. It is also an emotional process. Research shows that SEL not only improves achievement by an average of 11 percentile points, but it also increases prosocial behaviors (such as kindness, sharing, and empathy), improves student attitudes toward school, and reduces depression and stress among students (Durlak et al., 2011). The five key skills of SEL namely: self-awareness, self- management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making are in the affective domain and so are the concer of assessment in the affective domain. Soft Skills in Affective Assessment Learning outcomes in the affective domain include soft skills in contrast to the hard skills (technical skills). Soft skills are non- technical skills that refer to how one works in the workplace, how one interacts with others in the workplace and how one looks at problems and solves problems.CChapler 8 -Assessmentin the Affective Domain | 415 Categories of Soft Skills The five key skills of SEL can be grouped into four categories that most school leaders, teachers, and parents would agree are within the responsibility of schools to monitor and develop. These are 1) social skills, 2) self-management, skills; 3) academic soft skills, and 4) approaches to learning. Social skills include how a student interacts with other students as observed by'teachers and other adults. Self-management refers to self-regulation, i.e., the student’s ability to take control over what would otherwise be automatic reactions by planning, focusing attention, reframing experiences and using mental tools. Lack of self-management is manifested when a student blurts out responses which suggests a lack of thoughtfulness. The third category, academic soft skills, are both social and cognitive. Their defining feature is their ancillary role in carrying out traditional academic tasks, e.g., the ability to work independently. Finally, the category of approaches to learning includes such things as the student’s engagement in school, pleasure in learning and anxiety about performance. Below are observable behaviors of each soft skill. Provides peers wi Offers help or assistance to peers Initiates interactions with peers Participates in discussions with peers Has sense of humor, shares amusement with peers Has friends Can carry out leadership activities Engages in appropriate social behavior Controls displays of temper when angry Accepts legitimate rules Social Skills Compromises with others to avoid conflict Responds in socially appropriate ways to criticism from Self-Manage- | others moe Handles teasing and social provocations Cooperates with others Maintains attention to tasks Is respectful to teachers and staffstof ‘Assessment In LeaRwn 2: AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT Works independently Completes assigned tasks Listens to and carries out teacher directions Produces work of acceptable quality for ability level Academic Soft Brings requires materials to school Arrives at school on time and without undue absences Asks for assistance as needed, ask questions Uses appropriate study skills Enjoys school Takes on challenging tasks Has confidence in abilities Works hard Approaches to Learning Is enthusiastic and adventurous Is involved with extracurricular school activities In relation to assessment, the low. level of abstraction and high level of observability of the student behaviors like those given in the Table have two important practical advantages. The first is that it is easy for teachers and other adults who are regularly around individual students to experience directly what is asked of them to score, ¢.g., does the child have friends, without the requirement for an investment in training. The second is that low scores on a particular item for a particular student or group of students have obvious implications for intervention. For example, students who have low scores on confidence in abilities and willingness to work hard may benefit from growth mindset training. Students who are frequently late in class or absent from school may need counseling and an intervention with parents. Students who are aggressive with peers and quick to anger may benefit from training on how to think about and reframe the actions of others before reacting automatically. Administrators and teachers can identify both individual students and classrooms that need additional help, e.g., a classroom in which a lot of students are receiving low scores on self-management skills is a classroom in which the teacher needs help in classroom.Chapter 8~ Assessment in te Affective Domain | 417. The Taxonomy of Educational Objectives 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 Kratwohl’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 being committed in some small measure to the ideas, materials, or phenomena involved by actively responding to them. Example 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 theorize, to formulate, to balance, to examine. Characterization 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.418] Assessuewr ni Learn 2: AumwenncAssessvext More details of the six levels of educational objectives in the affective domain with examples are given below: Sisdeia h id a book ae something in the environment | passage about civil fights, Individual would answer es on questions about the book, read Responding | ° eile hv new behaviors | another book by the same author, oa cecal ot experzonce another book about civil rights, ete, . ‘The individual might demonstrate Valuing facia berm this by voluntarily attending a lvement or commitment lecture on civil rights. | Integrating anew value into Organization | OTS general set of values, | The individual might arrange a re giving it some ranking among | civil rights rally. one’s general priorities Characterization | Acting consistently with the | Heindividual is firmly committed to the value, perhaps becoming a by Value new value civil rights leader. Figure 16. The Taxonomy in the Affective Domain (Adapted from: Krathwohl, D., Bloom, B., & Masia, B. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives. Handbook II: Affective domain, New York: David McKay.) Teachers usually find difficulty in the use of behavioral terms when they formulate learning outcomes in the affective domain. Below are examples of verbs or behavioral terms that can be used to state learning competencies in the affective domain. Cera Te «complete |e accept | codify «internalize «comply |e defend | discriminate | verify @ cooperate |e devote | display discuss |e pursue | order examine © seek © organize obey © systematize respond «weigh Figure 17, Behavioral Verbs Appropriate for the Affective Domain ‘An analysis of the taxonomy of educational objectives in the affective domain shows that assessment in the affective domain is on the soft skills.‘Chapter 8 ~ Assessment in the AMlective Domain Methods of Assessing Learning in the Affective Domain Change in attitude, values and habits is the end result of effective teaching-learning in the affective domain, Change in attitude is manifested in our change of beliefs, feelings, aspirations and attitudes toward something or someone. These changes in our beliefs and values in tum have an impact on our level of motivation and concept of self-efficacy. The student himself/ herself knows the change/s that is/are taking place or can be observed by a third party who is a witness of the change like the teacher or parents or classmates. Thus a popular method of assessing leaming in the affective domain is observation. Has a student imbibed the value of punctuality? One way to know is to observe is if he/she comes to school on time. Another way is to observe if he/submits subject requirements on time or for his her appointments arrives on time. McMillan (2007) gives three feasible methods of assessing learning or learner’s development in the affective domain. The first in the list is teacher observation. The two others are student self-report and peer-ratings. These methods ‘of assessing leaming in the affective domain make use of tools such as Likert scale, semantic differential, checklist, sentence completion. These will be discussed after these methods of affective assessment. Teacher Observation Teacher observation can be unstructured or structured. It is unstructured when observation is open-ended. Teacher's observation is not limited to items in a checklist or rating scale. Teacher observation is structured when he/she is guided in what to observe by a checklist or rating scale. To make teacher observation work in relation to the assessment of affective learning, the following should be observed: ¢ Determine behaviors to be observed in advance. e Record student’s important data such as time, data and place. « If unstructured, record brief descriptions of relevant behavior. Keep interpretations separate from description, Record both positive and negative behaviors. Have as much observation of each student as necessary. Avoid personal bias. Be objective. 119120 ASSESSMENT LEAN 2: AUTHENTIC ASSESSVENT + Immediately record the observations. © Apply a simple and efficient procedure, A student may also do observation of a classmate or peer. For his/her peer observation to be reliable like the teacher, the overall purpose of the observation must be made clear, Student Self-Report A student self-report requires the student to provide an account of his/her attitude or feelings toward a concept or idea or people. A self-report is also referred to as “written reflection”, A teacher may require a student to write his thoughts on topics like “Why I Like or Dislike Physics” or “Why I Like or Dislike Coming to School”. A student self-report can also be derived by way of a student interview or by way of a questionnaire and survey, Teacher may interview a student on whether the student likes or hates Physics as a subject and why. One advantage of an interview is teacher can probe into the answers of the student right there and then. Another means to derive a student self-report is by way of a survey and a questionnaire. These survey and questionnaire can make use of a constructed-response format like an essay. “Why Is Physics my Favorite Subject” or “Why is Physics my Pet Peeve” may be the title of an essay that teacher asks the student to write about to determine the student’s attitude toward Physics. Or teacher may get a student self-report by means of a selected-response format by means of assessment tools such as a checklist, a rating scale (like a Likert Scale) or a semantic differential scale, Below are examples: Peer Ratings How else may a teacher know if a student is realizing the intended learning outcome in the affective.domain other than teacher observing the student or the student making a report about himself/herself, Another way is to ask the student’s peer to rate him/her on affective items where teacher wants to rate the student. Ideally, teacher’s observation of a student’s realization of affective learning outcome should coincide with student’s self- report and that of peer rating of the student. Many times, it does(Chapler 8 ~ Assessment in he Afecive Domain 121 not happen, however. So what is‘a more reliable way of assessing affective learning outcomes? Affective Assessment Tools The different methods of assessing learning or development in the affective domain, namely: observation, student self-report and peer ratings-make use of assessment tools such as Likert Scale, Semantic Differential, Checklist, sentence completion and student's written reflections. Likert Scale A Likert Scale is one example of a Rating Scale. It makes use of a five-point scale from Strongly Disagree (1), Disagree (2), Undecided (3), Agree (4) to Strongly Agree (5): Below is a Likert Scale used to assess student’s attitude toward teaching as a profession to determine each student’s attitude toward teaching afier a lesson on teaching as a profession Direction: Each statement ~— is —ssupposed-—to measure your attitude toward teaching as a profession. Indicate your response with a check ( 3 ). Legend: 5 - Strongly Agree 4 - Agree 3 - Undecided 2- Disagree 1 - Strongly Disagree122] Assesswevt Lean 2: AumennicAssessuent Rate your view of the teaching profession by checking the appropriate space. Teaching is the noblest profession 2. Teaching is for those who can't make it in the other professions. 3. Teaching is meant for women. 4. Teaching is the lowest paid profession yet |__ most demanding 5. Teaching has many rewards teaching Sentence completion As the name implies, the student is asked to complete a given incomplete sentence related to the intended learning outcome. This method is based on the idea that sentence completion will reveal more about thoughts, fantasies, and emotional conflicts than testing with direct questions (Weiner & Greene, 2008). If the intended learning outcome for a lesson on assessment is ~ “to demonstrate a positive attitude toward assessment™ this may be given for each student to complete: Assessment is ... Here are some sentence stems that can serve as scaffolding to help students get started in for sentence completion: In my opinion... J assume... From my point of view ... Ifyou ask m As far as I can tell... To my mind... The way I see things is that, It seems to me that... I believe... I would say...Chapter 6 Assessment in he Afecve Domain 123 I consider... Its my belief that.. T honestly believe that... To my thinking... 1feel.. Semantic Differential A student is asked to assess his Science class as a whole by way of a Semantic Differential scale as shown below. The scales are pairs of adjectives on feelings or beliefs that are opposite. Direction. Which item is true of your Math class? Check the item that applies to you. Mark X the item that does not apply to Exciting Boring you. Fulfilling Frustrating Demanding Easy Checklist : In a checklist, as the name implies, the student simply checks an item that is observed or present or possessed or that applies to him/her. A student is asked to evaluate the, extent to which he/she possesses a growth mindset Direction: Check the item which applies to you. 1. I believe that intelligence can be developed. 2. 1 do not easily give up. 3. 1 accept criticism. 4. 1 draw inspiration from the success of others. 5. L see challenges as opportunities to grow 6. I persist in the face of difficulties 7.1 view effort as path to mastery. 8, | lear from criticism. 9. I believe that success is a matter of luck,124 Assesswent n LEARWNG 2: AUTHENTIC ASSESSIENT eng peat ana, Student’s Written Reflections In using this measurement tool, the teacher asks the students, for example, to write their personal thoughts and feelings on a subject or topic given by the teacher like “Why I Like or Dislike Mathematics”, A reflection paper allows students to take a personal approach and express their thoughts on a given topic. 2 REV! ‘OR MASTERY 1, What does it mean to assess learning in the affective domain? What are soft skills? Why are they important? How are they assessed? What are the methods of assessing learning/development in the affective domain? 4. What are the tools used with these assessment methods? £3 COLLABORATE « Explain as a group how you are going to assess at least two from the following leaning outcomes. Develop your tool/s for assessment. - Demonstrate scientific attitude in the conduct of experiments group = Adopt the principle of non-violence in one’s life - _ Demonstrate a positive attitude toward Mathematics - Demonstrate motivation to study Select a competency in the affective domain from the K to 12 Curriculum Guide then develop a tool to assess it. ¢ Construct a checklist for each of the following: ~ ‘classroom observation for a teacher to determine if she creates a conducive learning atmosphere emotional intelligence quotient to determine where a student is strong and weak >. growth mindset to determine if a student has a growth mindset or fixed mindset(Chaper 6 ~ Assessment inthe Afectve Domain e What are weaknesses of observation as a method to assess leaming in the affective domain? How can these weaknesses be remedied? Discuss what this implies: “On. Assessment: Measure what you value. instead of valuing only what you can measure.” - Andy Hargreaves S$ aumap Research on: - how a Thurstone scale differs from a Likert scale and semantic differential from bipolar adjective scale ~ at least one example for each of the following: semantic differential scale «bipolar adjective scale © checklist CHECK FOR UNDERSTANDING A. Select the letter of the correct answer. 1. In which assessment tool for affect is the respondent asked to put a check or an X to determine presence or absence of a trait? A. Rating scale B. Checklist C. Likert scale D. Bipolar adjective scale 2, Which can enhance the accuracy of information gathered by way of observation? A. An-observation guide is used by the observer. B. Observation time must be made known to the person to be observed, C. The observer is an expert in observation, D, The one to be observed is willing to be observed, os126] Assesswenr in Learwns 2: Auriennc Assessuent 3. If you want to assess students’ reactions to concepts in terms of bipolar scales defined with contrasting. adjectives at each. end, which will you use? A. Rating scale B. Semantic differential C. Likert scale D. Checklist 4, Referring to soft skills, which belongs to academic soft skills? A. Complete assigned task B. Enjoy school C. Accept school rules D. Carry out leadership activities 5. To which group of soft skills do “controlling temper, compromising with others to avoid conflict, “responds appropriately to others” belong? A. Academic soft skills B. Approaches to learning C. Self-management D. Social skills B. Formulate at least one LET-like test item based on the learning outcomes of this Chapter then exchange question/s with a learning partner. Y TAKEAWAYS ¢ Learning in the affective domain has something to do with development of favorable attitudes and values which are difficult to measure, Developing and assessing soft skills (non-technical skills) is in the affective domain of leaning and assessing. « The methods used to measure learning/development in the affective domain are teacher observation, student self- reports and peer ratings, ¢ These methods employ tools such as checklists, rating scale, Likert scale and semantic differential scale, sentence completion and student's reflections,