This diploma thesis Formative Assessment in Primary School Education deals mainly with the classroom assessment, which provides the pupils with purposeful feedback on their learning at the time when their performance can still be improved. It is a very frequent assessment of pupil's progress. The first part of this diploma thesis deals with classroom assessment and describes the different types of assessment, its forms and tools. After embedding formative assessment to the context of classroom assessment, the thesis deals with the definition of this term and it closely clarifies its history, different approaches, and it especially specifies the use of formative assessment in practice. Part of the text, which is concerned with formative assessment strategies, closely explains concepts such as feedback, dealing with mistakes, questioning or peer-feedback. Major part of this work is dedicated to formative assessment techniques, which may function as a collection of valuable ideas and recommendations for teachers about working with pupils and assessing them in class. The second part of this diploma thesis presents an empirical research concerned with assessment of two teachers of Social Science and Czech language and literature at the selected primary school. Through case-study are examined these: in...

I denna uppsats görs en ansats till att beskriva de åländska grundskollärarnas tolkning och praktiserande av formativt lärande, detta med ett samhällsvetenskapligt perspektiv. Studien görs i ljuset av aktuella pedagogiska mediala inlägg och den trend kring formativa metoder som just nu råder. Resultatet baseras på aktuella nationella (Sverige och Finland) och internationella studier och forskningsöversikter samt aktuella teorier om formativt lärande. Empirin utgörs av en enkätundersökning riktad till samtliga grundskollärare på Åland. Resultat och syntes presenteras utgående från de två frågeställningarna: Vad inbegriper de åländska lärarna i begreppet formativt lärande, samt hur praktiserar de åländska lärarna formativt lärande och vilka samband kan utläsas på basen av förutsättningarna på Åland? De insamlade enkätsvaren består av kvalitativt material vilket sedan kvantifierats inför analyserna. Analyserna utgörs av deskriptiv kvalitativ sammanställning i form av tabeller och katalogisering av utsagor samt genomförande av kvantitativa sambandsanalyser bland annat med hjälp av index. Några allmängiltiga slutsatser låter sig inte formuleras på grund av ett stort externt bortfall men en del tendenser och antydningar träder fram i resultatet. Kring förståelsen av begreppet formativt lärande verkar de flesta åländska lärarna koppla ihop det med de tre metodfaserna: elevens nuläge, mål och vad nästa steg är. Få lärare drar paralleller till att formativt lärande också består av lärarperspektivet där denna skall (om)forma sin egen undervisning. Att feedbacken har en viktig roll inom formativt lärande framträder också i resultatet. Forskningsbaserade utvecklingsarbeten inom pedagogiska områden verkar inte vara utbrett på Åland. Vad gäller de sambandsanalyser som genomförs med bakgrundsvariabler - exempelvis lärarnas examinationsland och arbetserfarenhet - och index är det svårt att dra några slutsatser. Starkast samband går dock att finna mellan index Feedback och index Elevdelaktighet samt mellan index Feedback och index Kollegialt lärande. Resultatet antyder också att lärare med finländsk examen jämfört med de med svensk kan vara mer frekventa användare av formativa metoder. / In this thesis, an effort is made to describe the interpretation and practice of formative learning by the Åland elementary school teachers from a social science perspective. The study is conducted in the light of current pedagogical medial posts and the trend currently surrounding formative methods. The result is based on current national (Sweden and Finland) and international research studies and reviews as well as current theories of formative learning. The empirical data consist of a survey conducted for all primary school teachers in Åland. Results and ideas are presented on the basis of the two questions: What do the Åland teachers include in the concept of formative learning, and how do the Åland teachers practice formative learning and which correlations are possible to derive from the conditions in Åland? The collected survey data consist of qualitative material which then was quantified before the analysis. The analysis consists of a descriptive qualitative synthesis in the form of tables and cataloging of statements as well as the implementation of quantitative correlation analyzes using indexes. Although some general conclusions are difficult to formulate due to a large external drop-out, some trends and suggestions appear in the result. Regarding the concept of formative learning, most Åland teachers seem to make a link with the three methodological stages: the student's current situation, goals and what the next step is. Few teachers draw parallels to the fact that formative learning also consists of the teacher's perspective where the teacher should reshape his/hers own teaching. The fact that feedback has an important role in formative learning is also reflected in the results. Research-based developmental work in educational areas does not appear to be widespread in Åland. With regards to the correlation analysis carried out with background variables, such as the teachers' country of degree and work experience, and indexes, it is difficult to draw any conclusions. However, the strongest correlation can be found between feedback index and student-participation index as well as between feedback index and collegial-learning index. The result also suggests that teachers with Finnish degrees may be more frequent users of formative methods compared to teachers with Swedish degrees.

Alors que les gouvernements cherchent à améliorer le rendement des systèmes scolaires qu’ils financent, l’intérêt des dirigeants porte sur les résultats des élèves mais aussi sur le rendement des professionnels de l’éducation, dont les directions d’école. Cette étude a pour but de contribuer au développement de la connaissance sur l’évaluation du rendement de ces dernières en répondant à la question : Comment les directions d’école perçoivent-elles la pratique réflexive dans leur processus d’évaluation? La recension des écrits montre que les directions qui ont le plus de succès jouent un rôle actif dans leur amélioration et que la pratique réflexive accroît la pertinence du perfectionnement professionnel et par conséquent le rendement de la direction. L’étude propose un cadre conceptuel qui tient compte du perfectionnement professionnel, de l’évaluation axée sur l’apprentissage et de la pratique réflexive. Cette recherche suit une méthodologie mixte afin de déceler les tendances et les perceptions quant aux pratiques à l’étude. D’abord, un questionnaire à choix de réponses a été administré sur Internet et les réponses de 65 directions d’écoles de langue française de l’Ontario ont été traitées de façon quantitative. Ensuite, des entrevues semi-structurées avec dix des répondants ont permis d’approfondir le sujet par une méthode qualitative en offrant l’occasion aux participants de partager leur vécu. Les résultats dévoilent que le perfectionnement professionnel occupe peu de place dans l’évaluation du rendement bien que les participants se servent d’objectifs de croissance professionnelle. La pratique réflexive est souvent déclenchée par un inconfort, par un succès ou par une occasion de perfectionnement ou est provoquée par des situations extérieures transposées à la situation de l’école du participant. Les échanges structurés et les discussions franches entre collègues et avec le superviseur favorisent la pratique réflexive. La rétroaction spécifique du superviseur donne des pistes d’amélioration appuyées d’un soutien. Les participants reconnaissent qu’ils jouent un rôle actif dans leur évaluation et recherchent un encadrement orienté vers l’amélioration. Les participants perçoivent que la pratique réflexive occupe une grande place dans leur processus d’évaluation, qu’ils soient encadrés par le superviseur dans un processus axé sur leur amélioration ou qu’ils s’auto-évaluent quand le processus est flou.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the challenges affecting teachers’ classroom assessment practices and to explore how these challenges influence effective teaching and learning. The study was qualitative in nature and employed an instrumental case study approach. Semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analyses were used in the investigation. The study utilized the conceptual framework based on the model suggested by Hargreaves, Earl and Schmidt (2002). The model comprised four perspectives – technological, cultural, political and postmodern, with the intention of accounting for teachers’ assessment practices. Teachers from four different schools in North West Province were interviewed and observed. The data collected through the observations and interviews allowed me to map out the different challenges encountered by teachers in their classroom assessment practices. I also analysed documents that teachers used in conducting assessment. Document analysis was used to triangulate the information collected through observations and interviews. Textual data was analysed using content analysis. The teachers’ narratives varied according to their teaching experience and background within the diverse contexts of their particular school environments. Major challenges that emanated from this study were policy interpretation, overcrowding, support, parental involvement, moderation mechanisms (internal and external), assessment planning, implementation and communication as well as lack of resources. In order to address these challenges, teachers relied on cluster meetings, their colleagues and mostly their personal experiences. The study also revealed that teachers’ understanding and practices of classroom assessment are influenced by their social and educational context. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Der Übergang von Schule zu Hochschule verläuft unbefriedigend, wenn die Passung von Studieninteresse und Fähigkeiten der Studienanfänger_innen mit den Anforderungen des Studiums nicht optimal ist. An der Universität Jena werden ein Online Self-Assessment und ein lernbezogenes Beratungsangebot, aufbauend auf einer multimethodischen Bedarfsanalyse, entwickelt. Erste Ergebnisse zeigen den Zusammenhang von unrealistischen Erwartungen, geringer Studienzufriedenheit und erhöhter Abbruchneigung. Lernbezogene Präventionsstrategien hängen negativ mit erlebter Belastung durch Lernschwierigkeiten zusammen. Der Artikel stellt Ergebnisse der Bedarfsanalyse und die entstehenden Unterstützungsangebote vor.

Traditional tests for large-scale assessment of mathematics learning have been criticized for several reasons, such as their mismatch between the vision of mathematical competence and the content covered by the test, and their failure to provide relevant information for guiding further learning and instruction. To achieve that large-scale assessments can function as tools for monitoring and improving learning and teaching, one has to move away from the rationale, the constraints, and the practices of traditional tests. As an illustration this paper presents an alternative approach to largescale assessment of elementary school mathematics developed in Flanders, Belgium Using models of item response theory, 14 measurement scales were constructed, each representing a cluster of curriculum standards and covering as a whole the mathematics curriculum relating to numbers, measurement and geometry. A representative sample of 5,763 sixth-graders (12-year-olds) belonging to 184 schools participated in the study. Based on expert judgments a cut-off score was set that determines the minimum level that students must achieve on each scale to master the standards. Overall, the more innovative curriculum standards were mastered less well than the more traditional ones. Few gender differences in performance were observed. The advantages of this approach and its further development are discussed.

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This thesis provides findings from a qualitative study that explores the assessment process undertaken by teachers in Swedish primary technology education. The thesis aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of how teachers assess in technology education. In this study assessment with the purpose of acquiring information in order to adjust the teaching to the pupils’ needs for future progress is explored in particular. Teachers’ work with assessment is explored in two teacher-focused sub-studies. Sub-study 1 focuses on the long-cycle formative assessment and on the formal documentation of pupils’ attainment, the so-called IDP with written assessment. Sub-study 2 explores the short cycle of formative assessment and highlights two teachers’ classroom assessments practice. The results presented are built upon authentic samples of assessment documents (IDPs), classroom observations and teacher interviews. The study shows that the teachers are alone in the planning, executing and follow-up of technology education. Support is both asked for and needed. / <p>QC 20121109</p>

L’évaluation des apprentissages occupe une place importante dans les dispositifs de formation. Les décisions évaluatives peuvent avoir un impact majeur sur l’avenir professionnel de l’apprenant. Les enjeux peuvent être également élevés pour toute la société. Par ailleurs, bien que l’enseignant soit le premier responsable de l’évaluation, d’autres acteurs internes et externes y participent : les évalués, les acteurs institutionnels, les décideurs du ministère, les organismes accréditeurs, etc. L’évaluation semble bien plus complexe qu’elle n’y paraît. Dans le contexte de l’enseignement supérieur tunisien, il y a un manque de recherche dans le champ de l’éducation et plus particulièrement en lien avec la question de l’évaluation des apprentissages. C’est pourquoi cette étude se propose de tenter de dissiper le flou qui entoure les pratiques évaluatives, qui, à notre connaissance, n’ont pas été traitées comme objet de recherche dans le contexte de l’université tunisienne. Dans la présente étude, le concept de « culture d’évaluation » est central. L’analyse culturelle réalisée s’appuie sur la forte ressemblance entre les concepts de culture et celui de pratique. Cela nous a conduit à adopter un cadre d’analyse inspiré de la théorie des architectures de la pratique (Kemmis, 2009; Kemmis et al., 2014b). Les objectifs spécifiques consistent d’abord à décrire en détail les pratiques d’évaluation des apprentissages des enseignants ciblés et, ensuite, à identifier les patrons culturels associés à ces pratiques. L’ethnographie est la méthodologie retenue pour cette recherche. Elle implique de mener une étude de terrain auprès d’un groupe social de « natifs ». Il s’agit d’un groupe d’enseignants appartenant aux disciplines de l’ingénierie œuvrant à l’université de Gafsa. Les données ont été recueillies à l’aide des méthodes de l’entrevue individuelle semi-dirigée, de l’observation participante et de l’étude de documents. L’analyse des pratiques évaluatives dans le cadre de cette étude a permis de dégager quelques constats généraux. D’abord, l’évaluation est avant tout un dispositif technique. Il s’agit en outre d’une activité plurielle où des pratiques singulières se développent. Néanmoins, les enseignants tendent à suivre un processus officiel générique. Un autre constat concerne le caractère solitaire de l’activité d’évaluation qui se manifeste dans le manque de collaboration et l’existence de pratiques de « bricolage ». Il apparaît aussi que les enseignants sont insatisfaits des pratiques évaluatives existantes et tentent par de multiples moyens de les améliorer, mais sans impact réel. Le système évaluatif officiel est trop rigide pour permettre de vrais changements dans les pratiques. Cela contribue à renforcer la logique du devoir qui consiste à répondre aux exigences administratives en matière d’évaluation. Paradoxalement, les prescriptions officielles ne sont pas toujours respectées. Les résultats montrent également l’existence de conflits dans les activités d’évaluation collaboratives. Tous ces éléments conduisent à un manque de transparence dans l’évaluation. Finalement, les résultats suggèrent une certaine prévalence de la tolérance dans la culture d’évaluation. À travers cette étude, nous présentons une ethnographie assez détaillée en tant que contribution importante pour la recherche en évaluation. Les acteurs du terrain pourraient s’y référer pour développer des dispositifs de formation plus efficaces en ingénierie. / Assessment of learning occupies a central position in training structures. Assessment decisions can have a major impact on the learner professional future. The stakes can be high for all the society as well. In addition, although the teacher has the lead responsibility for assessment, other internal and external actors are involved: the students, the institutional actors, the decision-makers at ministry level, accreditation bodies, etc. Assessment seems much more complex than it looks. In the context of Tunisian higher education, there is a lack of research in the field of education, especially regarding the issue of assessment of learning. Consequently, this study proposes to dispel the lack of clarity that surrounds assessment practices, which, to our knowledge, have not been considered as a research topic in the context of the Tunisian university. In this study, the concept of "culture of assessment" is central. The cultural analysis undertaken is based on the strong similarity between the concepts of culture and that of practice. This led us to adopt an analytical framework inspired by the theory of architectures of practice (Kemmis, 2009; Kemmis et al., 2014b). This research had two specific research objectives: first, to provide a detailed description of the targeted teachers assessment practices and, secondly, to identify the cultural patterns related to these practices. We have chosen ethnography as a research methodology in this study. It involves conducting field research with a social group of "natives". It’s a group of engineering teachers working at the University of Gafsa. Data were collected using the following methods: semi-structured individual interview, participant observation and documents. In this study, the analysis of assessment practices allowed us to form few overall observations. First of all, assessment is primarily a technical process. It is also a plural activity where unique practices develop. However, teachers tend to follow a generic formal process. Another conclusion concerns the solitary nature of the assessment activity which manifests itself in the lack of collaboration and the existence of improvisation practices. In addition, it appears that teachers express dissatisfaction with existing assessment practices and try in many ways to improve them but with no real impact. The official assessment system is too rigid to allow real changes in practices. This contributes in reinforcing the logic of duty which consists in trying to meet the administrative requirements for assessment. Paradoxically, official requirements are not always respected. The results also show the existence of conflicts in collaborative assessment activities. We also concluded that assessment lacks transparency. Finally, the results suggest a certain prevalence of tolerance in the assessment culture. In this study, we present a quite detailed ethnography as an important contribution to research on assessment. Actors in the field could use it as a reference in order to develop more effective training systems in the field of engineering.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) and other atopic diseases are strongly related to skinbarrier dysfunction, a biomeasure which has limited and unsatisfactory assessmenttechniques. Machine learning (ML) powered electrical impedance spectroscopy(EIS) has been shown to differentiate defective barrier function in mice and adults. Techniques such as principal component analysis (PCA) andsupport vector classifiers (SVC) can be used as ML tools to evaluate EIS measurements. EIS measurements taken on unaffected skin of children aged between 4 monthsand 3 years were collected and analysed using the children’s AD status. Measurements were grouped into one of four groups based on this AD status; No AD (No AD was developed up until 2 years of age), Pre AD (measurements takenbefore the onset of AD), AD remission (measurements taken after the onset ofAD) and AD flare (measurements taken during active AD). A SVC model was trained on the raw EIS measurement data to distinguish measurements from twoof the binarized AD status groups; AD flare and No AD. An additional SVC model was trained on the No AD group, distinguishing measurements based onbinarized age groups: measurements taken at 4 months against measurements taken at 3 years of age. The AD model tested on AD flare against No AD within the test set yielded AUC of 0.92, with a sensitivity and specificity of 89.29% and 88.89% respectively. When testing on all groups of the test set, Pre AD and AD remission groups had group means between the AD flare and No AD groups. No data bias against age was detected in the model. The results of the age model showed that age could be chronologically identified by the age model. The AD model was able to differentiate active AD children from children never experiencing AD symptoms on visually unaffected skin and in turn detecting skin barrier dysfunction. Separate studies would need to be conducted to test the predictive power and external validity of the model. Age is a significant factor to consider when designing ML models using EIS data in children, with proper balance in the training set a data bias within the model can be avoided. EIS is a versatile technique due to its data rich nature. Machine learning powered electrical impedance spectroscopy measurements are able to detect skin barrier dysfunction. Age is a significant factor when measuring EIS on children, but can be managed. / Atopisk dermatit (AD) och andra atopiska sjudomar är starkt kopplade tillhudbarrärdefekter, en hudegenskap där diagnosverktygen är begränsade och otillräckliga. Maskininlärning (ML) i kombination med elektrisk impedansspektroskopi (EIS) har visats att kunna differentiera defekta hudbarrärer i möss och hos vuxna människor. Tekniker såsom principalkomponentanalys (PCA) och stödvektormaskiner (SVM) kan användas som ML verktyg för att utvärdera EIS-mätningar. Statistiska analysverktyg såsom reciever operator characteristics (ROC) tillsammans med arean under kurvan (AUC) och andra precisionsmått kan användas för att utvärdera ML modeller. EIS-mätningar utförda på opåverkad hud hos barn mellan 4 månader och 3 års ålder samlades och analyserades med hjälp av barnens atopiska status. Samtliga mätningarna grupperades i en av totalt fyra grupper baserade på deras atopiska status; Ingen AD (Ingen AD hade utvecklats upp till 2 års ålder), Pre AD (mätningarna togs innan sjukdomsförloppet), AD remission (mätningarna togs efter sjukdomsförloppet) och AD aktiv (mätningarn togs under sjukdomsförloppet). En SVM modell tränades på EIS-rådata för att särskilja mellan två av grupperna binärt; AD aktiv och ingen AD. En ytterliggare SVM modell tränades på endast ingen AD-gruppen för att särskilja mellan mätningarna tagna vid åldrarna 4 månader och 3 år, omgjorta till binära grupper.  AD modellen testades med en jämförelse mellan AD aktiv-gruppen och ingen AD-gruppen med test data och resulterade i en AUC på 0.92, med en respektive sensitivitet och specificitet på 89.29\% samt 88.89\%. Modellen testades även på de ytterliggare grupperna i test datan, Pre AD och AD remission som båda hade gruppmedelvärden som låg mellan AD aktiv-gruppens och ingen AD-gruppens. Inga systematiska fel med avseende på barnens ålder hittades i AD-modellen. Resultaten från ålders-modellen visade på att modellen kunde rangordna mätningarna baserat på ålder. AD-modellen kunde differentiera barn med aktiv AD mot barn som aldrig hade uppvisat atopiska symptom på opåverkad hud, vilket innebär en differentiering av hudbarrärdefekter. Separata studier är nödvändiga för att testa prediktiv prestanda hos modellen samt dess externa validitet. Ålder är en signifikant faktor när ML modeller med EIS-data ska designas, men med tillräcklig balans i träningsdatan kan systematiska fel förhindras. EIS är en versatil teknik med avseense på dess datakomplexitet. EIS tillsammans med maskininlärning kan särskilja defekta hudbarriärer hos barn. Ålder är en signifikant faktor när EIS mäts på barn, men kan hanteras.