Editorial
The landscape of education and…
Upcoming New Book in the Assessment in Schools: Principles in Practice Series
Fundamentals of Assessment: Principles and Practices for the Classroom Edited By Chue Kah Loong , Amelia Yeo, Kelvin Tan Heng Kiat , Tay Hui Yong
Offering a valuable introduction to those beginning their journey into educational assessment, this book provides both teachers and students insights into the challenging world of designing, implementing, and interpreting classroom assessments.
School-based assessments are essential in planning for quality teaching and learning, but getting assessments “right” can be a challenging task for teachers, especially those who are new to the profession. It is exacerbated by the fact that because learners often experience assessment last in the lesson cycle, it is also the last consideration in teachers’ minds. This text is divided into four sections: (a) foundations of assessment; (b) assessment design and development; (c) approaches to formative assessment; and (d) sustainable assessment for the future. By the end of the book, readers will have a solid understanding of classroom assessment practices and be equipped to design and implement assessments that support student learning, promote equity and inclusion, and take into account the important psychosocial aspects of assessment (e.g. how it impacts students’ well-being).
It is a must read for trainee teachers, education policy makers and in-service teachers looking to freshen their knowledge of the latest educational assessment innovations.
Click Here for more details.
Hopwood, N., Palmer, T. A., Koh, G. A., Lai, M. Y., Dong, Y., Loch, S., & Yu, K. (2024). Understanding student emotions when completing assessment: technological, teacher and student perspectives. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 48(2), 194–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2024.2358792
ABSTRACT
Student emotions influence assessment task behaviour and performance but are difficult to study empirically. The study combined qualitative data from focus group interviews with 22 students and 4 teachers, with quantitative real-time learning analytics (facial expression, mouse click and keyboard strokes) to examine student emotional engagement in an online Data Science assessment task. Three patterns of engagement emerged from the interview data, namely whizz, worker and worrier. Related emotions for these were discerned in the real-time learning analytics data, informing interpretations of associations between emotional and other forms of engagement. Instead of displacing human insights, learning analytics used alongside student self-report and teacher professional insights augment our understanding of student emotions in a naturalistic school assessment setting.
Geisinger, K. F. (2016). 21st Century Skills: What Are They and How Do We Assess Them? Applied Measurement in Education, 29(4), 245–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/08957347.2016.1209207
ABSTRACT
One of the “hottest” topics in the educational measurement community in the past decade has been the assessment of 21st century skills. This special issue demonstrates work being performed in this realm. The present article provides a context for the four primary articles that follow and a brief but broad view of some models of 21st century skills. The articles that follow are active projects developing assessments that focus on the changing cognitive skills required for this new century. It is clear that education that has emphasized memory and routine problem solving needs a metamorphosis and the measures described in this issue portend a brave new educational world.
Young, S. & Carless, D. (2024) Investigating variation in undergraduate students’ feedback seeking experiences: towards the integration of feedback seeking within the curriculum, Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 49:8, 1048-1060, DOI: 10.1080/02602938.2024.2338537 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2024.2338537
ABSTRACT
Feedback seeking research envisages pro-active student roles in feedback processes but students seem to hesitate to seek feedback from their teachers despite the potential benefits it offers. Appreciating variation in students’ experiences of feedback seeking is crucial for understanding this issue. This phenomenographic interview-based research investigated variation in the experiences of 24 undergraduate students regarding feedback seeking. An outcome space of five categories was developed: (1) feedback seeking as unnecessary, (2) feedback seeking through monitoring, (3) feedback seeking as impression management, (4) feedback seeking for academic achievement and (5) feedback seeking for broader learning. Broader significance emerges through charting interplay between the mutually reinforcing concepts of feedback seeking and feedback literacy, suggesting benefits of enabling students to appreciate the value of feedback seeking when transitioning to higher education. Surfacing some of the negative views of feedback seeking expressed by students enables us to propose some teaching and learning approaches to reduce their concerns. These implications for practice include developing curriculum-wide opportunities for sustained feedback seeking; establishing psychologically safe environments for feedback seeking to flourish; and designing complex iterative assessments that encourage feedback seeking and uptake. Future possibilities for students to seek feedback from generative artificial intelligence are briefly sketched.
Bessong, R. (2024). Creating Space for Teachers as Curriculum Leaders in Secondary Schools. IJLTER. ORG, 23(8), 265-288. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.23.8.14
ABSTRACT
Although the inclusion of teachers in curriculum leadership is essential for efficient teaching and learning, opportunities for teacher participation remain sparse. To address this gap, the present study aims to examine how school principals create opportunities for teachers as curriculum leaders (TCL) in secondary schools in South Africa. Employing a qualitative research approach through a multiple case study design, eight school principals were purposively (study was on principals) and conveniently selected (those who were willing to participate). Principals were individually interviewed and some school meetings were observed to obtain the empirical data. The thematically analysed data revealed that principals create opportunities for teachers to serve as curriculum leaders through teacher empowerment (teachers being delegated to analyse whole-school results). Principals also create participative decision-making structures (in which teachers freely suggest solutions to problems and principals share their visions through open communication). The findings also revealed that, through the professional development (PD) of teachers (time allocated for continuous PD and platforms provided for teacher collaboration), principals create opportunities for TCL. The implications of this study are that these strategies provide opportunities for teacher inclusion in matters such as curriculum development processes, as teachers are better informed of students’ needs. The study contributes to the knowledge of effective means of conducting and improving teachers’ PD that will culminate in desired student outcomes. Further research is recommended with a larger sample that may permit the generalisation of findings. Future studies could seek teachers’ perceptions on their preferred strategies for creating these opportunities.