The Regional Language Office at the embassy (RELO) is pleased to present the following webcast event on Monday, April 25th at 1:30 pm.
 
Dr. Clifford Hill, Professor of Language and Education Emeritus, Teachers College, Columbia University will be hosting a discussion on Testing and Assessment in a Digital Age. Please see below for details. We have a few seats open to watch live in Beijing. If you are interested, please send a brief message as to why you’d like to attend along with your name, ID number and contact information to ircacee@state.gov. For those of you that would like to tune in online, we hope you can join us via ConX. Just create a username and login and send us your questions live!
 
Topic:  Testing and Assessment in a Digital Age
Time: 13:30 – 15:30, Monday, April 25th
Guest Speaker: Clifford Hill, Arthur I. Gates Professor of Language and Education Emeritus, Teachers College, Columbia University
Abstract: The presentation begins by analyzing sample multiple-choice items to show the inherent limitations of the format. These limitations will be viewed as reflecting certain false assumptions about how readers make sense of text that have been simply transferred from the page to the screen as computers are used to administer multiple-choice tests.
It then introduces an alternative testing model called grounded constructivism built around integrated tasks that elicit factual, inferential, and experiential responses to text. This model is illustrated by sample tasks presented first in a traditional print format and then in a digital format.
The presentation ends with an assessment model, Doing English Digital, that goes beyond a traditional testing paradigm. This model has been developed by Zhang Wei at Beijing University so that students can use digital technologies first to conduct research in their major field of study and then to make both oral and written presentations of their research. These presentations are evaluated with a rubric built around three major criteria: content, clarity, and critical/creative thinking. The rubric is used not only by teachers, but also by students to evaluate their own work, for the ultimate goal of assessment is developing students’ capacity for self-evaluation.
Join us the day of the event by logging in here:
https://statedeptasia.connectsolutions.com/beijingenglish/
 
Please also put an ad on the homepage of our website (above the Posner announcement) with the following text:
 
English Teaching Discussion
Dr. Clifford Hill, Professor of Language and Education Emeritus, Teachers College, Columbia University will discuss “Testing and Assessment in the Digital Age”. Please join us live via CONX on Monday, April 25 from 13:30 to 15:30 by logging in at https://statedeptasia.connectsolutions.com/beijingenglish/