Abstract:

Transition to delivering lessons in the online format due to the pandemic has challenged both students and educators. It can be noted that some students do not have the comfort necessary for studying online. Considering that, English language instructors face various hurdles related to making sure that any assessment supports student learning [1]. The major problems faced by Astana IT University (AITU) English language instructors may be related to effective development of assessment tools, including projects and quizzes, rubric development and giving clear assignment instructions. Therefore, this study aims at investigating the experience of English language instructors at AITU in terms of assessment and recommendations for improving online teaching.

Accordingly, the research questions are:
1) What are the experiences of AITU English language instructors in terms of assessment when teaching online?
2) What are the recommendations of AITU English language instructors for improving assessment when teaching online?

To answer these research questions, data will be collected using both qualitative and quantitative approaches (MMR) [2], [3]. A survey will be conducted to investigate the experiences and recommendations of 15 AITU English language instructors who teach upper-intermediate level students regarding assessment. Qualitatively, assessment issues and recommendations for improvement will be illuminated by the means of autobiographical narrative inquiry analyses [4], [5] of the experiences of two English language instructors who have taught online at AITU for two trimesters, and the English Language Educational Program coordinator. The results of this study will be instrumental for AITU English language instructors in addressing the problems of developing assessment tools to maximize student learning. Similarly, the English Language Educational Program coordinator and the university administration will be able to create favourable conditions for effective assessment in distance learning.

References:
[1] Gibbs G, Simpson C. Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and teaching in higher education. 2005(1):3-1.
[2] Onwuegbuzie AJ, Leech NL. A typology of errors and myths perpetuated in educational research textbooks. Current Issues in Education. 2005;8.
[3] Mertens, Donna M. “What Comes First? The Paradigm or the Approach?” Journal of Mixed Methods Research, vol. 6, no. 4, Oct. 2012, pp. 255–257, doi:10.1177/1558689812461574.
[4] Clandinin DJ, Huber J. Narrative inquiry. IN B. McGaw, E. Baker & PP Peterson. International encyclopedia of education. 2010.
[5] Goodman B, Tastanbek S. Making the shift from a codeswitching to a translanguaging lens in English language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly. 2020 Mar 29.

Keywords:

Higher education, assessment in higher education, online education, TEFL.