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AUTHENTIC ASSESSMENT OF THE AFFECTIVE DOMAIN

I. INTRODUCTION
In Bloom’s taxonomy (1965), there were three domains that were identified: cognitive, affective
and psychomotor. In this module, we shall focus on the effective domain. Learning objectives that stress a
sounding tone, an emotion, or a degree of approval or disapproval are referred to as affective. These
learning objectives help guide students’ future thoughts about a course material and problems, feelings of
personal value and achievement, desires to participate in various activities, and personal standards.
Compared to the cognitive domain, the affective domain is more complicated to assess and interpret
because affective objectives range from simple attention to various activities to complex but sound
qualities of character and conscience. Since the affective domain is now deeply rooted as an integral part
of the educational process as well as a result of education, there’s a need to assess and measure students’
abilities in this domain.
In this module, we shall be concerned with the different affective characteristics and various
assessment tools to assess them. This chapter will explore the topic of affective assessment by offering
broad perspectives into assessing students' emotions, desires, and values. The discussion in this module
comes from internet resources, printed materials, and among others. As your facilitator of learning in ED
305, I will enrich our discussion by presenting information with citations. If you have questions please do
not hesitate to call, email, text or chat with me on the details provided in the Teacher Intervention Section
of this module.
II. COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the course, the learners are expected to:
1. Demonstrate understanding of the principles of high quality assessment in conceptualizing,
organizing and using authentic assessment techniques in various curriculum teaching areas;
2. Demonstrate skills in designing, developing and using learner-appropriate performance-based,
product-based and effective assessment tools in monitoring and evaluating learner progress and
achievement in various curriculum areas;
3. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of providing timely, accurate and constructive
feedback to improve learner performance;
4. Demonstrate familiarity with various strategies for communicating authentic learning results;
5. Demonstrate an understanding of the role of assessment data as feedback in teaching and learning
practices and programs; and
6. Demonstrate an understanding of how professional reflection on assessment feedback can be used
to improve practice.

Through (4.2.1.1) excellent instruction, relevant and responsive research and/ or extension services,
and quality-assured production (4.3.1.1) of a true NOrSUnian with the core values of SAPPHIRE needed
to (4.1.1.1) become dynamic, competitive and globally responsive.

III. CONTENTS OF THE MODULE

This Module contains the following lessons:
Lesson 1: Affective Targets
Lesson 2: Appropriate Methods of Assessment
IV. DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO USE THIS MODULE PROPERLY

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In order to benefit profoundly from this module, please be guided by all the key points presented below.
1. This module contains two (2) lessons. Each lesson is explained substantively. Read the explanations
thoroughly so that you could understand the lesson fully.
2. On the first page of each lesson, you will find the specific learning outcomes (SLOs) of each lesson.
SLOs are knowledge and skills you are expected to acquire at the end of the lesson. Read them
heartily.
3. You must answer the Learning Activities/Exercises (LAEs). The LAEs are designed to help you
acquire the SLOs.
4. Feel free to chat, call, text or send an email if you have questions, reactions, or reflections about the
contents or activities in the module.
5. The Practice Task/Assessment and the Assignment shall be checked by your instructor.

AFFECTIVE TARGETS

SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:
1. Recall the taxonomy in the affective domain;
2. Identify the different affective targets;
3. Give examples of learning competency objectives in the affective domain; and
4. Realize the importance of affective assessment in the classroom.

MOTIVATION / PROMPTING QUESTIONS

Direction: Review on Krathwohl’s Taxonomy of Affective Domain. For each of the learning
outcomes, identify in which category/level of taxonomy it belongs. Submit your answers
here: https://forms.gle/dC4cYFR2FG7UjuLS9
1. know the rules and practice them
2. value people for what they are and not for how they look
3. listen to others with respect
4. prioritize time effectively for family, work and personal life
5. demonstrate belief in a certain concept or process
DISCUSSION
To start the discussion, we shall review on the taxonomy in the affective domain. The affective
domain refers to the emotional responses we have to circumstances such as emotions, affection,
excitement, inspiration, beliefs, and attitude. The taxonomy is arranged into 5 levels as the person
progresses towards characterization in which the attitude or feeling continuously drives or influences a
person's actions.
THE TAXONOMY IN THE AFFECTIVE DOMAIN
The description in each step of the taxonomy is based from Krathwohl’s Taxonomy of the Affective
Domain (1964).
1. Receiving is the stage at which one is aware of or receptive to the presence of certain thoughts,
materials, or events and is able to accept them.

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 2. Responding is the stage at which one is committed to the thoughts, materials, or events involved
by consistently responding to them.
3. Valuing is the stage at which one is willing to be seen by others as someone who values certain
thoughts, materials, or events.
4. Organization is the stage at which one applies current value to existing values and incorporates it
into a unified and internally coherent philosophy.
5. Characterization is the final stage at which one acts consistently in accordance with the values
internalized by the person.
AFFECTIVE LEARNING COMPETENCIES
Affective desired learning competencies are often stated in the form of instructional objectives. The
table that follows shows examples of appropriate objectives or learning competencies on the topic, civil
rights. It is worth noting that stating objective or learning competency in the affective domain is more
challenging because they often refer to emotions and internal processes of the mind and body that cannot
be evaluated or measured using traditional methods. Although we assess and measure the effective
domain in schools, the results will not be used in grading students in this domain.

Level Example

Receiving The individual reads a book passage about civil rights.

Responding The individual answers questions about the civil rights book, reads another
book by the same author, another book about civil rights, etc.

Valuing The individual demonstrates this by voluntarily attending a lecture on civil

rights.

Organization The individual arranges a civil rights rally.

Characterization The individual is firmly committed to the value, perhaps becoming a civil
rights leader.
SOURCE: http://www.personal.psu.edu/bxb11/Objectives/affectiveobjs.html

AFFECTIVE TARGETS
In the affective domain, there are constructs that we consider. Among the affective targets are
attitudes, interest, motivation,values, self-concept and self-efficacy.
ATTITUDES refer to a person’s tendency to rate certain objects favorably or unfavorably. Attitudes
are composed of four components:
- Cognitions: This component is a statement of belief or notion relative to a person or things.
- Affect: This component is the feeling that drives the thought and reflects the person’s evaluation of
a thing or a person. For instance, individuals have different feelings towards studying: some
like to study while some hate to study.
- Behavioral: This component is the explicit behavior, goals or expectations aimed at a specific
person or object.
- Evaluation: This component is often considered as the key element of attitudes. It is the judgement
towards a person or object on how good or bad they are. Evaluation is a function of
cognitive, affect and behavioral intentions of the object.
VALUES are mental orientations towards ideas. It is the importance attached to certain activities or
objects that serve as guiding principles in the life of a person. However, the majority of educators believe
that not all values should be taught in classrooms i.e. liberal and religious beliefs. As a result, teachers do
not advocate for the adoption of some faiths or the exclusion of others. As suggested by Popham (2017),

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the following values are reasonable and noncontroversial that could serve as the targets for classroom
attention:
- Honesty. Students should learn to value honesty in their dealing with others.
- Integrity. Students should firmly adhere to their own set of values.
- Justice. Students should believe that all citizens should receive equal justice from governmental law
enforcement authorities.
- Freedom. Students should believe that democratic nations must provide their people with the greatest
amount of freedom rights possible.
Values may be characterized by their target, direction, and intensity. Values prefer to have ideas as
their targets, but it could also also be beliefs and behaviors. A value's direction may be positive or
negative (or right-wrong, important-unimportant). Finally, depending on the condition and the value in
question, the intensity of values may be defined as high or low.
In order to distinguish between an attitude and a value, Rokeach (1973) defines an attitude as a set of
many beliefs around a particular entity or circumstance while a value is a simple belief or conviction of a
very specific nature.
INTERESTS is defined as the preferences for particular work activities. Here are a few examples of
the kinds of interest targets teachers might consider for possible assessment (Popham, 2017):
- Subject-related interests. Students should find the subject matter learned to be more fascinating at the
end of teaching than it was at the beginning.
- Interest in reading. Because of the tremendous effect that students' reading abilities have on their
future lives, we want students to be involved in, and even love, reading.
- Interest in emerging technology. As the world grows more reliant on technical advancements,
students who are interested in those advancements are more likely to learn about computers and, as a
result, be able to use such technological resources.
Interests can also be characterized by their target, direction, and intensity. The targets of interest are
activities; the direction can be described as interested or disinterested; and the intensity can be labeled as
high or low. High-intensity interests will drive one to search out the activity under consideration.
MOTIVATION is defined as the forces that account for arousal, choice, direction, and continuity of
action (Snowman & Biehler, 1997). It is the level of involvement of students in their interest in learning.
Teachers have at least two major misconceptions about motivation:
-Some students are unmotivated. This statement is not technically true. By definition, a student is
motivated as long as he sets goals for himself and puts in the work to accomplish them. What
teachers actually imply is that students are not motivated to act in the manner that teachers want
them to.
-One person can directly motivate another. This is an inaccurate viewpoint since motivation comes
from within a person. What it actually implies is that you can influence other students to do what
you want them to do.
Theories of Motivation
There are many theories that explain human motivation.
The need theory is one of these. Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of human needs is the most widely
discussed theory of motivation.
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

Herzberg’s two factor theory is another need theory of motivation. The theory concludes that
certain factors in the workplace result in job satisfaction while others do not, but if absent, lead to
dissatisfaction. He distinguished:
Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory of Motivation

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 https://www.toolshero.com/psychology/two-factor-theory-herzberg/

Lastly, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs was expanded leading to the ERG (existence, relatedness
and growth) theory created by Clayton Alderfer.
ERG Theory of Motivation
https://www.iedunote.com/erg-theory

Kinds of Motivation
There are two kinds of motivation:
1. Intrinsic motivation is the willingness to do or achieve something because one truly wants to and
takes pleasure or sees value in doing so. They feel that what they are learning is morally
significant.
2. Extrinsic motivation is the willingness to do or achieve something not for the pleasure of the task
itself, but because it can result in a specific outcome. There are factors external to the student
(like money or good grades) that compelled one to finish the task.
Factors that Affect Students’ Motivation
https://www.builtbyme.com/students-motivation-in-education/

SELF-CONCEPT is a person's perception of himself. The perceptions are created as a result of

interactions with the environment, with substantial impacts from environmental reinforcements and
significant individuals in one's life (Gable, 1986). Several school activities have goals for improving self-
concept. Typical statements read as follows: Students will grow optimistic feelings of self-worth;
Students will demonstrate optimistic self-perceptions in relation to their classmates.
The target, direction, and intensity of self-concept can be identified. The person is usually the target
of self-concept, but it can also be places such as the school; the direction can be positive or negative; and
the intensity can vary on a scale from low to high.
SELF-EFFICACY links human motivation, thought processes, and behavior. It is a person's
assessment of their ability to plan and carry out the steps necessary to achieve specific types of
performances. In simple words, it is one’s perception of his/her ability to successfully perform a task
(McCoach et al., 2013).
While efficacy is the ability to cause an impact, self-efficacy is the belief that one has the ability to
cause an impact. Self-efficacy is also usually misunderstood with self-esteem. It is worth noting that self-
esteem is one’s subjective perception of their own worth, whereas self-efficacy is one’s perception of
their ability to reach a goal.
According to studies, people who think they can do something are more inclined to persevere and
excel than those who believe they cannot. However, too much self-efficacy can negatively affect student
motivation and having less self-efficacy can be helpful. Students who felt that they are bad at something
(i.e. Math subject), their negative beliefs will motivate them to study.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES / EXERCISE

Open the link and complete the activity.

https://forms.gle/3kZptBv5ysicHZo38

TEACHER INTERVENTION

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Note ꓽ for clarification of the content of the lesson, the teacher will give a 1-hour online meeting per
week.
PRACTICE TASK / ASSESSMENT
Open the link and complete the activity.

https://forms.gle/yNKJkSngqdEmcH768

ASSIGNMENT
Open the link and complete the activity.

https://forms.gle/1Uz6HsfSvigH6zt66

APPROPRIATE METHODS OF ASSESSMENT

SPECIFIC LEARNING OUTCOMES:

At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to:
1. Identify different assessment tools in the affective domain;
2. Construct assessment tools in the affective domain such as rating scale, checklist, etc.; and
3. Display an understanding on how to utilize the different assessment tools in the affective domain.

MOTIVATION/ PROMPTING QUESTIONS:

Direction: Take the Personality Test. Answer honestly to find out your personality type. You can
view a detailed result of your test to learn how your personality type influences many areas of
your life.
Personality Test: https://www.16personalities.com/free-personality-test
Upload a screenshot of your result here: https://forms.gle/XrTKCgrYXnaVjiqa8

DISCUSSION
Three viable ways of assessing affective traits are teacher observation, student self-report, and peer
ratings.
METHODS OF ASSESSING AFFECTIVE TARGETS
There are three considerations in assessing affective targets (Blogasiaph, 2019):
1. Feelings and emotions change quickly, particularly in young children and during early
adolescence. It is necessary to perform multiple tests over a period of time in order to provide a
valid indicator of a particular student's emotion or feeling. A single assessment is insufficient to
determine the prevalent affect.
2. Use as many different approaches in measuring the same affective traits as possible. It is
preferable not to focus on a single approach due to its inherent limitations. Students' self-reports
can be falsified, tainting the findings considerably. (However, if the self-reports match the
teacher's observations, a stronger argument may be made.)

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 3. Determine the kind of data or results needed. Is it individual or group data? The method to be
used will be influenced by the purpose of the evaluation. Individual student information is used
for documenting or providing feedback to parents or other interested individuals about the
learner. Outcomes for groups or the whole class are preferable if the aim of the evaluations is to
enhance instruction.
TEACHER OBSERVATION
The first step in using observation is to decide how individual behaviors apply to the target. It begins
with a vivid description of the trait, then moves on to a list of positive and negative student behaviors.
Here is an example of student behavior indicating positive and negative attitudes toward learning:
https://prnt.sc/126xsu7
These behaviors serve as the basis for creating guidelines, checklists, and rating scales. Positive
behaviors are referred to as approach behaviors, and negative behaviors are referred to as avoidance
behaviors. After developing the list of behaviors, the teacher must determine whether to conduct an
informal, unstructured observation or a formal, structured observation.
-Unstructured observation (anecdotal) may be used to make summative judgments. This is mostly left
open-ended; no checklists or rating scales are used. Unstructured observation is more practical, as
teachers can record anything they observe rather than being constrained by what is on a checklist or
ranking scale.
-In structured observation, more time is required since checklists or rating forms must be created to be
used to document observations. To make documenting easier and more convenient, the form is
created from a list of positive and negative behaviors.
STUDENT SELF-REPORT
While direct observation can be an efficient method of gathering information, making inferences
regarding people's affective characteristics based solely on observational evidence is often difficult.
Another obvious way to measure people's degrees of an affective trait is to question them.
-Student Interview: Teachers can use individual or group interviews, discussions, or casual
conversations to assess affect. With interviews, there is an opportunity for teachers to have direct
involvement with the students, in which teachers can probe and answer for better understanding.
-Surveys and Questionnaire: There are two types of format you can use for questionnaires and surveys:
constructed-response format and selected-response format. Constructed-response format is a
straightforward technique that asks students about their thoughts by having them respond to a simple
statement or query. An essay can be used for constructed-response format. Essays enable people to
articulate their views, ideals, and convictions more clearly. On the other hand, selected-response
format can be implemented using rating scale, semantic differential scale, and checklist.
-Peer Ratings or appraisal is the least common method among the three methods. Due to the nature of
learners, they do not often take this activity seriously, and they are often subjective in their peer
ranking. As a result, peer evaluation is regarded as inefficient in terms of the nature of administering,
scoring, and interpreting peer ratings.
UTILIZING THE DIFFERENT METHODS
In choosing for which method or methods to use, consider the following factors:
❏ Type of affect to be assessed
Observation is the easiest way to get a general response to something or anything.
However, if attitude components are to be diagnosed, a self-report can have more reliable data. If
the target is social-oriented affect, the observation may be supported by the peer rating method.
❏ Whether the information needed is from grouped or individual responses
If grouped responses and behaviors are needed, the selected response self-report method
is ideal because it ensures anonymity and is simple to score.

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 ❏ The use of information
If the aim of the affective assessment is to use the results as supportive feedback for
grading, various methods are required. Be aware of the likelihood of false results from self-report
and even peer assessment.
AFFECTIVE ASSESSMENT TOOLS
A good affective tool generates ratings that distinguish individuals based on their degree of one or
more affective traits. This task is difficult because affective traits cannot be observed directly. We must
instead infer people's degree or level of trait based on a test of their behaviors. In other words, the
individual must act or react in some noticeable manner for us to make inferences.
CHECKLIST
Checklist is the most common and probably the easiest tool in the affective domain to construct. It
contains a list of criteria that students or teachers can mark as ‘present’ or ‘absent’. Checklists can be
used for individual or group assessment. Here are the steps in constructing a checklist:
- Enumerate all of the characteristics and traits you like to observe in relation to the intended outcome
being assessed.
- Organize these characteristics into logically sequenced steps that will lead to successful completion
of the task.
- Ask the students to mark the characteristics or traits that they see and leave vacant the ones that they
don't.
Why Use Checklists
- Checklists make a simple structure for observing and recording skills, standards, and behaviors prior
to the final assessment.
- Checklists inform teachers if there are any students who need assistance in order to prevent failure.
- Checklists provide formative evaluation of students' learning and assist teachers in determining
whether students are on track to achieve the desired outcomes.
Here are examples of a checklist: https://prntscr.com/129320s
https://prntscr.com/1292wvr
RATING SCALE
Rating scale refers to a selection of categories intended to elicit information about a measurable trait.
Rating scales assist students in understanding the learning outcomes and help them focus on their
performance. A completed rating scale provides students with detailed feedback on their achievements
and shortcomings in relation to the targets to which they are assessed. Also, ratings aid in demonstrating
each student's development and success.
Common Rating Scale Errors: https://prntscr.com/1293s0n
Likert Scale
Created in 1932 by psychologist Rensis Likert, a Likert scale is a five- (or seven-) point scale that
allows people to express how much they agree or disagree with a particular statement. A Likert scale
suggests that an attitude's strength/intensity is linear and that attitudes can be measured (McLeod, 2019).
For example, each of the answers might be assigned a numerical value that can be used to measure the
attitude under evaluation. The Personality Test you took is actually an example of a Likert scale.
Thurstone Scale
Louis Leon Thurstone, considered as the Father of attitude measurement, developed the Thurstone
scale which consists of a collection of connected, dichotomous statements. He devised This attitude scale
to assess the person's level of favorability on an issue. To interpret the result, simply assign a score of 1 to
11 to each statement depending on how powerful you think the statement is. A higher score denotes a
more favorable stance, while a lower score denotes a more neutral stance.

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 Example of a Thurstone scale on the issue of abortion: https://prntscr.com/1295dvb
Semantic Differential Scale
Semantic differential scale attempts to ascertain an individual's reaction to specific words, ideas, or
concepts by ratings on bipolar scales identified by contrasting adjectives at each end. For example: love-
hate, satisfied-unsatisfied, boring-interesting, etc.
Example of a semantic differential scale: https://prntscr.com/129612h
SENTENCE COMPLETION
The benefit of using the sentence completion format is that it captures everything each student thinks
of. However, there are certain drawbacks to this. One is students faking their responses as they tend to
offer answers that are favorable to the teacher's liked responses. Another is scoring since it takes more
time and is more subjective than the other traditional objective formats.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES / EXERCISE

Open the link and complete the activity.

https://forms.gle/nPbqoh1iTvUGDFaU8

TEACHER INTERVENTION
Note ꓽ for clarification of the content of the lesson, the teacher will give a 1-hour online meeting per
week.

PRACTICE TASK / ASSESSMENT

A. Construct a rating scale for each of the following situations:
B. Construct a checklist for each of the following activities:
Upload your files here.

https://forms.gle/6A6XeAGNGeKfKaJ16

ASSIGNMENT
Mini Case Study: Read and examine the case thoroughly. At the end, write an analysis of the case.

Where Went Wonder?:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kjmLLwv9tvThRyS-Sv2nPEi7pxFbxH1gylXdJ1H0WfE/

Reflection: Review the learning outcomes for the lessons 1 & 2 of this module and select one or
more that represented new learning for you or struck you as most significant.
Write a short reflection that captures your current understanding.

Input responses here.

https://forms.gle/wnctpJ8jZD8LMrH96

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REFERENCES/ READING MATERIALS
Gable, R.K. (1986). Instrument development in the affective domain. New York City, USA: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7259-0

Krathwohl, D.R., Bloom, B., & Masia, B.B. (1964). Taxonomy of educational objectives, Handbook II: Affective domain. New York:
David McKay Co.

McCoach, D.B., Gable, R.K., & Madura, J.P. (2013). Instrument development in the affective domain: School and corporate applications
(3rd ed.). New York City, USA: Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Navarro, R.L. & Santos, R.G. (2013). Authentic assessment of student learning outcomes: Assessment of Learning 2 (2nd edition). Quezon
City: Lorimar Publishing, Inc.

Popham, W.J. (2017). Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know (8th ed.). USA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Rokeach, M. (1973). The nature of human values and value systems. New York: Free Press.

Snowman, J. &Biehler, R. (1997). Psychology applied to motivation. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.

Tohidi, H. & Jabbari, M.M. (2011). The effects of motivation in education. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 31(2012), 820-824.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.12.148

Usher, A. & Kober, N. (2012). Student motivation—An overlooked piece of school reform. Center on Education Policy.

Wu, W., Kao, H., Wu, S., & Wei, C. (2019). Development and evaluation of affective domain using student’s feedback in entrepreneurial
massive open online courses. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1109. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01109

Blogasiaph (2019, April 6). Development of affective assessment tools. Ruel Positive Blog. http://www.ruelpositive.com/development-affective-
assessment-tools

McLeod, S. A. (2019, August 03). Likert scale. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/likert-scale.html

Silva, V. (2020, April 21). 8 factors that affect students’ motivation in education. Built by Me. https://www.builtbyme.com/students-motivation-
in-education/

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