Cette recherche se situe dans le cadre de la théorie anthropologique du didactique (TAD) et a pour point de départ le constat d’une inégale diffusion des connaissances mathématiques opérationnelles dans les sociétés contemporaines. Au contraire des explications spontanées qui voient l’origine de ce phénomène dans une « propriété » des individus, dont beaucoup seraient rétifs, par nature ou par expérience, au « fait mathématique », cette recherche regarde de telles manifestations comme des symptômes individuels dont il s’agit d’étudier les causes à la lumière de la didactique entendue comme science des conditions et contraintes de tous niveaux déterminant la diffusion (et la non-diffusion) des connaissances. Les résultats obtenus permettent d’envisager une nouvelle définition du contrat gouvernant le rapport des personnes et des institutions à leurs besoins mathématiques. / The framework of this research is the anthropological theory of the didactic (ATD). It takes as its starting point the uneven diffusion of a working knowledge of mathematics in contemporary societies. Unlike most spontaneous causal explanations in terms of “properties” of individuals, many of whom are thought to be averse to mathematics (either by nature or experience), this research construes such manifestations as individual symptoms to be interpreted in the field of didactics, regarded as the science of the conditions and constraints of all levels that determine the diffusion (and nondiffusion) of knowledge. The results arrived at allow us to contemplate the possibility of reconfiguring the relation of persons and institutions to their mathematical needs.

Doctor Educationis / The central concern of this study has been to determine the effectiveness or otherwise of a combined Dialogical Argumentation Instructional Method (DAIM) and the Assessment for Learning Model (DAAFLIM) strategies in enhancing Tertiary and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) students’ conceptions of selected scientific topics. The extant literature has shown that students often hold other worldviews or funds of knowledge, which might be in conflict with canonical school science. In light of this, DAAFLIM has been chosen for a number of reasons: (1) it has been shown to be effective for revealing students’ scientific and alternative worldviews; (2) it provides the learning environment that encourages students to express themselves freely, exchange views with others, reflect on what they have learned, and even to change their minds in the face of stronger arguments; (3) it is compatible with the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) curriculum which emphasizes that educators should integrate school science with students’ indigenous knowledge as a way to make the former more relevant to their sociocultural environment; (4) assists educators to plan instruction in accordance with the needs of multicultural science classroom; and (5) the combination of classroom discourses with continuous or formative assessment (as exemplified by DAAFLIM), instead of the usual terminal summative assessment, tends to mitigate the fears that students usually associate with assessment. Specifically, a group of TVET students i.e. the Experimental group (E-group) was exposed to DAAFLIM while the other group i.e. the Control group (C-group) was exposed to traditional instruction method (TIM).

The study investigated teachers’ formative assessment practice and the value they attach to formative assessment in primary schools in the Lagos and Kwara States of Nigeria. A total of 120 respondents were selected using the convenience sampling technique. Quantitative research methods formed the basis for analysis and data presentation. The inferential statistics used the Wilcoxon signed-rank test to analyse the data. The study surveyed possible differences in what teachers value and practice on five dimensions of assessment, namely Clarifying and Sharing Learning Intentions, Engineer Effective Classroom Discussion, Provide Feedback That Moves Students Forward, Activating Students as Instructional Resources for One Another and Activating Students as Owners of Their Own Learning. In summary, the study revealed that despite overall positively valuing formative assessment strategies, most of the teachers did not practise formative assessment as they did not adopt the strategy of clarifying and sharing learning intentions as well as the criteria for success with their students. Results of the Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed that there is a statistically significant difference (p<0.05) between the teachers’ practice and the value they assign to formative assessment in Nigerian primary schools. The study notes a high reliance on formative assessment principles by teachers in their daily teaching engagement. As gleaned from the results, the disparity between appreciation of the principles and their implementation remains an area that possibly require further investigation to improve on the level of understanding of the principles as well as their practice and appreciation. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria 2020. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / MEd / Unrestricted

The nation is challenged with improving the mathematics achievement of its students. No Child Left Behind holds schools, districts, and states accountable for improving student achievement. Because high stakes tests are given at the end of the school year, schools are presented with the challenging task of developing or purchasing reliable assessments that provide accurate information describing how well students understand the skills that will be measured on the end-of-the-year high stakes tests. Curriculum based measurements are used periodically to measure student progress toward meeting objectives during the school year. The problem exists that schools are utilizing limited resources of time and money on a tool with little evidence of effectiveness in increasing mathematics scores on state assessments. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between the scores of the three assessments of the Mathematics-Curriculum Based Measures (M-CBM) and the scores from the mathematics MCT2 for sixth-grade students. A correlational research design is used to fulfill the purpose and test the three null hypotheses. Hypothesis 1 for this study states that there is no relationship between the August 2009 M-CBM scores and the May 2010 mathematics MCT2 scores. Hypothesis 2 states that there is no relationship between the December 2009 M-CBM scores and the May 2010 mathematics MCT2 scores. Hypothesis 3 states that there is no relationship between the April 2010 M-CBM scores and the May 2010 mathematics MCT2 scores. To test the three null hypotheses, correlation coefficients were computed using the Pearson r. The results from all three hypotheses indicated that there were moderate positive correlations between scores of the M-CBM and scores of the mathematics portion of the MCT2, with the strongest relationship being between the April M-CBM and the mathematics MCT2 scores. Further analysis was done to determine if the relationship between M-CBM and mathematics MCT2 scores continued to exist when examined by mathematics MCT2 proficiency levels. The results of this analysis indicated that relationships between M-CBM and the mathematics portion of the MCT2 scores only existed for students scoring in the proficient range.

Over the years, teachers, administrators, and policy makers have been concerned with optimizing learning for all students. The No Child Left Behind Act put an emphasis on summative assessments, which measure what students have learned. In contrast, formative assessment has been shown in many studies to improve student achievement and motivation because it is applied while students are learning. The purpose of this study was to investigate, for middle and high school mathematics and science instruction, the validity and reliability of a newly developed observation instrument called AssessToday, which is used in a single class period to assess a teacher’s use of short-cycle formative assessment. The content validity of the instrument was supported through an extensive literature review, feedback from experts in the field of formative assessment, and an examination of 98 classroom observations. For assessing reliability of the instrument, inter-rater reliability coefficients were calculated using data collected by trained observers who independently rated teachers during the same class period using three measures: percentage of agreement between raters, Cohen’s kappa, and Fleiss kappa. Cohen’s kappa (N = 36 pairs) ranged from .62 to 1.00 for all observer pairs with an average kappa of .75 for mathematics (n = 16 pairs) and .76 for science (n = 20 pairs). The recommended threshold for kappa is k = .70. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the observation data and the determined factors related to the theoretical framework established in the literature. The results affirmed that the instrument is a tool to be utilized in short-cycle formative assessment with middle and high school science and mathematics teachers.

At Mississippi State University, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, a standardized multiple-choice departmental final examination (SMCDF) was administered at the end of the Calculus I mathematics course. This practice was abolished at the end of the spring 1997 semester. The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a difference in students¡¯ success in subsequent calculus courses as measured by a student¡¯s grade. If there was a difference, was it consistent along varying levels of students¡¯ ACT mathematics scores. A two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was run on the data. The variables were the five student ACT Mathematics Standards for Transition ranges, and the two groups of students, those required to take a SMCDF examination and those required to take a teacher generated final examination. The results showed there was a significant difference in the mean grades at the Calculus II level (p=.006), suggesting the SMCDF examination in Calculus I improved their level of success in Calculus II. In the Calculus III and IV courses no significant differences were found. When descriptive statistics were analyzed, an unusual number of F grades were found in one group due to a university audit policy that was abolished in the fall of 1997. When F grades were excluded from the data, no significant differences were found for Calculus II, III, or IV. Further investigation along ACT-Mathematics Standards for Transition ranges showed, at an alpha level of .01 for Calculus II and IV, the data set was too small at each of these ranges to determine any significant differences. Although conflicting results did not clearly indicate whether a SMCDF examination made a difference, indications seem to be at least at the Calculus II level there was a significant effect in the original data set. Descriptive statistics showed inconsistencies within the Calculus III data as compared to Calculus II and IV. Further investigation was recommended for this area of research. Incorporating teaching styles into this study and changing the format of the examination were suggested.

The purposes of this study were to conduct an exploratory study of the status quo of engineering faculty motivation for and engagement in formative assessment, and to conduct a preliminary validation of a motivational model, based in self-determination theory, that explains relationships between these variables. To do so, a survey instrument was first developed and validated, in accordance with a process prescribed in the literature, that measured individual engineering faculty members’ motivational traits and engagement regarding formative assessment, as no such instrument existed. The survey asked engineering faculty about their satisfaction of autonomy, competence, and relatedness needs, degree of self-determined motivation experienced, and engagement, all relative to formative assessment of student learning. Data from the final instrument were obtained from a stratified national sample of approximately 2,500 U.S. engineering faculty, attaining 223 responses, and was first evaluated for validity and reliability. The major validity check utilized was to review two examples of formative assessment that respondents provided and then discard data from invalid responses; over 70% of responses qualified as valid. Only responses with valid examples of formative assessment were used, indicating that the inferences drawn from this study only directly pertain to faculty who understand formative assessment, a subset of the U.S. engineering faculty population. The reliability of instrument constructs was evaluated through use of Cronbach's Alpha, including removal of low-scoring survey items. Following, the remaining data were analyzed with descriptive statistics to evaluate trends and with linear regression to validate the motivational model. Results show that, for the subset of engineering faculty studied, engagement in formative assessment is positive, motivation for it is self-determined and largely derives from faculty identifying its contribution to teaching and learning, and needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are moderately to highly satisfied. Further, from testing of the motivational model, it can be reasonably concluded that faculty engagement is significantly predicted by self-determined motivation, but the prediction of self-determined motivation by motivational needs has a caveat: the self-determined motivation of male engineering faculty was predicted by autonomy and relatedness, but by autonomy and competence for females. / Ph. D.

Les redoublements et les échecs répétés aux examens scolaires nationaux placent le système éducatif burkinabé parmi l'un des moins performants de la sous-région ouest-africaine (Kaboré et Carton, 2017). Pour améliorer les apprentissages et favoriser les réussites scolaires, l'évaluation formative a suscité un intérêt particulier au niveau de la recherche. À l'échelle internationale, elle est à l'ordre du jour des politiques éducatives (Laveault, 2014 ; Scallon, 2000). Cependant, sa mise en œuvre s'avère difficile et exigeante à divers niveaux. La présente recherche analyse les politiques ministérielles sur l'évaluation des apprentissages au Burkina Faso à l'enseignement primaire, postprimaire et secondaire à la lumière des données probantes en évaluation formative. La recherche a fait d'abord état des directives ministérielles concernant l'évaluation formative. La documentation ministérielle est évaluée à partir des moyens documentaires de diffusion des pratiques évaluatives, des modalités, instruments et interprétations de l'évaluation formative, ainsi que de la stratégie de sa mise en œuvre. Ensuite, une revue systématique des écrits scientifiques a permis d'identifier les meilleures pratiques liées à l'évaluation formative. Enfin, les résultats de la recherche documentaire sont comparés aux résultats de la revue systématique. Les résultats révèlent que les politiques évaluatives à l'enseignement primaire, postprimaire et secondaire au Burkina Faso sont en pleines mutations. Les directives ministérielles concernant l'évaluation sont dispersées si bien qu'il est difficile de s'y retrouver. À travers les réformes curriculaires en cours, les principes de l'évaluation formative sont intégrés à la fois dans le discours ministériel et dans les guides pédagogiques. Si l'autorégulation, le portfolio, la carte conceptuelle sont des pratiques méconnues dans le contexte du Burkina Faso, l'autoévaluation, l'évaluation par les pairs, les grilles d'évaluation et la rétroaction promues dans les directives ministérielles sont quatre pratiques alignées avec les recherches probantes. Cependant, au-delà des insuffisances de leur instrumentation, il est difficile de se prononcer avec précision si les récentes réformes évaluatives ont déclenché un changement dans les pratiques évaluatives en classe. Les implications pour la recherche et les politiques sont discutées. / Repeated grade repetition and school failure in national school exams place the Burkina Faso education system among the lowest performing in the West African sub-region (Kaboré & Carton, 2017). To improve learning and promote academic success, formative evaluation has attracted research interest. Internationally, it is on the agenda of educational policies (Laveault, 2014; Scallon, 2000). However, its implementation is proving difficult and challenging at various levels. This research analyzes ministerial policies on learning assessment in Burkina Faso at the primary, post-primary, and secondary levels considering evidence on formative assessment. The research began with a review of ministerial directives on formative evaluation. The departmental documentation is evaluated based on the documentary means of disseminating evaluative practices, the modalities, instruments, and interpretations of formative evaluation, as well as the strategy for its implementation. Next, a systematic review of the scientific literature was used to identify best practices related to formative evaluation. Finally, the results of the literature search were compared to the results of the systematic review. The results reveal that evaluation policies in primary, post-primary and secondary education in Burkina Faso are undergoing major changes. Ministerial directives on evaluation are scattered, making it difficult to find one's way around. Through the curricular reforms underway, the principles of formative evaluation are integrated into both the ministerial discourse and the pedagogical guides. While self-regulation, portfolios and concept maps are not well known in the Burkina Faso context, self-assessment, peer assessment, evaluation grids and feedback, which are promoted in the ministerial directives, are four practices that are in line with pro-bant research. However, beyond the shortcomings of their instrumentation, it is difficult to comment accurately on whether recent assessment reforms have triggered a change in classroom assessment practices. Implications for research and policy were discussed.

The study focuses on assessment and specifically the formative part, therefore the purpose of this study is to examine how some primary school teachers perceive formative assessment. Building blocks for my study are three research questions that contribute to studying the phenomenon from different aspects. Formative assessment has become a familiar subject that gets incorporated more and more in the schools therefore it is necessary to study how teachers perceive the difference between the formative and the summative part of the assessment. I use a sociocultural perspective in my study. I choose to examine the teacher’s perception on the subject by carrying out focus group interviews that gets summarized with a group of teacher’s that conversed about a specific subject which in my case was assessment. I have carried out two group interviews, thereafter analysed the collected data through a couple of main categories as well as some part categories on subject of assessment. The results of the study showed that teacher’s perceives formative assessment in different ways, though they join each other in expressing that formative assessment benefits teaching. They explain their thoughts through describing their ways of using formative assessment. It also showed that they deliberately work with the formative part of assessment because they explain the purpose with each activity they carry out.

The key purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain an understanding of classroom teachers’ perceptions of the process and impact of formative assessment on classroom instruction in a secondary school. The study was designed to obtain information about how teachers view formative assessment as part of their everyday planning and preparation, as well as sought to determine whether or not there was a correlation between teachers’ perceived understanding of formative assessment and their implementation of formative assessment in the classroom. The three main research questions that guided this study were: 1) How do teachers’ perceptions of their own understanding of formative assessment affect their instructional practice? 2) How do teachers’ perceptions of their own understanding of formative assessment evolve over time? 3) What supports exist to help teachers implement formative assessment at the high school level? The case study focused on participants who were current 9-12 public school teachers representing mathematics, physical education, and foreign language. To triangulate the data, multiple types of data were collected from the teachers. Pre- and post-surveys, unstructured interviews, focus groups, classroom observations with participant observation notes, and logs were used to collect the data. Data was then analyzed using analysis of the pre-surveys and compared with information gained from the other data sources. Data was later analyzed using the post-survey and compared with the information from other data sources to determine individual teacher growth over time. The results from the first research question indicated that teachers understood the accountability of both teachers and students in the assessment process, but required additional support in determining how student learning becomes the basis for use of formative assessment, types of different methods used, and overall teacher competencies about formative assessment. The second research question indicated that growth occurred when professional supports were given in areas where weaknesses were identified. Initially, formative assessment was viewed by many as a means of compliance with the new teacher evaluation system. With continued professional development, teachers’ acceptance of formative assessment increased as their understanding of the process dually increased. In addition, as teachers began to see growth in student achievement, their overall acceptance of formative assessment also increased. The third and final research question indicated that supports must not only be global in nature, but must also be focused on the individual. When teachers know where they are and know the target of where they want or need to be, instructional growth does occur. Supports for teacher instructional practice will vary based on identified needs, understanding of formative assessment, and the type of supports available. Recommendations for follow-up study include the use of additional focus groups, extending the formative assessment survey to include lengthening the time of the study, and a change in setting to avoid certain nuances that can occur with studying the same school district. Additionally, research should be completed on the long-term effects of personalized professional development and whether teachers continue to use formative assessment practices as they gain more extensive experience. Since this particular school was undergoing a complete system change while the study was being completed, it would be dually important to investigate a school that was not in the midst of such a change. With all the additional supports available to the teachers in this study, it is important to see if a teacher’s perceived understanding of formative assessment would continue to translate into instructional practice if whole school and individual supports were not as prevalent.