Assessment strategies

Based on the aforementioned assessment principles and direction, when planning the assessment strategies for the MNE subject, teachers should consider the following key points:

Principles

 Using holistic performance as the basis: Assessment should be based on students’

holistic performance, including cognition, affection and action, to understand their overall learning outcomes in the MNE subject.

 Adopting diversified assessment strategies: Adopt formative assessment and summative assessment strategies with flexibility by inviting different stakeholders to participate in assessment, e.g. conducting self-assessment, teacher observation and peer assessment. Teachers can help students get a thorough understanding of their performance in the MNE subject and the directions for improvement through diversified modes of assessment, e.g. learning portfolios and project learning.

directional assessment results, enhance their confidence with positive feedback, reflect their performance and achievements, and encourage them to make improvement and cultivate positive attitudes towards life.

Direction

 Enhancing learning: Teachers should help students understand their performance and directions for improvement by timely and appropriate means throughout the whole learning process. Assessment should be continuous and conducted under different learning contexts, e.g. classroom learning, group discussions, service learning and exchange programmes.

 Stating the assessment objectives clearly: Stating the assessment objectives, methods and standards of the MNE subject clearly and explicitly helps students learn from the assessment and grasp their learning progress, which enhances learning motivation and effectiveness.

 Refining the curriculum: The assessment should have clear objectives and an explicit direction, emphasise recognising and reflecting students’ learning outcomes of the MNE subject, and be able to provide teachers with information for adapting and refining the learning and teaching process. The assessment thus performs the functions of self-improvement and refinement.

Modes

 Inviting participation of stakeholders: Apart from teachers’ participation in assessment, schools can also consider, in view of the school contexts, inviting other stakeholders, e.g. students, peers and parents, to participate in assessment to reflect students’ learning performance from multiple perspectives. For example:

- Teachers as assessors: Teachers can further understand students’ achievements in the MNE subject through their daily contact with students and systematically record their learning performance. Based on students’ self-assessment, teachers can provide them with positive and descriptive feedback to guide them towards improvement (please refer to Appendix 7 for examples).

- Peers as assessors: In learning experiences/activities such as voluntary services, exchange programmes and project learning, students can participate in the assessment and praise one another’s progress in the learning process by means of questionnaires, reflection, etc. Such participation can enhance students’

confidence and help them build their identity. It can also facilitate multi-perspectival assessment for a comprehensive reflection of students’

development and achievements.

- Parents as assessors: Apart from reflecting students’ performance in the family domain, inviting parents to provide information on students’ performance at home enhances their understanding of the learning effectiveness in the MNE subject.

Moreover, parents’ participation creates a learning and living environment in the

family favourable for cultivating moral and national qualities.

 Integrating with learning experiences/activities: Design worksheets, activity records, etc, in relation to the learning contents of the MNE subject; get a holistic understanding of students’ learning and practice of values and attitudes; understand students’ views and attitudes towards different life events and issues so as to aptly provide them with counselling and guidance. Teachers should provide individual students with clear feedback during the assessment process to facilitate learning.

Time

 Assessment conducted at different learning stages: To cater for practical needs, collect information of students’ learning performance at different learning stages, for example, at timely intervals at the beginning, in the middle and at the end of the term, to understand the learning progress and provide feedback to enhance learning and teaching.

- Continuous implementation: Continuous feedback on performance helps students of different abilities achieve the learning objectives progressively and encourages continuous improvement.

- Timely questioning: Teachers can conduct immediate assessment of students through raising questions in class. Verbal feedback should be provided to guide students to think as well as help them develop confidence, values and attitudes.

Reflection on learning and teaching effectiveness (1)

The following reflective questions aim at providing teachers with a review framework for systematic understanding of the stages and achievements attained by students in the course of value construction. They serve as reference for assessing and reflecting students’ learning outcomes. Based on the school contexts and students’ needs, teachers may select and adapt different modes for enhancing the assessment of the MNE subject.

Awareness of Values

 Does it raise students’ awareness of the values attached to their words and deeds, thoughts and habits in daily life?

(For example, teachers may help students realise that punctuality embodies such values as commitment and respect for rules.)

 Does it raise students’ concern and provoke thoughts about personal, social and universal values?

(For example, teachers may inspire students to develop concern for humanitarianism and respect life at the individual level; to practise mutuality and offer timely help to others regardless of boundaries and races at the global level.)

Reflection on learning and teaching effectiveness (1) (continued) Understanding of Values

 Does it enhance students’ understanding of the values embedded in classroom learning or activities as well as the intrinsic and extended meaning of such values?

(For example, teachers may arrange appropriate lessons or activities to help students understand the values embedded therein. For instance, life experience programmes are conducive to expanding students’ understanding of different domains, displaying values of acceptance and inclusion; participating in national flag-raising ceremonies helps students develop respect for the representations of the country.)

 Does it help students understand the ways in which values are presented and help them build their identity in the related communities, and hence develop a sense of pride and belonging?

(For example, teachers should help students construct different identities and make them proud of being a member of the related communities. For instance, students should feel proud of being a member of the flag-raising team or a representative of an exchange tour of the Mainland.)

Conflict of Values

 Does it lead students to distinguish, compare and contrast different values?

(For example, teachers may design a moral dilemma to guide students to understand the conflict of values such as justice and compassion, and freedom and obligation in order to further clarify the meaning of different values, evaluate their importance and ponder how to handle the conflict.)

 Does it encourage students to analyse different scenarios involving conflicting values rationally from multiple perspectives and make caring and reasonable judgements?

(For example, teachers should guide students to think from diversified and multiple perspectives, prioritise values and hence make caring and reasonable judgements in moral dilemmas.)

Reflection on learning and teaching effectiveness (2) Fostering Affection

 Does it appeal to students’ affection which subsequently becomes the continued drive for good deeds?

(For example, teachers should appropriately draw students’ attention to different issues in life, such as the uneven distribution of resources and the wealth gap in society, thereby fostering in them care for the community and responsibility for social participation.)

 Does it appeal to students’ affection so that they will extend their care to others, bringing about positive changes to their lives?

(For example, teachers may arrange voluntary services for students to let them experience that it is more blessed to give than to take so that they will gain satisfaction by offering help to others in daily life.)

Internalisation of Values

 Does it encourage students to consciously demonstrate virtues and related universal values in daily life?

(For example, teachers should create an ideal learning environment to help students put into practice the virtues and related universal values, which shall become part of their learning. This includes asking students to work on group projects and assigning appropriate tasks to cater for each group member’s interests and needs. Even without reminders, students should remain committed to the tasks, be willing to participate in learning activities, frankly share their experience and views with others, respect the opinions of others, and join efforts to achieve the learning objectives of the team.)

 Does it encourage students to willingly take responsibilities in different domains?

(For example, teachers should help students realise their respective roles in different domains, take responsibilities willingly, and set goals for actions.

This includes, in the family domain, facing and shouldering the responsibilities as a member of the family, and committing themselves to promoting family harmony; in the social domain, taking the responsibilities as a member of society by respecting the law; in the national domain, taking the initiative to learn about the natural environment, history, culture and contemporary development of the country, and contributing to the sustainable development of the country willingly; and in the global domain, making good use of resources and contributing to the protection of the ecological environment.)