Past Event

Teacher development and language assessment development with Haitian teachers
Dr. Beverly A. Baker (McGill University) 

In this talk, I will share a professional development experience my colleague Caroline Riches and I had with 130 EFL teachers in the Northern Region of Haiti one year ago. During this week, teachers critiqued the current high-stakes English examinations currently in place in Haitian high schools. The teachers then analysed and suggested revisions to new revised examinations provided by the research team. In addition, teachers learned the basics of language assessment and item writing, and drafted their own items for the examinations as well as for classroom preparatory materials.

Language Assessment Literacy (LAL) is described by Taylor (2009) as “the level of knowledge, skills, and understanding of assessment principles and practice that is increasingly required by other test stakeholder groups, depending on their needs and context” (p. 24). LAL is a new and growing field in language assessment research, but has yet to be studied to any extent in the developing world. Our objective in the workshops was to create new revised exams for consideration by the Haitian Minister of Education, but also to develop LAL in the local teachers—most of whom have no formal training. In addition, LAL also had to be developed in the “specialists,” who were experts in test creation but not in the particularities of the Haitian context.

We held a research study to accompany our workshop. Research questions focused on our collaborative process, as well as whether reliable and practical examinations that allow valid interpretations of student achievement could be successfully created during this joint session.

Results will be presented from over 100 teacher surveys, as well as from follow-up interviews (analysed using the constant comparative method). Results reveal the following:

• evidence of a student-centred orientation;
• concerns with practical realities of Haitian schools;
• questions about the linking of assessment to teaching;
• concerns with cultural appropriateness of test items; and
• an overall positive attitude and feeling of camaraderie with peers and facilitators.

I will share successes and challenges in the process of negotiation—among teachers and between teachers and testing specialists—while creating examinations that follow best practice and are suited for Haiti.

About the Presenter

Dr. Beverly A. Baker is a Faculty Lecturer and Undergraduate Program Director in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education, McGill University, Montreal. This fall, she will be taking up a position in the Testing and Evaluation Unit at the Official Languages and Bilingualism Institute at the University of Ottawa. Her research takes a critical approach to language assessment development and validation, as well as to educational materials creation and language teacher development. She is a member of the first elected Executive Committee of the new Canadian Association of Language Assessment/l’Association canadienne d’évaluation des langues. 

 (Refreshments will be served) 

Photo Credit: “Tap tap, public transportation in Haiti.” Photograph uploaded on flickr (original location) by user Michelle Walz Eriksson and licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0.