EDAHOD5/102/3/2015
Tutorial letter 102/3/2015
The Educator as Assessor
EDAHOD5
Semesters 1 & 2
Department of Curriculum and
Instructional Studies
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This tutorial letter contains important information
about your module.
, IMPORTANT NOTICE
Dear Student
Please note that this tutorial letter replaces the Study Guide that is currently listed under
Study Material and which was sent to you with Tutorial Letters 301 and 101.
The assignments and examination will be based on what is in this tutorial letter and the
textbook.
Please also note that this tutorial letter is a revision of the study guide incorporating the
changes in assessment practices as required since the Curriculum and Assessment
Policy Statement (CAPS) has been introduced in the South African education system.
This means that you should use this tutorial letter as the only study guide for this
module.
Wishing you all the best with your studies
Mr H van Schalkwyk
Co-ordinator EDAHOD5
Tel No: 0827951035
e-mail:
2
, EDAHOD5/102
Welcome and Introduction
Dear Student-Educator as Assessor
Welcome to the challenging yet rewarding world of being and educator as an assessor in the
post-modern era in South Africa.
In this word of welcome and introduction to the Module: The Educator as Assessor you will find:
• Background information describing the context of your study of this module
• Studying using information technology
• What you can expect of this study guide as an activity driven guide
• The Learning Aims or Outcomes of the module
• Our views on the nature of the guide as a two-way conversation
• The focus on application of theory rather than regurgitation of information
• A note on the use of icons in this study guide
• A reminder that study time should be planned carefully
• An overview of the structure of the study guide and the module
• The first learning activity you have to do as an ice-breaker
Background information and context
The module: The Educator as Assessor is offered to students enrolled for two educator
development courses, namely, the Baccalareus Educationis (B.Ed) and the Post Graduate
Certificate in Education (PGCE).
If you are enrolled for the B.Ed you are currently also studying other modules including the
subjects you intend to specialise in and teach at school / institution, e.g. Biology, Mathematics,
Language, Tourism, Life Orientation etc. On the grounds of you having done these subjects at
second or third year levels already, or are in the process of doing so, you may be regarded an
expert in your field of study. You may have completed these subjects as part of your studies
also and are now doing the modules preparing you for a career in the education profession.
If you have enrolled in the Unisa Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) course, you
obviously did so with the purpose of qualifying in order to teach the subject / subjects of your
choice to learners in the South African education system as a qualified and registered
professional. On the grounds of you having obtained a first degree already, you are an expert in
your field of study, yet you have to obtain the PGCE as a means to be registered and appointed
as a professional educator.
In both instances mentioned above, the fact remains that you are not a novice student and that
you have mastered the ability to study at graduate level. In both cases also, you enrolled for
courses presented in the distance education mode. All of this means that we expect of you to
be able to work independently and with insight, rather than being spoon-fed by the lecturer, co-
ordinator and authors who contributed to the resources of this module, be it this very study
guide you are now reading, the prescribed text or any Open Education Resource (OER) or other
source that you may find and use in the course of your studies.
3
, This module, The Educator as Assessor (EDAHOD5), forms part of the PGCE and B.Ed
courses and is focused on developing and deepening your understanding of assessment so that
you can evaluate its worth and possibly start changing the way you think about assessment and
the way you apply assessment in a rapidly changing teaching-learning environment.
In this ever changing context, this module aims not only to prepare you for being an effective
and professional assessor working within the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement
(CAPS) curriculum implemented in South Africa since 2012, but also to be a reflexive educator
who would be able to make sense of changes in education and assessment, irrespective of the
current and / or future curriculum contexts.
Studying using information technology
Welcome also to the exiting, demanding and fast changing world of studying in the 21st century
at a distance education institution for higher learning. Whether we want to admit it or not, the
era of e-learning has arrived, and the days of studying by using one source, namely the
prescribed text in hard copy only, are irrevocably gone!
The world over, we are rapidly moving towards a paperless learning, teaching and working
environment, simply because of the powerful nature and ever increasing effectiveness of
information technology.
As you may know, Unisa embarked on on-line marking of assignments in 2013 already making
the administration of assignments so much more time- and cost-effective. It also makes
feedback to you, the student, almost immediate and much more detailed and effective in terms
of using the marking of assignments as an opportunity for teaching and learning rather than
assessment of your ability only.
You will also notice that we make use of Open Education Resources (OER) in addition to the
prescribed text in this study guide. We expect of you to access these as well as any other
relevant resources available on the internet to expand your learning experiences when working
through this module.
The Unisa Website as well as the myUnisa portal for current students have made e-learning a
reality for every student enrolled with our university.
In this context it is imperative that you are computer literate and have direct and
permanent access to the internet!
What to expect from this study guide
The basic approach followed in this study guide is to
- first introduce you to a wide variety of themes, topics, theories, constructs, ideas,
frameworks and opinions relevant to assessment in education in general, and to
assessment in South Africa in particular and,
- second assist you to reflect on (think about) assessment theory and practice and,
4
Tutorial letter 102/3/2015
The Educator as Assessor
EDAHOD5
Semesters 1 & 2
Department of Curriculum and
Instructional Studies
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
This tutorial letter contains important information
about your module.
, IMPORTANT NOTICE
Dear Student
Please note that this tutorial letter replaces the Study Guide that is currently listed under
Study Material and which was sent to you with Tutorial Letters 301 and 101.
The assignments and examination will be based on what is in this tutorial letter and the
textbook.
Please also note that this tutorial letter is a revision of the study guide incorporating the
changes in assessment practices as required since the Curriculum and Assessment
Policy Statement (CAPS) has been introduced in the South African education system.
This means that you should use this tutorial letter as the only study guide for this
module.
Wishing you all the best with your studies
Mr H van Schalkwyk
Co-ordinator EDAHOD5
Tel No: 0827951035
e-mail:
2
, EDAHOD5/102
Welcome and Introduction
Dear Student-Educator as Assessor
Welcome to the challenging yet rewarding world of being and educator as an assessor in the
post-modern era in South Africa.
In this word of welcome and introduction to the Module: The Educator as Assessor you will find:
• Background information describing the context of your study of this module
• Studying using information technology
• What you can expect of this study guide as an activity driven guide
• The Learning Aims or Outcomes of the module
• Our views on the nature of the guide as a two-way conversation
• The focus on application of theory rather than regurgitation of information
• A note on the use of icons in this study guide
• A reminder that study time should be planned carefully
• An overview of the structure of the study guide and the module
• The first learning activity you have to do as an ice-breaker
Background information and context
The module: The Educator as Assessor is offered to students enrolled for two educator
development courses, namely, the Baccalareus Educationis (B.Ed) and the Post Graduate
Certificate in Education (PGCE).
If you are enrolled for the B.Ed you are currently also studying other modules including the
subjects you intend to specialise in and teach at school / institution, e.g. Biology, Mathematics,
Language, Tourism, Life Orientation etc. On the grounds of you having done these subjects at
second or third year levels already, or are in the process of doing so, you may be regarded an
expert in your field of study. You may have completed these subjects as part of your studies
also and are now doing the modules preparing you for a career in the education profession.
If you have enrolled in the Unisa Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) course, you
obviously did so with the purpose of qualifying in order to teach the subject / subjects of your
choice to learners in the South African education system as a qualified and registered
professional. On the grounds of you having obtained a first degree already, you are an expert in
your field of study, yet you have to obtain the PGCE as a means to be registered and appointed
as a professional educator.
In both instances mentioned above, the fact remains that you are not a novice student and that
you have mastered the ability to study at graduate level. In both cases also, you enrolled for
courses presented in the distance education mode. All of this means that we expect of you to
be able to work independently and with insight, rather than being spoon-fed by the lecturer, co-
ordinator and authors who contributed to the resources of this module, be it this very study
guide you are now reading, the prescribed text or any Open Education Resource (OER) or other
source that you may find and use in the course of your studies.
3
, This module, The Educator as Assessor (EDAHOD5), forms part of the PGCE and B.Ed
courses and is focused on developing and deepening your understanding of assessment so that
you can evaluate its worth and possibly start changing the way you think about assessment and
the way you apply assessment in a rapidly changing teaching-learning environment.
In this ever changing context, this module aims not only to prepare you for being an effective
and professional assessor working within the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement
(CAPS) curriculum implemented in South Africa since 2012, but also to be a reflexive educator
who would be able to make sense of changes in education and assessment, irrespective of the
current and / or future curriculum contexts.
Studying using information technology
Welcome also to the exiting, demanding and fast changing world of studying in the 21st century
at a distance education institution for higher learning. Whether we want to admit it or not, the
era of e-learning has arrived, and the days of studying by using one source, namely the
prescribed text in hard copy only, are irrevocably gone!
The world over, we are rapidly moving towards a paperless learning, teaching and working
environment, simply because of the powerful nature and ever increasing effectiveness of
information technology.
As you may know, Unisa embarked on on-line marking of assignments in 2013 already making
the administration of assignments so much more time- and cost-effective. It also makes
feedback to you, the student, almost immediate and much more detailed and effective in terms
of using the marking of assignments as an opportunity for teaching and learning rather than
assessment of your ability only.
You will also notice that we make use of Open Education Resources (OER) in addition to the
prescribed text in this study guide. We expect of you to access these as well as any other
relevant resources available on the internet to expand your learning experiences when working
through this module.
The Unisa Website as well as the myUnisa portal for current students have made e-learning a
reality for every student enrolled with our university.
In this context it is imperative that you are computer literate and have direct and
permanent access to the internet!
What to expect from this study guide
The basic approach followed in this study guide is to
- first introduce you to a wide variety of themes, topics, theories, constructs, ideas,
frameworks and opinions relevant to assessment in education in general, and to
assessment in South Africa in particular and,
- second assist you to reflect on (think about) assessment theory and practice and,
4
