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The objective of the research was to investigate an improvement in job performance when role-play is used as a training and assessment tool in a sales call centre environment. The research was conducted by means of a competence assessment used at different stages (Quality Assurance Performance Management Questionnaire). The final stage was two weeks after the learners who had qualified to be sales agents had entered a real working environment. At this final stage, calls were retrieved and rated against the Quality Assurance Performance Management Questionnaire (QAPMQ). A sample of 40 novice sales agents (learners) were selected and randomly divided into the control and experimental groups. The research findings indicated that if planned well, role-play can be an effective training and assessment tool. / Industrial & Organisational Psychology / M.Comm. (Industrial & Organisational Psychology)

The purpose of this study is to deepen the knowledge of how feedback and evaluation with a focus on formative assessment is perceived in terms of what, how and why by a few teachers working in special needs school with a focus on training school. To answer the purpose of this study three questions were formed, What is the teachers` understanding of formative assessment in relation to other practices of assessment and feedback? How do the teachers say they practice feedback and assessment with a formative assessment focus in their teaching practices? What pros and cons do some teachers believe there is in using formative assessment? The study is based on qualitative group interviews with teachers in two schools where all the teachers are active in the training school. The interviews were recorded. To identify the descriptions made by the teachers the transcribed material has been interpreted in terms of the didactic triangel. The results show that teachers are distinctly positive to the use of formative assessment though some negative aspects have been enlightened. The teachers consider formative assessment as increasing the status in today`s school and that the knowledge requirements are clear in the education which leads to a recurring assessment as well as a focus on the learning process. The results also show that documentation and reflection plays an important part in the learning process and that formative assessment promotes learning by using the right artifacts and clear feedback that makes visible the learning of the student. This is conducted by interaction. It is, however, stated that due to the level and type of disability formative assessment is more or less easy to implement. Students at an early stage of development and students in the autism spectrum tend to be more difficult to apply formative assessment to. The results also show that some teachers believe that formative assessment tend to take too much time, as well as demanding more time consuming documentation. / Syftet med denna studie är att fördjupa kunskapen om hur återkoppling och bedömning med fokus på formativ bedömning uppfattas i termer av Vad, Hur och Varför av några lärare som arbetar på grundsärskolan med inriktning träningsskolan. För att besvara syftet formulerades tre frågeställningar, Vad uppfattar lärarna att formativ bedömning är i förhållande till andra bedömnings och återkopplingspraktiker? Hur uppger lärarna att de praktiserar återkoppling och bedömning med fokus på formativ bedömning i sin undervisningspraktik? Vilka för- och nackdelar anser några lärare att det finns med formativ bedömning? Studien bygger på kvalitativa gruppintervjuer med lärare på två skolor där samtliga lärare är verksamma inom träningsskolan. Intervjuerna spelades in. För identifiering av lärarnas beskrivningar har det transkriberade materialet tolkats med hjälp utifrån den didaktiska triangeln. Resultatet visar att lärarna är genomgående positivt inställda till användandet av formativ bedömning men vissa negativa aspekter har belysts. Lärarna anser att formativ bedömning höjer statusen i dagens skola, att kunskapskraven är tydliga i undervisningen vilket leder till att bedömning sker återkommande hela tiden samt att fokus är på lärprocessen. Resultatet visar även att dokumentation och reflektion fyller en viktig del i lärprocessen samt att formativ bedömning främjar lärandet med hjälp av rätta artefakter och tydlig återkoppling som synliggör lärandet för eleven. Detta sker genom interaktion med varandra. Resultatets negativa aspekter med formativ bedömning visades vara att elever på tidig utvecklingsnivå kan vara svåra att genomföra formativ bedömning tillsammans med samt elever inom autismspektra. Resultatet visade att lärarnas uppfattningar var att formativ bedömning kräver mera av lärarna vilket kan ses som tidskrävande samt att dokumentation ses som en svårighet i genomförandet men otroligt viktig del i processen.

Denna studie har som syfte att beskriva en lärares tillvägagångssätt för att tydliggöra kunskapskraven i Lgr 11 som är relaterade till skriftlig språkfärdighet i spanska, samt att ta reda på elevernas uppfattningar om detta tillvägagångssätt. I den här studien används uttrycket att tydliggöra i en bred mening, vari ingår både lärarens verbalisering av kunskapskraven och alla aktiviteter som läraren sätter igång och som ska hjälpa eleverna att utveckla en förståelse för dessa. Undersökningen bygger på en fallstudie i vilken olika källor har använts: intervjuer med läraren och fyra elever, enkät, klassrumsobservationer, en matris och ett urval rättade uppgifter. Resultatet visar att läraren och hennes elever verbaliserar sina tolkningar av kunskapskraven på ett likadant sätt. För att tydliggöra kunskapskraven använder läraren flera olika tillvägagångssätt, främst utsagor om kvalitet och exempel på korrekta meningar. Som utsagor om kvalitet använder läraren de formuleringar som finns i kursplanen, samtidigt som hon förklarar med andra ord och tydliggör för eleverna vilka konkreta tecken på kvalitet dessa innebär i en text. Återkopplingen till eleverna är också ett tillfälle för att tydliggöra kunskapskraven. Som metod för att tydliggöra kunskapskraven efterlyser eleverna framförallt konkreta råd om hur en text kan bli bättre, samt att få exempel på bra och mindre bra texter. Både läraren och eleverna är tveksamma till vilken roll tydliggörande av kunskapskraven spelar i undervisningen. / This study aims to describe a teacher’s way to clarify knowledge requirements regarding written expression skills in Spanish. It also aims to find out how students perceive their teacher’s way to clarify those requirements. In this study the expression “to clarify” is used in a broad sense, in which is included not only the teacher’s verbalization of knowledge requirements, but also all the activities that the teacher starts in order to help the pupils understand them. This investigation is based on a case study in which data is gathered from the following sources: in-depth interviews with the teacher and four students, a survey, structured observations and documents (a scoring rubrics and a selection of assessed compositions). The results show that the teacher and her students verbalize their understanding of knowledge requirements in a similar way. The teacher uses different ways to clarify knowledge requirements, mainly through descriptive statements and examples of correct sentences. As descriptive statements she uses the same expressions that are used in the course plan while at the same time explaining them with other words and showing the students which specific characteristics those requirements imply when writing a text. Feedback to the students is also an opportunity to clarify knowledge requirements. As a method to clarify knowledge requirements students would like to get concrete advice about how a text could be better and exemplars of texts of varying quality. Both the teacher and the students have doubts about what role clarifying knowledge requirements may have for instruction.

Au cours des dernières années, les pratiques de l’évaluation comme aide à l’apprentissage (c’est-à-dire l’auto-évaluation, l’évaluation par les pairs, la rétroaction) dans la salle de classe ont été de plus en plus considérées comme des éléments essentiels (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Harlen & Winter, 2004; van de Watering & van der Rijt, 2006). Cependant, dans le domaine de l’apprentissage d’une langue seconde la recherche sur ce sujet est plutôt limitée. En nous fondant sur les études de Colby-Kelly et Turner (2007) et de Lyster et Ranta (1997), nous avons mené une recherche exploratoire visant à combler ce besoin. L’objectif général était de comprendre comment l’évaluation formative se réalise dans deux cours d’anglais intermédiaire à l’Université de Montréal, et de comparer comment ces pratiques sont perçues et vécues par la professeure et ses étudiants. Trois questions de recherche étaient posées: 1. Quelle est la nature de l’évaluation formative dans une salle de classe d’anglais langue seconde? 2. Est-ce que les pratiques de la professeure reflètent ce qu’elle pense de l’évaluation formative? 3. Quels sont les correspondances et différences entre les croyances de la professeure et les perceptions de ses étudiants quant aux bénéfices de l’évaluation formative pour l’apprentissage de l’anglais langue seconde? La collecte de données comprend des observations en classe, des entrevues auprès de la professeure et des questionnaires pour les étudiants. Pour répondre à notre première question de recherche, nous avons analysé la rétroaction donnée par la professeure pendant une production orale réalisée par ses étudiants à partir de la typologie de feedback et de uptake de l’étude de Lyster et Ranta (1997). En ce qui a trait à la deuxième question de recherche, nous avons fait des entrevues avec la professeure en vue d’expliciter ses perceptions relativement à l’évaluation formative. À la fin du trimestre, nous avons comparé ses réponses avec sa pratique à partir des enregistrements vidéo produits en classe. Finalement, pour répondre à notre dernière question de recherche nous avons comparé les réponses données par la professeure aux entrevues avec les réponses des étudiants à un questionnaire adapté à partir de celui de Colby-Kelly et Turner. Finalement, nous présentons et discutons les résultats les plus significatifs obtenus dans cette étude qualitative Nous concluons cette thèse en proposant de avenues pour des recherches futures. / During the last twenty years, assessment practices for improving student learning (i.e., self-assessment, peer assessment, feedback) in the classroom has been considered as essential (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Harlen & Winter, 2004; van de Watering & van der Rijt, 2006). In the field of second language learning, however, research in this area is quite limited. In order to address this gap, an exploratory research , based on Colby-Kelly and Turner’s (2007) and Lyster and Ranta’s (1997)studies has been conducted . The general objective was to understand how formative assessment is practiced in two Intermediate Oral English courses at the Université de Montréal and to compare how these practices are perceived and performed by the teacher and the students. Three research questions were pursued: 1. What is the nature of formative assessment in a second language classroom setting? 2. Do the teacher’s assessment practices reflect what she thinks about formative assessment? 3. What are the coincidences and differences between teacher’s perceptions and her students’ perceptions regarding the benefits of formative assessment for learning English? Data collection instruments consist of teacher interview guidelines, students’ questionnaire and classroom observation grids. In order to answer the first question, the feedback given by the teacher during the students’ oral performance has bee analysed using the types of feedback and uptake in Lyster and Ranta’s (1997) report. For the second research question, I interviewed the teacher at the beginning of each session and I elicited her beliefs about classroom-based formative assessment practice. At the end of the session I the teacher’s answers have beeb compared and contrasted with her actual performance, which was videotaped during the course. Finally, regarding the third question, teacher’s answers in the interviews have been compared with students’ answers on a questionnaire – adapted from Colby-Kelly and Turner’s one. The most significant results of this qualitative research are presented and discussed. In the conclusion, directions for future research are proposed

Research reviews have shown that the use of formative assessment in classroom practice can substantially improve student achievement. However, a strong research base about how to support teachers’ implementation of such formative classroom practice is lacking. In this thesis, I investigate the effects of a comprehensive professional development programme (PDP) in formative assessment on teachers’ classroom practice and students’ achievement in mathematics. In addition, I identify reasons for the changes made in the teachers’ formative classroom practice. Fourteen randomly selected year - 7 mathematics teachers participated in the PDP. The teachers’ formative classroom practice before and after attending the programme was analysed and described, and reasons for their change in practice were explored. The effect of the changes in formative classroom practice on students’ mathematics achievement was examined using pre- and post-tests administered to both the intervention group and a control group. A mixed methods approach with classroom observations, teacher interviews, questionnaires and student achievement tests in mathematics was used in the studies included in the thesis. The results show that the teachers used aspects of formative assessment in their classroom practice before the PDP, but that there was plenty of room for development towards a more effective formative assessment practice. Several possibilities for developing the practice were identified. After the PDP the teachers believed in the idea of formative assessment and were motivated to make changes towards a more formative classroom practice. The teachers included new formative assessment activities in their classroom practice, but in different ways and to different degrees. The characteristics of these changes were identified, and also the characteristics of the PDP that the teachers found to be influential for their development of the formative classroom practice. Results also show that the teachers’ motivational beliefs held after the PDP was an explanatory factor for their changes in practice. However, the formative assessment practice the teachers implemented did not have a significant effect on their students’ achievement compared to the control group. In addition, there was no correlation between the number of formative assessment activities implemented by the teachers and their students’ achievement gains. Reasons for these non-effects on student achievement, and for the teachers’ degree and type of implementation of formative assessment in the classroom practice, are discussed in the thesis.

Syftet med studien är att dels att förstå hur systematiskt kvalitetsarbete kan se ut på klassrumsnivå och dels vad det innebär att tillämpa det utifrån elevperspektiv, och dels att jämföra hur elevernas måluppfyllelse utvecklats i jämförelse med en kontrollgrupp. Resultatet av detta har fört med sig att examensarbetet bidrar med ett föreslag på hur kvalitetsarbete kan ske på klassrumsnivå; här kallat Co Creative Learning - using IT to Visualise Progression (CIP). Det här är en aktionsforskningsstudie. Den har genomförts med enkäter, fokusgrupper och en tidsserie; i vilken 65 elevers arbeten inom tre skilda områden bedömdes. För att förstärka reliabilitet och validitet valdes en kontrollgrupp, från samma upptagningsområde, som även de haft en legitimerad lärare med motsvarande antal yrkesverksamma år och som även de uttalat arbetat med formativ bedömning och synliggjorda mål. Två skoluppgifter var identiska och därmed kunde de två gruppernas resultat jämföras. För att minimera inverkan av en bedömande lärares närvaro på utvärderingen, samlades eleverna inte till fokusgrupper förrän efter att deras betyg var satta och kommunicerade. Då reflekterade de kring arbetet med ständiga förbättringar, kvalitet, involvering, målförståelse, upplevd progression och IT-användning. Innan denna avslutande diskussion hade de insamlade datamängder analyserades separat. Resultaten visade effekt på både elevupplevelse och progression. De största skillnaderna låg i elevens upplevelse, där förändring påverkas i första hand elevernas engagemang; i vilken utsträckning eleverna var nöjda studenter med sin egen utveckling. I tidsserien, var skillnaderna inte lika markanta som i elevupplevelsen. Den studerade gruppen började på ett något lägre snittbetyg, och avslutade på ett något högre, än kontrollgruppen. Det var främst pojkar som stod för utvecklingen. Detta kan bero på att flickorna redan hade mycket höga genomsnittliga betyg (vilket innebär att det inte finns utrymme för progression). Jämfört med kontrollgruppen, kvarstår de positiva skillnaderna med pojkarna i den studerade gruppen. Slutsatserna är därför att arbetet gynnat progression, men att den största förtjänsten med arbetssättet återfinns i hur eleverna upplever undervisningen. / The purpose of the study is partly to understand how systematic quality management can be implemented at the classroom level and partly what it means to apply it from a student perspective, and to compare student progression with that of a control group. As a result of this, this study contributes with a method on how quality management can be implemented at the classroom level. This working method is named Co-Creative Learning - using IT to Visualise Progression. This is an action research study that encompassed questionnaires, focus groups and a time series. Three assignments from 65 students were assessed in the study, out of which two were compared to those from the control group. To enhance reliability and validity the selected control group were from the same catchment area, had qualified teacher with corresponding number of working years who also worked with formative assessment and visualising criteria. Two assignments were identical for both groups, and thus, the two groups' results could be compared. To minimise the effects of the presence of a teacher during evaluation, the students were not brought together to form focus groups, until after the grades were communicated. They then reflected on continuous improvement efforts, quality, inclusion, understanding objectives, perceived progression and the use of IT. Before the concluding discussion the collected data sets were analysed separately. The results showed the difference in both student experience and progression. The main differences lay in the student experience: where change primarily affected the students’ involvement; the extent to which the students were satisfied students with their own development. In the time series, the differences were not as high as in the student experience. The studied group started at a slightly lower grade, and completed at a slightly higher grade, than the control group. It was mainly the boys who accounted for the progression. One reason for could be that the girls already held high average grades (leaving little room for progression). Compared to the control group, the differences with the boys in the studied group remains. The conclusions drawn are thus that the method enhances progression, but that the main benefits are harvested from the enhanced educational experience of the students.

Elevers delaktighet och förmågan att kunna kommunicera är två grundläggande faktorer som kan påverka elevers framtid. För att elever med olika kommunikationsformer ska kunna vara delaktiga i sin lärprocess krävs att det finns tillgång till varierande kommunikationssätt. Formuleringarna i Skolverkets styrdokument var dock inte tillräckligt tillgängliga för elever som läser gymnasiesärskolans individuella program. För att förtydligöra det centrala innehållet i kursplanen och kunskapskraven skapade pedagogerna en unik samtalskarta som använder elevnära språk, AKK, och illustrerade skrifttexterna till bilderna. Syftet med denna fallstudie är att undersöka hur elever med utvecklingsstörning kan ges möjlighet att bli mer delaktiga i undervisning och kunskapsbedömning genom användningen av alternativ och kompletterande kommunikation (AKK). Studien baseras på det sociokulturella perspektivet och KASAM-teori (Känsla av SAMmanhang) och har en kvalitativ deduktiv forskningsansats. Metoden som används i denna studie är intervjuer med speciallärare och elever samt observationer av olika lektioner för att veta mer om de samtalskartor som främjar elevers delaktighet i undervisning och kunskapsbedömning. Analysmetod i den studien är kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultatet visar att med användning av de samtalskartor som illustrerar det centrala  innehållet i kursplan  och kunskapskravens ”trappor ” blir lektionerna meningsfulla, begripliga och hanterbara, så att eleverna blir motiverade och vill vara delaktiga i undervisning och kunskapsbedömning. / Students participation and their ability of communication are two fundamental factors that can influence their future. For enabling students with different communication forms to participate in their learning processes, it is necessary to create accesses to varying methods of communication. However, the governing documents of the Swedish National Education Agency were not sufficiently accessible for students in special needs upper secondary school individual program. In order to clarify the central content of the syllabus and the knowledge requirements, the educators created a unique conversation map that illustrates scripture texts for images in the student-friendly language, AAC (Augmentative and alternative communication). This case study aims to investigate the ways to support students to become more active in the education and knowledge evaluation by using the conversation maps.  The study is based on the sociocultural perspective and SOC-theory (Sense of Coherence) and follows a deductive approach. The methods used in this study consist of interviews with specialist teachers and students as well as observations of various lessons, in order to acquire a deep understanding of how the conversation maps can be utilized to promote the participation of students in education and knowledge assessment. The analysis method in this study is qualitative content analysis. The result shows that, by using the conversation maps that illustrate the central content of the syllabus and the required knowledge levels, the lessons became more meaningful, comprehensible and manageable, and consequently the students got more motivated and eager to participate in education and knowledge assessment.

L’enseignement en RDC, favorise une partie des élèves et en désavantage d’autres, parce qu’elle propose à tous les élèves une seule et même voie d’apprentissage, sans tenir compte du style d’apprentissage de chacun. Ce qui explique les échecs et les abandons. C’est le cas des enfants de la rue et des enfants-soldats démobilisés qui, suite au manque d’encadrement, risqueront d’être un danger social. Or ces jeunes, s’ils avaient été orientés vers les structures scolaires correspondant à leurs rythmes et styles d’apprentissage pourraient s’intégrer dans la société. Malheureusement, elles n’existent pas. Pour que le système scolaire soit épanouissant pour tous et chacun, il faudrait que les autorités de la RDC, ouvrent le système scolaire aux nouvelles approches pédagogiques, forment les enseignants, leur donnent un salaire décent, construisent de nouvelles écoles et les équipent. / Education in the DRC (Republic Democratic of Congo) favors some students and disadvantages others because it offers all the students a single learning path, regardless of their learning style. Which explains the failures and the abandonments. This is the case of street and demobilized child soldiers who, due to lack of supervision, may be a social danger.However, if these young people had been oriented towards school structures corresponding to their rhythms and learning styles, they could integrate into society. Unfortunately, they do not exist. For the education system that benefiting everyone, the DRC authorities should open up the school system with new pedagogical approaches, train teachers, give them a good salary, build new schools and equip them.

The thesis named Consultation teacher - student - parent at primary school with focus to providing feedback deals with specific role of consultations in the process of education as a form of cooperation between family and school. The aim of this thesis is to closer describe consultations teacher - student - parent in the extensive context and point out their potential in particular from the point of view of the formative assessment. It is a special educational opportunity that facilitates students' personal development and improvement in the process of learning via providing feedback which comes simultaneously from three sides. The theoretical part deals with defining term consultation teacher - student - parent, describing their functions and development as a communication platform. Part of the text offers an inspiring application of this untraditional appointment in Sweden. Attention is also focused to implementing students'sources that work as essential support for work with the formative feedback. The second, empirical part deals with reconstruction of three consultation meetings at primary school and reflects development of this event from the side of teacher, student as well as parent in the form of a case study. This research confirms the value of all three approaches and formation of...