Teachers’ beliefs about inquiry-based learning and its impact on formative assessment practice

ABSTRACT

Background

Inquiry pedagogy has been advocated as means to engage and motivate students to learn science. The development of teacher formative assessment practice in inquiry is key for a successful implementation of student-centred inquiry pedagogy in the classroom.     

Teachers developing assessment for learning: impact on student achievement

While it is generally acknowledged that increased use of formative assessment (or assessment for learning) leads to higher quality learning, it is often claimed that the pressure in schools to improve the results achieved by students in externally‐set tests and examinations precludes its use. This paper reports on the achievement of secondary school students who worked in classrooms where teachers made time to develop formative assessment strategies. A total of 24 teachers (2 science and 2 mathematics teachers, in each of six schools in two LEAs) were supported over a six‐month period in exploring and planning their approach to formative assessment, and then, beginning in September 1999, the teachers put these plans into action with selected classes. In order to compute effect sizes, a measure of prior attainment and at least one comparison group was established for each class (typically either an equivalent class taught in the previous year by the same teacher, or a parallel class taught by another teacher). The mean effect size in favour of the intervention was 0.32.     

The degree to which students and teachers are involved in second-level school processes and participation in decision-making: an Irish Case Study

The Education Act (1998 Education Act. 1998. Dublin: Government Publications. [Google Scholar]) is a key policy document in Irish education, emphasising the rights, roles and responsibilities of key stakeholders, including parents, teachers and pupils in schools. Since 1998 the Department of Education and Skills (DES) has stressed the need to introduce an increased role for teachers and pupils in decision-making. It is therefore timely to explore the response of teachers and students to such a collaborative school environment in a rural second-level school of approximately 600 students. Transition year (TY) students (ages about 15–16) and their teachers were surveyed by questionnaire and interviewed. It finds that while the school is proactive in involving students and teachers in decision-making, a source of social, personal and professional empowerment, experienced teachers, and students in particular, want a more substantial voice. For example, most students want more say. They want class discussions or a vote, not just Student Council (SC) representation, on important and not just trivial issues. They want involvement before decisions are taken, with more feedback. Overall, participation is considered important by all stakeholders.     

The immediate and longer‐term effectiveness of a speech‐rhythm‐based reading intervention for beginning readers

Despite empirical evidence of a relationship between sensitivity to speech rhythm and reading, there have been few studies that have examined the impact of rhythmic training on reading attainment, and no intervention study has focused on speech rhythm sensitivity specifically to enhance reading skills. Seventy‐three typically developing 4‐ to 5‐year‐old children were randomly allocated to one of three treatment groups and received a speech‐rhythm‐based intervention, a phonological‐awareness‐based intervention, or a control intervention over 10 weeks. All children completed pre‐test, post‐test and delayed post‐test measures of speech rhythm sensitivity, single‐word reading, phonological awareness and vocabulary. The results show that it is possible to train speech rhythm sensitivity in this age group and that children who undertook the speech rhythm intervention showed a significant improvement in their word reading performance compared to children in the control group. Group differences were maintained 3 months later.     

Non‐numeric Intrajudge Consistency Feedback in an Angoff Procedure

The credibility of standard‐setting cut scores depends in part on two sources of consistency evidence: intrajudge and interjudge consistency. Although intrajudge consistency feedback has often been provided to Angoff judges in practice, more evidence is needed to determine whether it achieves its intended effect. In this randomized experiment with 36 judges, non‐numeric item‐level intrajudge consistency feedback was provided to treatment‐group judges after the first and second rounds of Angoff ratings. Compared to the judges in the control condition, those receiving the feedback significantly improved their intrajudge consistency, with the effect being stronger after the first round than after the second round. To examine whether this feedback has deleterious effects on between‐judge consistency, I also examined interjudge consistency at the cut score level and the item level using generalizability theory. The results showed that without the feedback, cut score variability worsened; with the feedback, idiosyncratic item‐level variability improved. These results suggest that non‐numeric intrajudge consistency feedback achieves its intended effect and potentially improves interjudge consistency. The findings contribute to standard‐setting feedback research and provide empirical evidence for practitioners planning Angoff procedures.     

Sustainable Procurement: Integrating Classroom Learning with University Sustainability Programs

Organizations are facing increased pressure from various stakeholders to address issues of sustainability, resulting in a growing demand for sustainability education and training. Procurement groups remain the key drivers of many sustainability‐related strategies, placing pressure on universities to integrate sustainability concepts into the business curriculum. This article describes a replicable educational model that allows students to learn about sustainable procurement while concurrently promoting sustainability within the university community.     

Young,free and single? Theorising partner relationships during the first year of university

Recent research into young people’s private social worlds has highlighted the significance of family and friend relationships for students’ experiences of the transition to university. Drawing on data generated through a qualitative longitudinal study with 24 young women undergraduate students, this paper provides an original contribution to this growing body of literature by bringing committed partner relationships into view. The following discussion uses the notion of the ‘moral tale’ in order to reveal the ways in which singleness and commitment to a partner were experienced and articulated by young women undergraduate students at this important juncture. This paper raises important questions about how young women are able to take on ‘traditional’ and ‘authentic’ student identities whilst also remaining connected to important sources of love and support at this time of heightened change