CSEC ENGLISH SBA OUTLINE 2017-18

4A/S Ms P. Williams

SCHOOL-BASED ASSESSMENT (SBA)

Paper 031, School-Based Assessment – (SBA – 21 per cent of Total Assessment)

A single SBA will be required to complete both aspects of the English Syllabus: English A and English B.

A student who does English A only OR English B only OR English A and B will be required to submit

ONLY one SBA. The SBA will be credited for both English A and B. The SBA is expected to be done by

each student working as an individual, and as a member of a small group approved by the teacher

where:

1. individual refers to each student, who has responsibility for his/her own portfolio;

2. group refers to 4 – 5 students sharing a general topic, who work together to discuss and solve

problems, explain ideas, learn from peers, improve oral skills, and practise social skills and

leadership roles.

The marks assigned to a student will consist of:

1. his/her individual mark (Plan of Investigation, Oral Presentation, Reflection, Participation

Measure);

2. the mark assigned to the group ( Quality of Group Behaviour, Written Report).

PORTFOLIO

Each student will create a Portfolio on an issue/topic/theme/event selected by the students in the

group and approved by the teacher. The issue/topic/theme/event will also be orally presented. The

issue/topic/theme/event selected should allow for meaningful research and presentation.

The Portfolio should include the following:

1. PLAN OF INVESTIGATION – an introduction to the issue/topic/theme/event (A satisfactory

response should be no more than 100 words).

(a) Why did you choose this issue/topic/theme/event?

(b) What are the expected benefits to you as a student of English?

(c) How do you intend to collect relevant information on your issue/topic/theme/event

and use this in your presentation?

2. PARTICIPATION MEASURE – A measure of the candidate’s individual participation

assessed by

self and teacher.

3. INDICATORS OF GROUP ACTIVITY – A minimum of THREE pieces of material, for

example,

print, audio, visual media must be collected and presented in the Portfolio and should address

the issue/topic/theme/event selected. One of the three pieces must be print. These pieces will

form the basis for the process of enquiry and group work activities (cognitive, psychomotor,

affective) in which students will become aware of and practise English language skills.

4. REFLECTION – THREE entries in which the student reflects on the issue/topic/ theme/ event

selected should be completed. In the first entry the student must indicate how each piece of

material helped to shape his or her thinking about the issue/topic/ theme/event. The second

entry should discuss the use of language in the material selected and the third entry should

state how the process of doing the SBA helped the student to become a better person. The

reflection should be written in class under the teacher’s supervision.

5. WRITTEN REPORT – A written report of the investigation should be a summary of the

processes, procedures and outcomes of the research. It should include the material collected,

reasons for selection and analysis of the material. A satisfactory report should be about 250-
300 words in total.

6. ORAL PRESENTATION – A personal response related to issue/topic/ theme/ event should

be delivered orally in 3 to 5 minutes. The oral presentation should be delivered predominately in

standard English and in a genre of the student’s choosing, for example, drama, poetry, prose,

role play, speech, argument, exposition. The student should deliver a brief overview of the

presentation including the genre chosen, the sources used and a comment on the kind of

language used. A brief plan of the Oral Presentation must be submitted in the Portfolio.

32 Students will be in groups of 4. Each group has at least one male.

FUNCTION OF THE GROUP

1. Students will assist one another by proof reading each other’s work

2. Have group discussions and brainstorm ideas

3. Assist each other in research

4. Write the report together (Each person is assigned an individual task)

Students and teacher will collaborate to come up with themes that can be explored: (drug

abuse, violence against women, natural disasters, etc.). Themes can also be created by

students based on their interests.

Each group will select a theme. Each student in the group will select a sub-theme based on

the group theme. (Guide students to identify sub-themes through brainstorming.)

Example:-
 The Main Theme: Drug Abuse

The Sub-Themes can be:

* drug abuse treatments

* the effects of drug abuse

* how drug abuse contributes to crime

* how drug abuse affects teenagers

RESEARCH

After sub-themes have been selected, students will now find their three (3) pieces of

data/artefacts that further explain the theme. These pieces of data (artefacts) can come in the

following formats: a document (articles, tables, pictures, audio (a recording), video, an

interview etc.). Students will select materials that they can write a reflection on.

- One of the three pieces must be print. The audio component can be placed on a CD or Flash

Drive.

- Students do not NEED to do any interviews or questionnaires for this research.

REFLECTION (150 words for each)

Students will then write their reflection of how the document/artefact shaped their thinking

about the sub-topic they are exploring.

Students will then examine how the language helped them to further understand the sub-

theme/topic.

Students will write a reflection based on EACH piece of data/artefact that they will use in their

portfolio.

The final piece of reflection should state how doing this SBA/exploring the sub-theme helped

each student to become a better person or improved his/her attitude. (This can be done at the

end of the year.)

The entire group will have 12 pieces of data/artefacts in total. Students must use their own

pieces of material. Students should NOT have the same reflections. Each reflection must be

individual and should be written in class.

STRUCTURE OF THE REFLECTION

PARAGRAPH 1

State how the data/artefact has inspired you, affected you, impacted on you, and what does it

remind you of.

PARAGRAPH 2

Comment on the use of language. They will state if the language is formal, informal,

incorporates jargons, slangs, technical or distant tone. State how the language choice aids in

the understanding of the sub-theme/topic.

PARAGRAPH 3

State how the sub-theme/topic has helped you to become a better person, shaped your

attitude, etc. (This should be done at the end of the term.)

WRITTEN REPORT (300 words)

This is a report on the research process. This also states the outcome of the research.

You can answer these questions in your written report.

*What steps have you taken to get your work done?

*How did you collect the data?

*Are you happy with the pieces you have done?

*Are you happy working as a group?

*Did you learn individually or as a group?

*Did you meet as a group?

*Do you think the group was effective working together?

This report should be written as a group.

ORAL PRESENTATION (3-5 minutes)

What you have decided to do as your contribution to your theme/sub- theme. Students can

write a poem, drama piece, or prose piece. This is the students’ creative response after a brief

overview of the research process.

A brief plan of the oral presentation must be submitted in the portfolio. This must be a part of

the presentation.

This should be done in Standard English. Teachers will mark the presentation. The presentation

must be recorded and saved on a CD or Flash Drive.

PLAN OF INVESTIGATION (100 words)

An introduction to the issue/topic/theme/event (A satisfactory response should be no more

than 100 words).

(a) Rationale for choosing this issue/topic/theme/event.

(b) What are the expected benefits to you as a student of English?

(c) How do you intend to collect relevant information on your issue/topic/theme/event and use

this in your presentation?

Adapted from: https://csecenglishmadeeasy.blogspot.com/2016/10/a-breakdown-of-csec-english-

sba.html