What is assessment for learning?

The idea that assessment is intrinsic to effective instruction is traced from early experiments in the individualization of learning through the work of Benjamin Bloom to reviews of the impact of feedback on learners in classrooms. While many of these reviews detailed the adverse impact of assessment on learning, they also indicated that under certain conditions assessment had considerable potential to enhance learning. It is shown that understanding the impact that assessment has on learning requires a broader focus than the feedback intervention itself, particularly the learner's responses to the feedback, and the learning milieu in which the feedback operates. Different definitions of the terms “formative assessment” and “assessment for learning” are discussed, and subsumed within a broad definition that focuses on the extent to which instructional decisions are supported by evidence. The paper concludes by exploring some of the consequences of this definition for classroom practice.     

The influence of a 6.5% carbohydrate-electrolyte solution on performance of prolonged intermittent high-intensity running at 30 degrees C

Nine male student games players consumed either flavoured water (0.1 g carbohydrate, Na+ 6 mmol x l(-1)), a solution containing 6.5% carbohydrate-electrolytes (6.5 g carbohydrate, Na+ 21 mmol x l(-1)) or a taste placebo (Na+ 2 mmol x l(-1)) during an intermittent shuttle test performed on three separate occasions at an ambient temperature of 30 degrees C (dry bulb). The test involved five 15-min sets of repeated cycles of walking and variable speed running, each separated by a 4-min rest (part A of the test), followed by 60 s run/60 s rest until exhaustion (part B of the test). The participants drank 6.5 ml x kg(-1) of fluid as a bolus just before exercise and thereafter 4.5 ml x kg(-1) during every exercise set and rest period (19 min). There was a trial order effect. The total distance completed by the participants was greater in trial 3 (8441 +/- 873 m) than in trial 1 (6839 +/- 512, P < 0.05). This represented a 19% improvement in exercise capacity. However, the trials were performed in a random counterbalanced order and the participants completed 8634 +/- 653 m, 7786 +/- 741 m and 7099 +/- 647 m in the flavoured water (FW), placebo (P) and carbohydrate-electrolyte (CE) trials, respectively (P = 0.08). Sprint performance was not different between the trials but was impaired over time (FW vs P vs CE: set 1, 2.41 +/- 0.02 vs 2.39 +/- 0.03 vs 2.39 +/- 0.03 s; end set, 2.46 +/- 0.03 vs 2.47 +/- 0.03 vs 2.47 +/- 0.02 s; main effect time, P < 0.01). The rate of rise in rectal temperature was greater in the carbohydrate-electrolyte trial (rise in rectal temperature/duration of trial, degrees C x h(-1); FW vs CE, P < 0.05; P vs CE, N.S.). Blood glucose concentrations were higher in the carbohydrate-electrolyte than in the other two trials (FW vs P vs CE:rest, 4.4 +/- 0.1 vs 4.3 +/- 0.1 vs 4.2 +/- 0.1 mmol x l(-1); end of exercise, 5.4 +/- 0.3 vs 6.4 +/- 0.6 vs 7.2 +/- 0.5 mmol x l(-1); main effect trial, P < 0.05; main effect time, P < 0.01). Plasma free fatty acid concentrations at the end of exercise were lower in the carbohydrate-electrolyte trial than in the other two trials (FW vs P vs CE: 0.57 +/- 0.08 vs 0.53 +/- 0.11 vs 0.29 +/- 0.04 mmol x l(-1); interaction, P < 0.01). The correlation between the rate of rise in rectal temperature (degrees C x h(-1)) and the distance completed was -0.91, -0.92 and -0.96 in the flavoured water, placebo and carbohydrate-electrolyte conditions, respectively (P < 0.01). Heart rate, blood pressure, plasma ammonia, blood lactate, plasma volume and rate of perceived exertion were not different between the three fluid trials. Although drinking the carbohydrate-electrolyte solution induced greater metabolic changes than the flavoured water and placebo solutions, it is unlikely that in these unacclimated males carbohydrate availability was a limiting factor in the performance of intermittent running in hot environmental conditions.     

Video Games as Tillers of Soil

Video games are pervasive in today's culture, and the time kids spend playing them may seem, from a teacher's perspective, as time that is lost to education. Sometimes, sadly, this is true. But many good video games, although not explicitly educational in focus, provide powerful experiences that are rich fodder for subsequent instruction. Looking at game play this way—as a source of rich prior experiences that can be brought to bear to illuminate curricular concepts—frees teachers to explore the potential benefits of having a classroom full of gamers.     

Experience and Explanation: Using Videogames to Prepare Students for Formal Instruction in Statistics

Well-designed digital games can deliver powerful experiences that are difficult to provide through traditional instruction, while traditional instruction can deliver formal explanations that are not a natural fit for gameplay. Combined, they can accomplish more than either can alone. An experiment tested this claim using the topic of statistics, where people’s everyday experiences often conflict with normative statistical theories and a videogame might provide an alternate set of experiences for students to draw upon. The research used a game called Stats Invaders!, a variant of the classic videogame Space Invaders. In Stats Invaders!, the locations of descending alien invaders follow probability distributions, and players need to infer the shape of the distributions to play well. The experiment tested whether the game developed participants’ intuitions about the structure of random events and thereby prepared them for future learning from a subsequent written passage on probability distributions. Community-college students who played the game and then read the passage learned more than participants who only read the passage.     

Perceived interplay between flexible learning spaces and teaching,learning and student wellbeing

In recognition of the evolving learning needs of twenty-first century school students, changes to teaching practices and the incorporation of technology are increasingly accompanied by modifications to the built classroom environment. Typically rows of desk and chairs are replaced with a range of furniture that can be configured in various ways to facilitate teaching and learning. This article explores the perceived relationship between these flexible learning spaces and teaching, learning and wellbeing outcomes. The perceptions and experiences of 12 school principals, 35 teachers and 85 students from four primary and four secondary schools in Australia were examined. Flexible learning spaces were reported to facilitate student-centred pedagogy and selfregulation, collaboration, and student autonomy and engagement. Modified spaces were reportedly more enjoyable, comfortable and inclusive and allowed greater interaction. The findings are discussed in light of Beaton’s five key design principles of student-centred learning environments to explore the connection between the physical classroom environment and teaching and learning. Self-Determination Theory is used to interpret how elements of the physical space facilitate the creation of a social environment that encourages greater motivation to learn and increases student wellbeing. The research contributes to an understanding of how flexible learning spaces are used and with what effect, thereby addressing a present gap in the literature.     

School-based early intervention and later child maltreatment in the Chicago Longitudinal Study

Investigated were the effects of participation in the Title I Child-Parent Centers (CPC) on substantiated reports of child maltreatment for 1,408 children (93% of whom are African American) in the Chicago Longitudinal Study. The CPCs provide child education and family support services in high-poverty areas. After adjusting for preprogram maltreatment and background factors, 913 preschool participants had significantly lower rates of court petitions of maltreatment by age 17 than 495 children of the same age who participated in alternative kindergarten interventions (5.0% vs. 10.5%, a 52% reduction). Participation for 4 to 6 years was significantly associated with lower rates of maltreatment (3.6% vs. 6.9%, a 48% reduction). Findings based on child protective service records (as well as combined protective service and court records) were similar. Preschool length, family risk, and school poverty were associated with lower rates of maltreatment. Parental involvement in school and school mobility were significant mediators of intervention effects.     

Childcare Educators’ Perceptions of and Solutions to Reducing Sitting Time in Young Children: A Qualitative Study

Young children spend a high proportion of their time at childcare sitting. Reducing sitting time or breaking up prolonged periods of sitting may be positively associated with health outcomes among children. The purpose of this study was to identify childcare educators’ perceptions of what environmental and policy modifications could be made within early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings to reduce sitting time among children during childcare. Eighty-seven educators from 11 ECEC centres participated in 11 focus groups between September 2013 and November 2013. Each focus group was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A semi-structured schedule was developed to investigate the educators’ perceptions of the influences on children’s sitting time at childcare. A problem–solution tree was developed to determine potential solutions for reducing total and prolonged sitting time in young children at childcare. Most educators were unaware of the high levels of sitting time among young children. Educators identified that childcare practices, the physical environment and the weather were factors that influenced children’s sitting time. Potential solutions to reduce sitting time were to break-up prolonged sitting time by using movement breaks, standing desks, movement transitions between activities, relocating key facilities around the space to promote movement, and integrating movement during learning activities. Also, educators suggested that posters could be used to increase awareness among educators about the benefits of reducing sitting time. Educators identified key practices that could be modified to reduce young children’s sitting time in childcare. These potential solutions should be evaluated to understand their effectiveness.