Liberating the learner through self-assessment

An international agenda to raise educational ‘standards’ and increase the accountability of schools has the unintended consequence of increased uniformity around pedagogical practices, and of introducing assessment practices that influence the way students experience learning. This paper explores how the self-assessment experiences of primary and secondary school students in relation to their learning reflects their perceived respective institutional demands to account for their learning. Students’ dilemmas and experiences of school-based assessment include the use of pre-defined criteria for assessment tasks focusing the learner’s attention to ‘getting to the identified outcome and in the right way’. When school assessment systems do not reflect students’ socially and culturally valued learning, this reduces conversations around learning to that of outcomes. In contrast, by supporting learners to self-assess in increasingly sophisticated ways, teachers encourage students to think about their learning across contexts, and liberate them from thinking only about institutional assessment demands.     

“学生互评”现状研究

＂学生互评＂是课堂评价的方式之一。本研究通过对小学英语教师的调查问卷和访谈,发现＂学生互评＂不仅对评价者,而且也对被评价者都有好处,能够提高学生的学习和生活技能,培养学生的责任感、元认知策略和评价能力。研究也发现,学生互评虽然取得一定成效,但也存在一些问题,如,学生对互评的兴趣不够持久、学生评价的能力不足和部分学生认为＂互评＂缺乏公正性等。     

Young people’s views on choice and fairness through their experiences of curriculum as examination specifications at GCSE

Abstract

This paper presents data that consider ways in which young people experience the curriculum through the lens of subject examination syllabuses (for GCSEs), their associated assessment techniques and structures, and educational policies at national and school level concerning subject choice. Drawing upon an original qualitative dataset from a mixed-methods study of students’ views and experiences of GCSE from Northern Ireland (NI) and Wales, the paper explores students’ perceptions of choice and fairness in relation to studying various subjects at GCSE. Factors of importance are the subjects available to them through subject option selections at the school level and the ways in which GCSE courses are then administered. In relation to notions of choice and fairness, the paper considers how students see access to the curriculum moderated by national- and school-level decisions regarding the assessment of GCSEs; the extent to which assessment techniques such as tiering, controlled assessment, and modularity, as well as school-level policy decisions about timing of entry to GCSEs (known as early entry) all combine to restrict students’ access to the full range of subjects and influence the ways in which they experience these subjects as curricula within their particular school settings.     

The influence of experience on pre-service and novice teachers – the Croatian perspective

This paper researches students’ and teacher trainees’ personal experience of student-centred teaching during their education in grades 1–4 of primary school. The questionnaire comprised 45 statements and was completed by 403 primary school teacher trainees and 535 students (future teachers) at Faculties of Teacher Education in Croatia. The research results show that students do not have sufficient prior experience that they could use as inspiration in their future teaching practice and that in the course of their education they were mainly exposed to traditional approach to teaching. The majority of teacher trainees are aware of the importance of student-centred teaching although they cannot fully give up the control of students and educational process. This research opens up the issue of a paradigm change within the teaching system and education in Croatia as well as the issue of changes within education and professional development of teachers.     

The PGCE: Some Primary Concerns

The paper is set in the context of current debate on the PGCE for primary/ middle school students. It critically analyses the structure of many courses which rely on covering a number of primary school subjects and argues for the integration of these into units which will reflect the development of primary school education as a response to HM Primary Report. One way in which such integration could be achieved is outlined and the implications of this for school experience and assessment discussed.     

Supporting the transition to secondary school: The voices of lower secondary leaders and teachers

ABSTRACT

Background: The primary-secondary transition is recognised as a challenging time for students, and poor transition processes can negatively affect the students’ development. School professionals play an important role in enhancing the students’ transition experience, but international literature calls for more research concerning their perspective on this transition.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate what lower secondary school leaders and teachers in Norway emphasise when supporting the primary to lower secondary school transition.

Methods: A qualitative single case study approach was used. The participants were ten form teachers, their team leader and the principal (n = 12) within one lower secondary school. These were the individuals overseeing the transition process on behalf of a cohort of students who transferred to their school in August 2017. Data were collected through observations and focus group interviews. The data were transcribed and analysed qualitatively, inspired by the constant comparative method of analysis.

Findings and conclusion: Framed by their own experiences, the leaders and teachers emphasised ensuring predictability, establishing a safe psychosocial learning environment, giving the students time to learn to be lower secondary school students, and collaboration at the school level and with the families. These efforts are largely in line with what the research recommends. The findings indicate, however, that the teachers need more support during this process. The article concludes that a closer dialogical interaction with colleagues at the primary and secondary levels, parents and students could support the leaders and teachers to promote an even better transition.     

Teachers using annotations to engage students in assessment conversations: recontextualising knowledge

Assessment for Learning practices with students such as feedback, and self- and peer assessment are opportunities for teachers and students to develop a shared understanding of how to create quality learning performances. Quality is often represented through achievement standards. This paper explores how primary school teachers in Australia used the process of annotating work samples to develop shared understanding of achievement standards during their curriculum planning phase, and how this understanding informed their teaching so that their students also developed this understanding. Bernstein's concept of the pedagogic device is used to identify the ways teachers recontextualised their assessment knowledge into their pedagogic practices. Two researchers worked alongside seven primary school teachers in two schools over a year, gathering qualitative data through focus groups and interviews. Three general recontextualising approaches were identified in the case studies; recontextualising standards by reinterpreting the role of rubrics, recontextualising by replicating the annotation process with the students and recontextualising by reinterpreting practices with students. While each approach had strengths and limitations, all of the teachers concluded that annotating conversations in the planning phase enhanced their understanding, and informed their practices in helping students to understand expectations for quality.     

Students’ views of environments for learning from the primary to the secondary school

Research on transfer has alerted us to the anxieties that students experience as they move from a smaller school to a bigger school, and how the sudden differences in space, size, and their own position within a large organization can affect their identities as learners. Drawing on interviews with students in their first year in secondary school, this chapter examines the differences that students see as important in moving from the primary school to the secondary school. Three topics are discussed: freedom of movement, seating, and classroom display.     

漫谈小学语文教学中体验式学习的应用

在新课程背景下,体验式学习模式成了小学语文教学的重要途径。小学语文教师要善于引导学生进行体验式学习,营造开放、轻松的语文学习氛围,开展形式丰富的课堂体验活动,激发小学生的学习兴趣,陶冶小学生的道德情操,提高学生的语文运用能力。本文结合实际小学语文教学经验,先分析了体验式学习的特点,进而论述了体验式学习在小学语文教学中的应用策略。     

Introducing teachers to new semiotic tools for writing instruction and writing assessment: consequences for students’ writing proficiency

This article reports consequences for student writing quality based on a long-term professional learning project. Project teachers, representing all school subjects in grades 3–7, were presented with a writing construct, ‘Wheel of Writing’, and norms of expectation for writing proficiency. Participating teachers used the writing construct and norms as a basis for writing instruction and writing assessment. The project was conducted in 24 schools across Norway. 3088 students from 20 project schools participated. Two hundred and thirty three students from 4 schools were used as a comparison group. The investigation showed that students in primary school improved their writing quality significantly. Students in lower secondary school did not. However, there was substantial variation in writing quality effects between schools, classes, and individual students. For instance at a number of schools, project students from lower secondary school improved their writing quality significantly. The article discusses potential explanations of the effects.     

Every school a school of choice: school choice in Ireland as viewed through American eyes

‘Choice’ and ‘freedom’ as measured by the ability of parents to select their children's schools are deeply embedded in the national ethos of the United States of America. Wealthy American parents have always exercised school choice but minority and lowincome students are often trapped in failing schools. This paper is based on research conducted in a purposive sample of Irish primary schools into the nature of school choice. The authors examine five aspects of the Irish national primary school system that could provide models for American educators, whose vision often stops at the boundaries of the United States: education law, school choice for all, a national curriculum framework, the role of assessment, and the role of parents and educators in the creation of new schools. While arguably the five relate directly to school choice of different degrees, they collectively weave a web whereby school systems in the Republic of Ireland and the USA may productively be compared to the benefit of both.     

Peer assessment in a test-dominated setting: empowering, boring or facilitating examination preparation?

The literature suggests that peer assessment contributes to the development of student learning and promotes ownership of assessment processes. These claims emerge from research conducted primarily in Western contexts. This exploratory paper reports on the perspectives that a class of Hong Kong primary school students and their teachers have on their engagement with peer assessment. It draws on data collected through extensive interviews and classroom observations from a 2-year case study. The findings indicate that student perceptions about the usefulness of peer assessment follow from their perspectives on quality of peer feedback, peer language proficiency, and the novelty or repetitiveness of its processes. Teachers and students also viewed peer assessment as assuming a wider role in preparing for examinations and future secondary schooling. A key implication is that assessment practices are deeply cultural and, in test-dominated settings, peer assessment may have most potential when explicit links are drawn with preparation for summative assessment.     

试析影响教师使用教科书水平的因素--基于15位小学数学教师的调查

基于对15位小学数学教师使用教科书水平影响因素的调查发现,教师自身是主要因素,教材观支配着教师的教科书研究意识,一定的教龄和教科书执教经验是必要条件,教师对“学生现实”的准确判断以及高水平的学科素养是创造性使用教科书的前提。完善的教师考核机制与教研体制是教师提高教科书使用水平的动力,丰富的配套课程教学资源以及出版单位高质量的教材培训则是教师提高教科书使用水平的重要保障。     

中学生诚信心理发展特点的研究

运用诚信心理问卷,对1008名中学生在诚信倾向、诚实认知、诚信监控、诚信体验、信用认知等五个方面的诚信心理进行测查.研究结果表明,中学生的诚信心理发展特点是:在年级、性别、学校所处位置、学习成绩等四方面存在显著差异;而在民族变量上,中学生的诚信心理不存在显著差异.并且男生的诚信倾向和诚信体验两个维度好于女生,而诚信监控不如女生好;高二年级的诚信水平最高,与初一、初二、初三、高一、高三五个年级存在显著差异;农村学生的诚信倾向明显好于城镇学生,但诚实认知和诚信体验不如城镇学生好;优秀学生的诚信监控优于非优秀学生,而信用认知不如非优秀学生好.     

School district size and student educational attainment: evidence from Denmark

This paper analyses the effects of the size of school districts on educational attainment of students after compulsory school in Denmark. Using administrative microdata for individual students and their parents, logit models for the probability of obtaining different levels of education are estimated where the explanatory variables include district size, per student expenditure, and a wide range of controls for family background and district socioeconomic characteristics. It is found that attending schools in districts with a population of less than 15,000 (corresponding to less than 1800 students in public primary and lower secondary schools) has negative effects on educational attainment later in life: The probability of completing a secondary education (upper secondary school or vocational education) or a further or higher education is reduced by approximately 3 percentage points compared to having attended primary and lower secondary school in a district with more than 15,000 inhabitants.     

Students’ assessment preferences and approaches to learning: can formative assessment make a difference?

The purpose of this paper is to gain insight into the relationships between hands‐on experiences with formative assessment, students’ assessment preferences and their approaches to learning. The sample consisted of 108 university first‐year Bachelor’s students studying criminology. Data were obtained using the Revised two‐factor study process questionnaire (R‐SPQ‐2F) and the Assessment preferences inventory (API). The study shows that differences in assessment preferences are correlated with differences in approach to learning. Students’ preferences for assessment methods with higher‐order thinking tasks are significantly lower after actual experience with a formative assessment. Moreover, students also changed their approaches to learning after hands‐on experience with a formative mode of assessment. Surprisingly, this change evinced a more ‘surface approach’ to learning. Nevertheless, this is in line with other recent research findings. The paper ends with some possible explanations, and new directions for research are proposed.     

Exploring tensions in developing assessment for learning

This paper is based on a study of classroom practice of primary school teachers who were engaged in a programme of professional development to implement formative assessment in their classrooms. The programme sought to develop the skills and expertise of teachers to enable formative assessment to be used to support and improve the learning of students. This study examined changes in practice in these teachers’ classrooms, their students’ learning experiences, pedagogical decision‐making, and the challenges experienced by teachers and students in developing assessment for learning. Activity theory was used as an analytical tool and enabled the identification of important contradictions in the changing system that produced tensions and difficulties but also provided driving forces for change. The development of formative assessment practices was of necessity accompanied by a culture change in the complex classroom systems. For teachers change was characterised as a process of expansive learning that was motivated by a contradiction between the teachers’ beliefs about learning and the existing culture in the classroom. The change in classroom practice was enabled by the formative assessment philosophy and a range of mediating artefacts.     

Perceptions of Learning: Interviews with First and Second Graders in a Hungarian Primary School

The paper discusses children’ attitudes towards school and learning soon after entering primary school in Hungary. First and second grade primary school students (N?=?33) were interviewed. The interviews explored the following questions: What are the teachers’ and the children’s roles in the classroom? What is learning? Where do children learn? What kind of learning strategies do students use in arithmetic and reading? How are students evaluated in the school? What do students like best about school? The data suggest that the children quickly adapt to the school environment and, on the whole, have a positive attitude towards school and learning but—with a few exceptions—their views on the role of schooling in life reflect traditional, school subject centred goals and values and little awareness of the learning process.     

A New Approach for Assessment

Assessment reform is an indispensable component of school curriculum reform. The "English course guideline for primary and secondary school students" (2001) (Hereafter guidelines) advocates that assessment should stress on students, which means teachers, parents should pay more attention to students’ differentiae and their processes of study, but not only on the results they have got in the tests. As a result, portfolio, which has some advantages that accord the requirement of the new syllabus, is introduced as a new way of assessment, for it can help change the assessment system from quantity-oriented to quality-oriented. But unfortunately, portfolio assessment came across many difficulties in real practice. It needs some suggestions on portfolio application.     

Surveying inclusion in Greece: empirical research in 2683 primary school students

Students’ point of view for inclusion and for their classmates with disability is essential for its successful implementation. The objectives of this work are to examine the primary school students’ attitudes towards students with disabilities. The findings of the research indicate that the majority of typically developing students has a positive attitude towards their classmates with disabilities. However, they are not so much in favour of inclusion. According to the research data, a number of factors including the age of the students, their gender, their previous experience with people with disabilities, the information they have received from their parents regarding disabilities, intervene and determine the success of inclusion of students with disability but also influence the students’ attitudes towards their classmates with disability.