scholarly journals THE EXPRESSION OF LEARNING ORIENTED ASSESSMENT CULTURE: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT ASSESSMENT

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 514-524
Author(s):  
Irena Raudiene
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Testing ◽  
Classroom Assessment ◽  
Integrate Assessment ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
School Evaluation ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Assessment Culture ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
The City

This article presents the results of a thematic analysis conducted after informal interviews with 10 teachers and a head teacher of one secondary school in the city of Vilnius about their classroom assessment practices. Part of a larger critical ethnographic research exploring the change of school culture when introducing assessment innovation, this analysis reveals common classroom assessment practices, teachers’ beliefs about the role of assessment, and the anxiety the  school community shares around standardized testing and examinations. Literature suggests that both formative and summative assessment practices have great potential for improving students’ learning. Teachers are encouraged to integrate assessment into their teaching in order to identify where their pupils are in their learning and the steps they need to take for improvement and progress (Gardner, Hayward, Harlen Stobart, 2008). However convincing the arguments in favour of change are, the external school evaluation data shows that the real change in the way teachers assess students’ progress is very slow and hardly noticed. The concept of learning oriented assessment culture (Birenbaum, 2014) could provide more understanding about the nature of good classroom assessment and necessary conditions that help to sustain school efforts in improving assessment practices.  

scholarly journals Pre-service Teachers’ Decision-Making and Classroom Assessment Practices

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cherry Zin Oo ◽  
Dennis Alonzo ◽  
Chris Davison
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Classroom Assessment ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Initial Teacher Education ◽  
Integrate Assessment ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Supervising Teachers ◽  
Assessment Strategies

Classroom assessment practices play a pivotal role in ensuring effective learning and teaching. One of the most desired attributes of teachers is the ability to gather and analyze assessment data to make trustworthy decisions leading to supporting student learning. However, this ability is often underdeveloped for a variety of reasons, including reports that teachers are overwhelmed by the complex process of data analysis and decision-making and that often there is insufficient attention to authentic assessment practices which focus on assessment for learning (AfL) in initial teacher education (ITE), so teachers are uncertain how to integrate assessment into teaching and make trustworthy assessment decisions to develop student learning. This paper reports on the results of a study of the process of pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) decision-making in assessment practices in Myanmar with real students and in real classroom conditions through the lens of teacher agency. Using a design-based research methodology, a needs-based professional development program for PSTs’ assessment literacy was developed and delivered in one university. Following the program, thirty PSTs in the intervention group were encouraged to implement selected assessment strategies during their practicum. Semi-structured individual interviews were undertaken with the intervention group before and after their practicum in schools. This data was analyzed together with data collected during their practicum, including lesson plans, observation checklists and audiotapes of lessons. The analysis showed that PSTs’ decision-making in the classroom was largely influenced by their beliefs of and values in using assessment strategies but, importantly, constrained by their supervising teachers. The PSTs who understood the principles of AfL and wanted to implement on-going assessment experienced tension with supervising teachers who wanted to retain high control of the practicum. As a result, most PSTs could not use assessment strategies effectively to inform their decisions about learning and teaching activities. Those PSTs who were allowed greater autonomy during their practicum and understood AfL assessment strategies had greater freedom to experiment, which allowed them multiple opportunities to apply the result of any assessment activity to improve both their own teaching and students’ learning. The paper concludes with a discussion of the kind of support PSTs need to develop their assessment decision-making knowledge and skills during their practicum.

scholarly journals Explorations of Beliefs about EFL Teachers’ Roles from Both Teachers’ and Students’ Perspectives through Metaphor Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (29) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharihan Shawkat Azeez
Keyword(s):  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
English Teachers ◽  
Sentence Completion ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Teachers Experiences ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Efl Teachers ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
The University

Metaphor acts as a window into comprehending teachers’ experiences through providing insights into complex concepts of teaching and learning. As a result, it plays a crucial role in exploring beliefs about teachers’ roles in the teaching and learning process. To elicit ideas and beliefs which both teachers and students held about the role of English teachers, questionnaires were given to 30 teachers and 85 students in the University of Duhok, English Department. The questionnaire asked the subjects to provide their beliefs about English teachers’ roles by using a sentence completion task “An English teacher is…. because….”. Eight conceptual categories are introduced from the linguistic metaphors and example metaphors for each category are given in the results tables. The eight conceptual categories include: teacher as devotee, teacher as nurturer, teachers as provider / source of knowledge, teacher as cultural transmitter, teacher as authority, teacher as guider, teacher as a friend, and teacher as a nice beautiful soul. All participants expressed the same conceptual categories, but still they use different metaphors to express their views. An interesting feature of these results is that there are some parallel and overlaps of metaphors among different subjects. The findings of this study suggested subtle differences between students’ and teachers’ beliefs. This study will benefit teachers, curriculum designers, and researchers. Researchers may carry out comprehensive studies using metaphor as an investigating tool to better understand both students and teachers’ perceptions of the teachers’ roles. The results will help develop comprehensive and inclusive methods of teaching. Larger samples with variables such as gender, age, different locations, and proficiency of participants should be taken into consideration during future studies.

scholarly journals Building Teacher Capacity within the Evolving Assessment Culture in Canadian Education

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 447-460 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don A. Klinger ◽  
Louis Volante ◽  
Christopher Deluca
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Classroom Assessment ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Teacher Capacity ◽  
Canadian Education ◽  
Assessment Culture ◽  
The Impact

Lost in the focus on large-scale educational assessments for accountability purposes is the important role of teachers' classroom assessment practices. Teachers must understand the use of both large-scale and classroom assessment practices and theories, and professional development remains the primary method to develop these assessment capacities. However, traditional models of professional development typically have little, if any, effect. In recognition of the importance of building teachers' assessment capacity, and the limitations of traditional professional development, the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario, Canada, developed a Classroom Assessment Workshop Series to begin to build a systemic assessment framework for teachers. Through pre- and post-series surveys with 300 participants, and interviews and focus groups with facilitators, the authors' review and research explored the impact of the series on teachers' beliefs, self-efficacy, and knowledge of assessment practices and theory. The authors also explored the challenges that teachers experienced as they worked to understand and implement current conceptions of assessment. While teachers certainly valued the community created through the series and the opportunities to share their experiences, the findings found that teachers struggled to understand the theoretical foundations and use these foundations to further develop their own assessment practices. The research highlights the need for teachers to embrace a philosophy that integrates formative assessment practices and theories into their teaching and learning while also identifying the challenges associated with creating such an assessment culture. Current models of professional development may be more aligned with principles of effective professional learning, but truly changing teachers' classroom assessment practices may require a much more prolonged effort than those being provided.

scholarly journals Harnessing the New Modes of Learning: Teachers’ Perceptions and Classroom Assessment Practices for Students’ Over-all Development at Under Graduate Level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

2019 ◽  
Vol IV (III) ◽  
pp. 37-44
Author(s):  
Shahzadi Seema ◽  
Amjad Reba ◽  
Waqar Un Nisa Faizi
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Classroom Assessment ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Life Situation ◽  
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Data Collection Process ◽  
Real Life Situation

Currently, for improving students' learning, the focus is made solely on teaching strategies whereas assessment is practiced just for auditing and overlooks the improvement in students' learning. To this effect, a qualitative approach is executed to showcase teachers' perceptions regarding the use of classroom assessment practices for students' overall development. The sample of the study comprises 20 teachers, randomly selected, from five public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Relevant data were collected through semi-structured interview schedules while analyzed by adopting thematic approach. Cultural sensitivity was ensured during data collection process. The results revealed that teachers strongly asserted the use of classroom assessment practices for students' overall development. Teachers' emphasized that there is a need to equip the students with life-essential skills as the more students participate in classroom assessment practices, the more they will be able to develop skills and perform effectively in a real-life situation.

scholarly journals PERCEPTIONS AND PREFERENCES OF ENGLISH STUDENT TEACHERS ON THE ASSESSMENT PRACTICES

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pule Phindane ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Student Teachers ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Peer Assessment ◽  
Language Education ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Learning Tasks ◽  
University Of Technology ◽  
Self Assessments

Comprehending the role of assessment and the differential effects on developing students’ learning processes is still one of the most explored areas in higher education. The aim of this quantitative study is to investigate English student teachers ’perceptions and preferences on the assessment practices (i.e., formative). The participant were student teachers sampled from the Department of Social Sciences and Language Education, Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa. The outcomes showed that the assessment practices used by lecturers had an indispensable impact on students’ motivation, preparation for future learning tasks, and evaluation of study progress. The data obtained also revealed that while peer assessment is one of the least preferred assessment methods, presentations, self-assessments and research papers were the top preferences. The study outcome relates to previous research while also providing a better understanding into the link between individual differences in the assessment preferences and the learning strategies used by students throughout the years of specialization which might offer lecturers way forward for improving their educational practices.

scholarly journals Assessment - A Powerful Lever for Learning

2007 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorna Earl
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Assessment ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Policy Practice ◽  
New Findings ◽  
History Of ◽  
Changing Role

Classroom assessment practices have been part of schooling for hundreds of years. There are, however, new findings about the nature of learning and about the roles that assessment can play in enhancing learning for all students. This essay provides a brief history of the changing role of assessment in schooling, describes three different purposes for assessment and foreshadows some implications that shifting to a more differentiated view of assessment can have for policy, practice and research.

Educated in conspiracies? Specific (non) conspiracy beliefs and rationality as predictors of future teachers’ generic conspiracy beliefs and meta-beliefs across three countries

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theofilos Gkinopoulos ◽  
Myrto Pantazi ◽  
Sylvain Delouvée
Keyword(s):  
Critical Thinking ◽  
Middle School Teachers ◽  
Future Teachers ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Education Improvement ◽  
Conspiracy Beliefs ◽  
Role Of Teachers

A few studies have examined endorsement of conspiracy beliefs in cohorts of future teachers. We aimed to compare endorsement of conspiracy beliefs in future teachers, as well as the teachers’ beliefs about their students’ conspiracy beliefs in three countries. We recruited 1118 students in England, Greece and France, trained to become middle school teachers. We measured future-teachers’ generic and specific conspiracy beliefs, rationality/objectivity, beliefs in non-conspiracy explanations and their perceptions about the average student’s generic conspiracy beliefs. Differences per subject across countries and dependent measures were identified. Specific conspiracy beliefs, rationality/objectivity and official non-conspiracy explanations predicted teachers’ generic conspiracy beliefs. Teachers’ generic conspiracy beliefs, rationality/objectivity and specific conspiracy beliefs predicted teachers’ perceptions about the average student’s generic conspiracy beliefs. Discussion focuses on the role of teachers’ conspiracy beliefs in mapping out critical thinking and teaching strategies for education improvement.

scholarly journals Teachers' Perceptions of Action Research as a Tool for Professional Development: The Role of the ‘Research for Professional Development’ (RPD) Course for In-Service Omani Teachers

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saif Said Rashid Al -Abri
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Teachers Beliefs ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
Educational Field

When talking about the educational field in Oman, teachers' professional development is a considerable concern. A variety of professional development strategies have been introduced to teachers of English and have been put into practice. Action research is one of these strategies. It is introduced to teachers through a voluntary course, Research for Professional Development (RPD), which is a sixteen-session course and lasts for one semester. This course aims to raise teachers' knowledge and skills of action research in order to support them, as research practitioners, to enhance the quality of their work and to show initiatives in their schools. However, as it is relatively new in this context, this study attempted to explore teachers' beliefs on the values of this course with regard to their professional development and the extent to which these teachers adopted this strategy for their ongoing professional development after the course. The study was conducted in the Dakhiliya region of Oman and the data was collected from eight teachers through a semi-structured interview. The findings indicate a conception of the RPD course as a means to enrich Omani teachers' knowledge and skills of AR. The practical side of the course also raises participants' awareness of the possibilities of improving their work and gives them insights to solving their students' problems through systematic inquiries. This study also reveals that, although participants master this tool, very few of them conduct action research after the course and this is due to the lack of time, heavy responsibilities and lack of support. Therefore, this study raises the issue that although providing teachers with knowledge and skills of PD strategies is essential, enabling them to apply these strategies relies heavily on paying attention to their needs.

PROBLEMS OF STRAY ANIMALS IN NOVOSIBIRSK

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-91
Author(s):  
Elena E. Rinchinova ◽  
Diyara A. Takumova ◽  
Irina I. Bochkareva
Keyword(s):  
Urban Population ◽  
Domestic Animals ◽  
Legal Documents ◽  
Quantitative Indicators ◽  
The City

The article discusses main issues of organizing activities for the treatment of stray and street animals in the city of Novosibirsk. The important role of successful solving the problem of stray animals in ensuring environmental comfort and safety of the urban population is noted. Definitions of the concepts “stray animals” and “street animals” are given, the differences between them are emphasized. The main regulatory and legal documents governing the handling of stray and street animals are listed. The ways in which domestic animals get into a stray state are described briefly. The results of the collection and analysis of information on the activities of shelters for stray animals in Novosibirsk are described. The information on the quantitative indicators of the shelters are given. Conclusions on how to solve the problem of stray animals, relying on the latest regulations are drawn.

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