The purpose of this study was to understand how formative assessment interactions in developmental education reading, writing, and mathematics courses at a community college were experienced by both students and faculty members and how they were perceived to impact learning and teaching. The specific assessment technique studied involved a series of one-on-one, out-of-class Feedback Intervention (FI) interactions that focused on discussions regarding students’ strengths and weaknesses in relation to their course learning outcomes. In using a case study approach, I interviewed students and faculty members in focus group and individual settings. Using constant-comparative qualitative analysis, I examined their perceptions in order to better understand the impact student-faculty interactions had on students’ learning and faculty members’ teaching experiences. Questionnaires were also used to corroborate findings. The following research questions were used: (1) What are the contexts and learning experiences of developmental studies students? (2) How has formative assessment, specifically out-of-class interactions with their instructors, affected perceptions of their learning experiences? (3) How have these interactions affected developmental studies faculty members’ perceptions about their teaching? When I considered the overall impact of the student-faculty interactions, one overarching theme emerged: the FI interaction did have a positive impact on learning, and to a lesser degree, teaching. This theme was supported through two main findings related to learning: the interaction increased students’ motivation to learn and improved their learning strategies. In regards to teaching, the main finding was that facilitation of the FI interaction affected faculty members in that they became more learner-centered in their teaching strategies and methodologies. These findings confirmed a connective, dynamic learning process for both students and faculty members.

The purpose of this study was to understand how formative assessment interactions in developmental education reading, writing, and mathematics courses at a community college were experienced by both students and faculty members and how they were perceived to impact learning and teaching. The specific assessment technique studied involved a series of one-on-one, out-of-class Feedback Intervention (FI) interactions that focused on discussions regarding students’ strengths and weaknesses in relation to their course learning outcomes. In using a case study approach, I interviewed students and faculty members in focus group and individual settings. Using constant-comparative qualitative analysis, I examined their perceptions in order to better understand the impact student-faculty interactions had on students’ learning and faculty members’ teaching experiences. Questionnaires were also used to corroborate findings. The following research questions were used: (1) What are the contexts and learning experiences of developmental studies students? (2) How has formative assessment, specifically out-of-class interactions with their instructors, affected perceptions of their learning experiences? (3) How have these interactions affected developmental studies faculty members’ perceptions about their teaching? When I considered the overall impact of the student-faculty interactions, one overarching theme emerged: the FI interaction did have a positive impact on learning, and to a lesser degree, teaching. This theme was supported through two main findings related to learning: the interaction increased students’ motivation to learn and improved their learning strategies. In regards to teaching, the main finding was that facilitation of the FI interaction affected faculty members in that they became more learner-centered in their teaching strategies and methodologies. These findings confirmed a connective, dynamic learning process for both students and faculty members.

The introduction of No Child Left Behind increased performance expectations for students across the United States and compelled teachers to focus on standardized assessments instead of frequent formative assessments to monitor instruction and promote student learning. Common formative assessments (CFAs) help teachers align curriculum, assessment, and instruction while building the collective knowledge of the professional learning communities (PLCs). This qualitative case study analyzed the collaborative processes used by five sixth grade math teachers and one instructional coach (IC) at a Title I middle in the Southern United States to align the rigor between learning objectives, PLC-developed CFAs and classroom instruction. Of the teachers selected for the case study, the most experienced teacher had 35 years of teaching experience while the least experienced had two years of experience. This case study sought to answer the following overarching question: What collaborative processes are used to build CFAs in a PLC comprised of five sixth grade math teachers and one instructional coach at a Title I middle school in the Southern United States. The following sub-questions were also addressed: 1. What professional dialogue occurs when the sixth grade math PLC collaborates to develop CFAs that align with the rigor of TEKS and STAAR? 2. What resources does the sixth grade math PLC use to develop CFAs that align with the rigor of the TEKS and STAAR? Data was collected during collaborative CFA development sessions, eJournal reflection notes, one focus group, and supplemental documents from participants. Qualitative data analysis techniques included combing through the data for codes and using constant comparative analysis to determine main and sub-themes. The findings discovered that the sixth grade math PLC was methodical in their protocols to build CFAs. The progression from beginning to end involved deconstructing the TEKS, sharing instructional strategies, identifying anticipated student misconceptions and posing reflective questions to the group. The results of the case study revealed that the processes involved in creating CFAs were strategically implemented in a way that promoted precise alignment between curriculum, assessment, and instruction.

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No / This three year study investigates how undergraduate students engage with topic-based formative feedback on e-assessments consisting of multiple choice and extended matching questions. After submitting the assessment, the student does not receive directive feedback on individual questions, but instead they are shown diagnostic facilitative feedback on the different subject topic areas covered in the test. The study looks into student engagement with this type of topic-based feedback: engagement is measured in terms of time commitment, number of questions answered, and the distribution of timing of the student effort. Through quantitative analysis of three years of student data, the paper explores whether there is evidence of different engagement patterns between the stronger and weaker students, as measured by performance on the subsequent summative module examination. The paper concludes that there is evidence that the more successful students did engage with the formative assessments significantly more than the mid-ranking students, and the least successful students engaged least of all. Qualitative questionnaire data also indicate positive student attitudes towards this kind of feedback and suggest that the feedback is mostly used to evaluate the revision process.

The theoretical framework for this empirical study extends a trail of thinking from a social constructivist view of learning to the areas of assessment, evaluation and leadership. The relationship between social constructivist learning principles, formative approaches to assessment and evaluation, and collaborative leadership styles is explored and discussed. Learning and teaching developments in secondary schools have often fragmented the intrinsic elements of learning, teaching, assessment, evaluation and leadership. As Palmer (2007) so aptly puts it: ‘…we think the world apart.’ (p. 64). This study seeks to ‘think education together’ by taking a more integrated perspective. The aims of this study were to add to the body of knowledge in the area of assessment and evaluation through the adoption of the aforementioned integrated perspective, develop formative assessment and evaluation policies and practices in a secondary school to the extent that they are embedded in the school’s working culture and paradigm, and finally to chart the means by which change has been achieved. The research is argued to be located in the critical paradigm, adopts an action research methodology in which the researcher assumes a participatory, practitioner researcher role in conducting an ethnographic case study of a secondary school. A social constructivist theme was retained throughout the research design and although both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered, the study was conducted within an interpretative framework informed by symbolic interactionism. Data were gathered via a multi-method approach that included focus groups and semi-structured interviews, observation and accompanying field notes, document and classroom artefact analysis, and non-inferential statistics. Focus groups were used to check data sources, confirm interpretations, develop and disseminate new ideas and approaches, and refine developments based on feedback received. This process was informed by Gladwell’s (2000) notion of ideas taking on the qualities of viruses which in turn develop into epidemics. Participants’ early reluctance to accept a need to change was overcome through an initial ‘internal’ audit of current policy and practice relating to learning, teaching, assessment and evaluation, the results of which confirmed the ‘external’ judgements made by OfSTED and the Local Authority (LA) in terms of the need for the school to develop formative approaches to assessment and evaluation. A purposively selected assessment and evaluation focus group showed a commitment to formative ways of working, and was instrumental in defining and refining new policies for assessment and evaluation in collaboration with other focus groups, non-focus group colleagues, pupils and parents. Additional focus groups for pupil behavioural aspects and mentoring were embraced by the research rather than discouraged in order to retain an integrated ‘real world’ perspective. The aims of the study are shown to have been met in that new formative ways of working are now embedded in assessment policy and practice and the researcher has developed a new approach to whole school leadership. This study proposes a new way of thinking that embraces paradox rather than preserving divisions. Moreover, it argues a case for transformative education being reliant on taking this stance. The study also presents a picture of leadership and research based on co-existence and proposes a new ‘Stenhousian’ philosophy where research becomes the basis for leadership.

In Swedish schools the interest for formative assessment practices has increased during the last decade. This can partly be seen as a response to Sweden’s poor performance in international tests and rankings but it is also reflecting the advancement of knowledge within the field. This research paper aims to examine teachers understandings of the term formative assessment and what practices they associate to the term. It is carried out by semi-structured interviews of primary school teachers. The material has then been subjected to an inductive content analysis. To ensure reliability of the results teachers have been chosen from two different municipalities and four different schools. One of the municipalities has an explicit interest in formative assessment and has developed a local program for teachers to participate in. The results of the study show a vide range of varieties in how teachers comprehend the term formative assessment. The lack of a common understanding of the term creates consequences for the equality of education, both between classrooms and between schools. Furthermore the results show that there is a correlation between the time and support teachers are given to implement formative assessment in their teachings and the depth of their understanding of the term. If the results are confirmed by further research and causality is established, further steps should be taken to examine key factors for a successful implementation.

This study explored the formative learning cycle's ability to increase student confidence to create quality homework. Student from a socio-economically diverse school district in Western Pennsylvania reported their confidence levels on homework production on two surveys. The first survey provided a rapid response at the end of lessons taught using the formative learning cycle. The second survey was completed at the end of the study window. The results from these surveys indicate a positive correlation between the formative learning cycle's ability to increase self-regulation processes to confidently produce quality homework. / School of Education; / Educational Studies (General Education) / EdD; / Dissertation;

The wave and tidal energy sectors have received much interest in recent years, from policy-makers attentive to the prospect that ocean energy technologies could be capable of contributing towards meeting environmental targets; from utility companies that expressed interest in developing, constructing and operating array projects to export large quantities of clean energy from ocean based resources; and from Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and large multi-national Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) that were interested in undertaking technological development to commercialise wave and tidal energy converters that could successfully harness the energy contained within the ocean waves and tides. Within the existing research, development and innovation environment that has largely dominated the development of wave and tidal energy to date – rapid development of large MW-scale devices capable of utility scale power generation – technology developers have failed to reach the level of deployed capacity that was initially anticipated, despite the significant level of investment that has taken place. Indeed, the expected contribution of ocean energy in the wider energy mix, which has been written into policy documentation at both national and European level, has so far failed to materialise in the form of prolific multiple device array deployments. The research, development and innovation environment has not delivered on its intended objective of demonstrating commercial technology readiness, and the historic development trajectories for ocean energy technologies may not represent the most cost-effective route to product commercialisation. This research explores the wave and tidal energy research, development, and innovation environment through extensive stakeholder engagement within the ocean energy sector, and through application of suitable techniques from innovation theory. The purpose of this research was three-fold. Firstly, an objective analysis of the development of the wave and tidal energy sectors – building a comprehensive understanding of their development to date through extensive stakeholder engagement, and comparing wave and tidal energy technology development with that of historic energy technologies that have successfully entered into commercial operation – was necessary in order to identify whether the attempt by ocean energy technologies for rapid up-scaling of technology is consistent with the development pathway that was followed by energy technologies which have successfully transitioned from novel invention to full commercial operation. This work identified several dichotomies that are present in the nascent stages of technology development in the wave and tidal energy sectors. Secondly, the uncertainties surrounding existing capital and revenue costs, and the uncertainties within the potential future cost reductions associated with current technology trajectories, could lead to unsustainable investment requirements. Commercialisation of wave and tidal energy technology is predicated upon significant cost reduction – the current technology costs are not feasible for large scale roll out of technology. A research focus on the economic uncertainty through application of learning theory and a learning investment sensitivity analysis was anticipated to demonstrate the economic impact of minor perturbations from idealised reference assumptions. The results from this work suggest that even minor perturbations in input parameters have substantial negative impact on overall investment requirements to bring technology to a level of cost competitiveness. Thirdly, the policy landscape surrounding wave and tidal energy development has not been specifically compared and contrasted, using a number of performance metrics, to a technology which was subject to similar expectations in the form of income streams – wind energy technology. The causes and motivations for the rapid transition to large-scale technologies and ‘accelerated innovation’ within ocean energy technology were considered within this research, which suggested that a mismatch between policy support and technological readiness could misguide and misdirect the innovation pathway, harming the commercialisation prospects of ocean energy technology. In order for the successful emergence of economically sustainable wave and tidal energy technologies, a paradigm shift may be necessary, a change from the current approach that has to date dominated technological development within both the wave and tidal energy sectors. This research draws together industry consultation with academic insight to identify an optimised innovation pathway, culminating in a policy appraisal to guide and inform economically sustainable development of wave and tidal energy technologies.

The purpose of this study was to explore the value teachers give to the process of formative assessment and their experience with the process. This study was conducted at a rural middle school where formative assessment was not effectively used as reflected in state assessment data. The social constructivist framework, which views students as active participants in their own learning, guided this study. Research questions focused on how the teachers participated in and felt about the process of formative assessment. Eleven teachers, all of whom use formative assessment as part of their practice, were purposefully selected for this study. Data sources, including semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and a questionnaire, provided data about teachers' perceptions of and experiences with the formative assessment process. Data analysis in the form of manual hierarchical coding, including open and axial levels, was performed to identify themes. The key findings were that the formative assessment process was viewed as important, that the effective use of formative assessment varied, depending on whether a skill was being taught or information was being disseminated, and that the refined and deliberate use of the formative assessment process is needed in order to improve student learning. This study and the associated project, a professional learning experience aimed at improving teachers' abilities to use formative assessment, may provide an approach to addressing the individual learning needs of students and, thereby, narrow academic achievement gaps among various subgroups to promote positive social change.