外国语言文化论坛(第115讲)——讲座一: Challenging the Summative-Formative Dichotomy in Assessment: The legacy of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development for Theory, Research, and Practice in L2 Assessment

讲座名称: 外国语言文化论坛(第115讲)——讲座一: Challenging the Summative-Formative Dichotomy in Assessment: The legacy of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development for Theory, Research, and Practice in L2 Assessment
讲座时间: 2018-05-19
讲座人: Matthew E. Poehner
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校区: 兴庆校区
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讲座内容: 外国语言文化论坛(第115讲) 讲座一:  Challenging the Summative-Formative Dichotomy in Assessment: The legacy of Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development for Theory, Research, and Practice in L2 Assessment 讲座地点:  逸夫外文楼B1001 讲座时间:5月19日9:00-9:50 讲座人:Matthew E. Poehner(The Pennsylvania State University) Abstract: Discussions of assessment typically accept as axiomatic that a neat distinction can be drawn between practices designated for capturing an individual’s mastery or achievement in a particular domain at a given point in time and those intended to provide information to teachers and learners that will be relevant to ongoing instruction. While various terms are associated with both of these broad orientations (e.g., Black &Wiliam’s (1998) conceptualization of assessment-of-learning and assessment-for-learning), perhaps the most widely recognized are summative and formative assessment. While both activities concern gathering information about individuals’ knowledge and abilities and are therefore considered as assessment, the similarities often end there. Indeed, summative assessments typically align more closely with large-scale standardized testing, and in some cases they are a form of such testing. The design and selection of assessment instruments and tasks, administration procedures, and practices associated with interpreting student performance are each dimensions of assessment where differences between summative and formative orientations are brought into sharp relief. Among the problems engendered by this dichotomy are perceptions of the relative lack of professionalism, authority, and trustworthiness associated with teacher-implemented, classroom-based formative assessments.  The position advocated in this paper is that the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), as elaborated in the writings of L. S. Vygotsky (1978, 1987, 1998), is one of the most important discoveries in psychology and education of the Twentieth Century. With regard to theory and research, Vygotsky recognized the ZPD as the key to understanding how abilities develop through engagement in activities with others in which one’s participation is mediated through dialogic interaction and through available cultural artifacts. In assessment, the ZPD brings to light abilities that have fully formed, abilities that are in the process of emerging, and the underlying sources of difficulty individuals may encounter. The ZPD thus challenges what is meant by assessment, offering a reconceptualization wherein cooperation with learners rather than observation is required and the aim becomes identifying not only independent functioning but what is possible through co-functioning.  This developmental orientation has been most vigorously pursued under the heading of Dynamic Assessment (DA). Decades of work in the fields of psychology and cognitive education document uses of DA in contexts involving standardized tests and administration and scoring procedures (Feuerstein, Falik, & Feuerstein, 2015; Haywood &Lidz, 2007; Sternberg &Grigorenko, 2002). Since its introduction to the L2 field (Lantolf&Poehner, 2004; Poehner&Lantolf, 2005), DA has been primarily, although not exclusively, conducted in instructional settings with teachers and learners. This paper reviews DA research with L2 learners, with particular attention to contexts of use, procedures employed, and conceptualizations of language abilities that inform the work. It is argued that in spite of apparent affinities with some types of formative assessment that have been noted (e.g., Leung, 2007; Poehner& Rea-Dickins, 2013), DA is better understood as a completely different way of approaching assessment that pertains equally to summative and formative purposes. 主办单位:西安交通大学国际合作与交流处     西安交通大学外国语学院     
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