ProfEd311 - Unit 3 - Authentic Assessment of The Affective Domain
ProfEd311 - Unit 3 - Authentic Assessment of The Affective Domain
In this Unit, we shall be concerned with the affective domain. For a balanced education,
let us not pay attention only to the development of the mind (cognitive) and the hands (physical
skills). Let us also give attention to the development of the heart (affective). We have heard
people say he/she is “schooled” but not “educated”. This statement points to the fact that much
of what has happened in the education process has been focused on the cognitive domain.
Today, however, we talk about the whole child approach, social and emotional learning (SEL),
emotional intelligence quotient (EQ), positive discipline, and growth mindset, which deliver the
same basic message, the equally important affective function of education.
The taxonomy in the affective domain contains a large number of objectives in the
literature expressed as interests, attitudes, appreciations, values, and emotional sets or biases
(Krathwohl et al., 1964). The descriptions of each step in the taxonomy culled from Krathwohl’s
taxonomy of Affective Domain are given as follows:
Organization is relating the value to those already held and bring it into a harmonious
and internally consistent philosophy. Examples are: to discuss, to theorize, to formulate,
to balance, to examine.
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Characterization by value or value set is to act consistently in accordance with the values
he or she has internalized. Examples include: to revise, to require, to be rated high in the
value, to avoid, to resist, to manage, to resolve.
More details of the five levels of educational objectives in the affective domain with
examples are given below (Table 1):
Teachers usually find difficulty in the use of behavioral terms when they formulate
learning outcomes in the affective domain. Below are examples of verbs or behavioral terms that
can be used to state learning competencies in the affective domain (Table 2):
3.1.1 Attitudes
Attitude is defined as a mental predisposition to act that is expressed by evaluating a
particular entity with some degree of favor or disfavor. Generally, individuals have their own
attitude that focuses on subjects or any instructions.
Attitudes are attached to metal categories, and mental categories are generally referred
to as values.
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Four Components of Attitude:
1. Cognition – these are the beliefs, theories, and cause-and-effect of beliefs and
perceptions. Cognition has nothing to do with "feelings" because it is a statement of
belief that can change from one person to another and from one situation to another.
2. Affective – it refers to the feelings and emotions such as fear, like, and anger.
3. Behavioral Intention – these are our goals and aspirations, as well as our anticipated
reaction to the attitude.
4. Evaluation – it is the degree of goodness or badness towards the attitude.
Attitudes can be influenced by the social community to which we belong. An attitude can
function as the framework to form a conclusion that interprets the actions of an
individual.
3.1.2 Interests
Interest in the affective target is the personal preference for certain kinds of activities. It
is a powerful motivational process that energizes learning, guides academic and career
trajectories, and is essential to academic success. An interest can be an individual experience that
they find more enjoyable and that involves lasting feelings; it can be a psychological state of mind
which can increase the learner’s attention, effort, and excitement toward a specific situation.
1. Interest develops gradually and with external support – from lecture participation and
school field trips.
2. Students at different stages of interest development may benefit from different types of
external support. It creates a more exciting environment to attract the student’s attention
inside the classroom, constructing a learning activity that can awaken the learner’s
individual interest.
3. Triggered and maintained situational interest – where an individual begins to feel a
personal sense of ownership, they start to go beyond what is required and become more
curious and ask more questions to satisfy their curiosity.
4. Emerging and well-developed individual interests – where students will take personal
responsibility for their curiosity and questions and find the perfect answer to them.
3.1.3 Motivation
Motivation provides information about the type of environment, tasks, and activities that
an individual can be motivated to do. Motivation provides insight into what an individual wants
to do and what they need from a role in order to be engaged and successful.
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4. Take the Time to Personalize
Taking the time to work individually with students and tailoring elements of your
lessons to their needs can go a long way towards increasing their motivation for
classroom assessments.
3.1.4 Values
“Values” is defined as a principle, standard, or quality considered inherently worthwhile
or desirable. Individuals, groups, and whole societies hold values. Values are what motivate and
fulfill you.
3.1.5 Self-concept
A self-concept is usually called a mental image of you as a person, as our internal
interpretations of our actions, skills, and specific characteristics. When people are younger and
still going through the self-discovery and identity-forming process, their self-concept appears to
be more malleable. Self-perceptions are becoming more systematic and structured as people
mature, as they form a clearer understanding of who they are and what is important to them.
3.1.7 Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy is a person’s particular set of beliefs that determine how well one can
execute a plan of action in prospective situations (Bandura, 1977).
It is a person’s belief in their ability to succeed in a particular situation. It is also important
to understand the difference between self-efficacy and self-esteem. Self-efficacy is about the
perception of one person to his/her abilities to attain a goal. While self-esteem is about the self-
worth of a person.
1. Students with a strong sense of efficacy are more likely to challenge themselves with
difficult tasks and be intrinsically motivated. Intrinsically motivated means that for every
act they do, they are not expecting any external reward because they do it because it’s
fun, enjoyable, and interesting.
2. Put forth a significant effort to meet commitments. They often exert a high degree of
effort on what they are doing.
3. Attribute failure to things which are in their control rather than blaming external factors.
4. Students with high self-efficacy quickly and easily recover from obstacles that they are
facing and from disappointment.
5. They are likely to achieve personal goals, things they set out to achieve for themselves.
Those specific goals can be short-term or long-term goals.
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2. They are less likely to make a concerted, extended effort. They are not exerting effort and
losing interest in what they are doing, especially in difficult situations because of a lack of
confidence.
3. They often avoid challenging tasks that they see as threats, not opportunities for
improvement.
4. They have low ambition; they don’t see good opportunities and goals in the future, which
may result in disappointing academic performances.
Teachers need high self-efficacy too. Teachers who have a high sense of efficacy in their
teaching abilities may find it easier to motivate their students and improve their cognitive
development. These teachers may also be able to rebound from setbacks and be more willing to
experiment with new ideas or techniques. Low-efficient teachers may rely more on controlling
their teaching style and may be more critical of students.
3. Social Persuasion
• Social persuasion is one way to build and gain self-efficacy. Receiving positive
and encouraging feedback from others is a huge help in gaining self-efficacy
because you become confident, and they convince you to believe that you
have the skills and are capable of being successful.
• For example, your teacher is motivating you by giving you good feedback for
you to put it your best effort, and by that, the teacher can boost your self-
efficacy.
3.1.8 Anxiety
Anxiety is directly related to feelings of uneasiness, frustration, self-doubt, fear, or worry. Anxiety
can be defined by levels: Some people can be anxious about many things, or just by situations. Others are
anxious for particular events or acts.
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How anxiety affect students’ learning and performance in school?
• Students who are experiencing anxiety can negatively impact their ability to learn and
enjoy their time in school, which may lead to social and behavioral problems, poor
performance and learning, neglected hygiene, poor self-care practices, and low self-
esteem. This can include a lack of engagement in the classroom, poor relationships with
peers and teachers, and a disinterest in pursuing passions and planning for the future.
• The effect of anxiety on academic performance is not always obvious. A student may
appear fine one minute and then have an outburst or panic attack the next.
• Teachers and staff need training to be able to properly handle these unexpected
occurrences.
3.1.9 Creativity
Creativity is very important in teaching and learning because when the teacher is creative
and innovative in creating different techniques in teaching, the students will be productive in
studying and won’t find the class boring. Creativity helps both sides a lot in many ways. Most
students think that studying is boring because the teacher just focuses on the discussion itself.
That’s why it is important that a teacher provides different techniques, such as giving them fun
activities related to the topic to make their discussion exciting.
According to Bakx, VanDer Sanden, Sijtsma, Croon, & Vermetten (2006), epistemology
explores the beliefs we hold about knowledge, what knowledge is, how knowledge is
constructed, and what constitutes knowledge. Beliefs about the sources of knowledge will
influence our decision-making processes, guide critical thinking practices, and facilitate self-
regulated learning.
An epistemological belief discusses the ideas we have about knowledge and how it
develops and is constructed. Also, these beliefs are important as they affect our thinking skills,
especially in the decision-making process. There are different aspects that affect one’s
knowledge and beliefs. Most of the epistemological beliefs that we have now are because of our
experiences in our daily lives. Our family and peers play an important role in developing our
epistemology. It is important to not disregard the epistemological beliefs of the students inside
the classroom because their differences affect their performance inside the classroom.
1. Written-Response Instruments
This includes multiple-choice, true/false, matching, short answer, and other objective
tests, essays, exams, and checklists.
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2. Product-Rating Scale
These scales measure products that are frequently rated in education, such as book
reports, maps, charts, diagrams, notebooks, essays, and creative endeavors of all sorts.
3. Performance Test
One of these is the performance checklist, which consists of a list of behaviors that make
up a certain type of performance.
4. Oral Questioning
These are useful supplementary assessment methods when used in conjunction with oral
questioning and oral testing.
• Observation
Effective teachers observe their students from the time they enter the classroom. During
instruction, teachers observe students’ behavior to gain information about the students’
levels of interest and understanding of the material or activity.
• Questioning
Teachers ask questions for many instructional reasons, including keeping students’
attention on the lesson; highlighting important points and ideas, promoting critical
thinking, allowing students’ to learn from each other’s answers, and providing
information about students’ learning.
1. Teacher Observation
Teacher observation can be unstructured or structured. It is unstructured when
observation is open-ended. A teacher’s observation is not limited to items on a checklist
or rating scale. Teacher observation is structured when he/she is guided in what to
observe by a checklist or rating scale. To make teacher observation work in relation to the
assessment of affective learning, the following should be observed:
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• Record both positive and negative behaviors.
• Have as much observation of each student as necessary.
• Avoid personal bias. Be objective.
• Immediately record the observations.
• Apply a simple and efficient procedure.
2. Student Self-Report
A student self-report requires the student to provide an account of his or her attitude or
feelings toward a concept, idea or person. A self-report is also referred to as a “written
reflection”. A teacher may require a student to write his thoughts on topics like “Why I Like
or Dislike Physics” or “Why I Like or Dislike Coming to School”.
The teacher may also get a student self-report by means of a selected-response format
by means of assessment tools such as a checklist, a rating scale (like a Likert Scale) or a
Semantic differential scale.
• Likert Scale
A Likert Scale is one example of a rating scale. It makes use of a five-point scale from
Strongly Disagree (1), Disagree (2), Undecided (3), Agree (4) to Strongly Agree (5). Below
is a Likert Scale used to assess a student’s attitude toward teaching as a profession to
determine each student’s attitude toward teaching after a lesson on teaching as a
profession.
Example:
Direction: Each statement is supposed to measure your attitude toward teaching as a
profession. Indicate your response with a check
Legend:
5 – Strongly Agree
4 – Agree
3 – Undecided
2 – Disagree
1 – Strongly Disagree
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5 4 3 2 1
1. Teaching is the noblest
profession.
2. Teaching is for those who
can’t make it in the other
professions.
3. Teaching is meant for
women.
4. Teaching is the lowest
paid profession yet most
demanding.
5. Teaching has many
rewards teaching.
• Semantic Differential
A student is asked to assess his Science class as a whole by way of a Semantic Differential
scale, as shown below. The scales are pairs of adjectives on feelings or beliefs that are
opposite.
Example:
Direction: Which item is true for your Math class? Check the item that applies to you.
Mark X the item that does not apply to you.
2 1 0 -1 -2
Exciting Boring
Fulfilling Frustrating
Demanding Easy
• Checklist
In a checklist, as the name implies, the student simply checks an item that is observed or
present or possessed or that applies to him/her. A student is asked to evaluate the extent
to which he/she possesses a growth mindset.
Example:
Direction: Check the item which applies to you.
1. I believe that intelligence can be developed.
2. I do not easily give up.
3. I accept criticism.
4. I draw inspiration from the success of others.
5. I see challenges as opportunities to grow.
6. I persist in the face of difficulties.
7. I view effort as path to mastery.
8. I learn from criticism.
9. I believe that success is a matter or luck.
3. Peer Ratings
How else may a teacher know if a student is realizing the intended learning outcome in
the affective domain other than the teacher observing the student or the student making a
report about himself/herself. Another way is to ask the student’s peers to rate him/her on
affective items where the teacher wants to rate the student.
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Ideally, a teacher’s observation of a student’s realization of an affective learning outcome
should coincide with the student’s self-report and that of a peer rating of the student. Many
times, it does not happen, however.
Each of the three feasible methods (Student Self Report, Teacher Observation, and Peer
Rating) has its own advantages and disadvantages. Consider the following factors when choosing
which method or methods to utilize:
If grouped responses and tendencies are required, the selected response self-report method
is suitable because it guarantees anonymity and is easily scored.
If the intention of the affective assessment is to utilize the outcomes as supporting input to
grading, then multiple approaches is essential and be mindful of the plausibility of having fake
comes from self-report and even from peer judgment.
Every student goes through an assessment to measure if they achieved the expected
learning outcomes at the end of the course. Academic tests are typically relied upon to assess
the performance of students in educational tasks that focus more on their cognitive
development. “Educated but not well–mannered.” A school must pursue goals that don’t just
focus on the high-test scores of its students but also on their personality, attitude, and behavior
while learning, which affects their social well-being. This can be seen in the students’
performances while not being informed that they are being judged. The assessment tools that
can be included are portfolios, anecdotal records, non–test instruments such as questionnaires,
interview guidelines, observation guidelines, checklists, and rating scales.
Transversal Competencies (TVC) refer to knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes that are
integral to life in the 21st century. We need to adapt and collaborate with our fast-changing
world, technological advances that are continuously shaping our lives and workplaces. A change
from old educational goals is needed in order to achieve this. Students who will become future
workers need to be ready and must have sophisticated and complex problem–solving skills, as
well as communication and coordination skills. This will help the success of an individual and also
a well-functioning society.
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Figure 1. Categories of Transversal Competencies
21st century skills are needed to be equipped by students to become globally competitive
and able to adapt to the fast–changing world and advanced technologies.
• Learning Skills
These are the four C’s (Critical thinking, Creativity, Collaboration, and Communication)
that teach students about the mental processes needed to adapt to a new work
environment and strengthen it.
- Critical Thinking – this is how we find solutions to problems that may arise. For
example, in a company that is facing a problem, as we identify the problem, we
should also be ready and know the solution to it.
- Creativity – thinking outside the box, we should be able to innovate ideas, new
things, that may help to adapt and to become successful.
- Communication – this is how we talk to others with the challenging part of having
different beliefs, philosophy, but still able to understand each other ideas and
messages trying to convey. Having good communication will avoid conflicts and
the failure of a project.
• Literacy Skills
These are usually called the IMT skills (Information, Media, and Technology), which are
concerned with different elements of digital understanding.
- Information – being able to understand facts from fiction, figures, statistics, and
data we’ve searched on the internet.
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- Media – this is our skill of identifying which of the pieces of information we read,
watched, or heard are true or if they are credible or not. As technology advances,
it is easy for people to edit what they’re posting online to attract netizens and
make them believe easily. As for us, we must not be one sided or focus on just one
source, we must also look for other sources that will back it up to make sure that
it is credible and true.
• Life Skills
Also called FLIPS (Flexibility, Leadership, Initiative, Productivity, and Social Skills), these
are the skills we need in our daily life wherever we are, especially in the workplace
- Productivity – this is how we accomplish goals in our daily lives. Giving importance
to time, knowing that you should not waste it and completing tasks within the
given specific time.
- Social Skills – this is how we are able to socialize and interact with others. Being
an extrovert is so much of an advantage since socializing with different types of
people is easy to do.
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Figure 2. Categories of 21st Century Skills
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