Previous research shows that English teachers in Sweden struggle with the assessment of oral proficiency. The reasons for this are several but most of them have occurred in the gap between the intended and perceived curriculum. English teachers interpret the knowledge requirements within oral proficiency differently because of their pedagogical background and experience. This study investigates teachers’ interpretations of the intended presentation of interaction and fluency in the oral proficiency knowledge requirements. The study also investigates what methods and procedures the teachers use when assessing the two abilities and what views the teachers have on the syllabus and assessment support. Semi-structured interviews were organized with four different English teachers with extensive experience in teaching and assessing English in Sweden. The data from the interviews were analyzed through the use of qualitative content analysis in order to find potential links between results and earlier conducted research. The results suggest that the English teachers interpreted, valued, and assessed interaction and fluency differently in relation to the knowledge requirements. The teachers also promoted the knowledge requirements from the Oral National Test since these simplified the interpretation of aspects such as interaction and fluency. The teachers did not present the syllabus as poor or complex, but their exclusive use of Oral National Test knowledge requirements and assessment material suggested something else. Along with this result, all teachers criticized the assessment support that comes with the knowledge requirements in the syllabus. The assessment support was thus something several of the teachers mentioned as key along with the implementation of co-assessment for future reliability within oral proficiency assessment.

No description available.

Research shows that students may be proficient in solving physics problem mathematically but still lack a fundamental understanding of the phenomena in question. One reason may be that a traditional approach to physics instruction emphasises instructors transfer of material to the students and problem-solving, sometimes at the expense of conceptional understanding. This master thesis combines socio-cultural and behaviouristic perspectives to analyse the effects of audience response systems in learning environments, in particular physics instruction. An audience response system is a tool that collects responses from the participants. It is commonly used to create interaction, thus moderating the approach of pure transmission of information. The current state of research shows that the effects of audience response systems depend on how it is used by the instructor. Audience response systems have been popular for use in peer instruction in physics and part of this study was to evaluate the design of conceptual problems. Using a mix-methods approach with interviews, observations, and tests, this thesis explores teachers’ experiences from using audience response systems to stimulate thinking and discussion on conceptual questions. Different modalities of systems are also compared. The study was affected by the school closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however the remote teaching situation also makes the topic even more important. The findings confirm what is previously established about the role of the instructor and that the effects depend on their intention. This study demonstrates that an audience response system can be used for formative assessment, initiate discussions, simultaneously engage multiple participants, prompt instructors to reconsider their methods and support a productive learning environment. Important features of an audience response system are ease of use, clear display of responses, synchronous participation, and anonymity. / Tidigare forskning visar att studenter kan vara skickliga i att lösa fysikproblem matematiskt men ändå sakna en grundläggande förståelse för fenomenen i fråga. En möjlig förklaring är att fysikundervisning traditionellt fokuserar på överföring av material från lärare till elev med ett fokus på problemlösning, ibland på bekostnad av den konceptuella förståelsen. Detta examensarbete kombinerar sociokulturella och beteendemässiga perspektiv för att analysera effekterna av publiksvarssystem i lärande miljöer, primärt i fysikundervisning. Ett publiksvarssystem är ett verktyg som samlar in respons från deltagarna. Det används vanligen för att skapa interaktion, och därmed reducera fokuset på ren överföring av material i undervisningen. Det aktuella forskningsläget visar att effekterna av publiksvarssystem beror på hur det tillämpas av läraren. Publiksvarssystem har populärt använts i peer instruction (kamratlärande) i fysik och en del i denna studie har varit att utvärdera design av konceptuella frågor. Med hjälp av kvalitativa och kvantitativa metoder (intervjuer, observationer och tester) undersöker detta arbete lärares erfarenheter av att använda publiksvarssystem för att stimulera tänkande och diskussioner om konceptuella frågor. Vidare jämförs modaliteten hos olika system. Studiens utformning påverkades av skolstängningarna till följd av COVID-19-pandemin, dock ger de förutsättningar som kommer med distansundervisning ytterligare relevans för ämnet. Resultaten bekräftar vad som tidigare har fastställts om lärarens roll och att effekterna beror på dennes intentioner. Studien visar att ett publiksvarssystem kan användas för formativ bedömning, initiera diskussioner, engagera flera deltagare simultant, uppmuntra lärare att ompröva sina metoder och hjälpa till att skapa förutsättningar för en produktiv inlärningsmiljö. Viktiga funktioner i ett publikresponssystem är användarvänlighet, tydlig presentation av svar, möjlighet till synkront deltagande för många personer samt anonymitet.

The current research study investigates the predictive value of two frequently-used benchmark reading assessments: Developmental Reading Assessment (DRA) and the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS). With an increasing emphasis on high-stakes testing to measure reading proficiency, benchmark assessments may assist in predicting end-of-year performance on high-stakes testing. Utah's high-stakes measurement of end-of-year reading achievement is the English Language Arts Criterion-Referenced Test (ELA-CRT). A Utah urban school district provided data for students who completed the DRA, DIBELS, and ELA-CRT in the 2005-2006 school year. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the accuracy to which the Fall administrations of the DRA and the DIBELS predicted performance on the ELA-CRT. Supplementary analysis also included cross-sectional data for the DIBELS. Results indicated that both Fall administrations of the DRA and the DIBELS were statistically significant in predicting performance on the ELA-CRT. Students who were high risk on the benchmark assessments were less likely to score proficiently on the ELA-CRT. Also, demographic factors did not appear to affect individual performance on the ELA-CRT. Important implications include the utility of data collected from benchmark assessments to address immediate interventions for students at risk of failing end-of-year, high-stakes testing.

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>

Användningen av mobiltelefoner har ökat avsevärt och blivit alltmer vanlig i dagens samhälle. Teknikens framsteg har påverkat människors beteenden och vanor. Med den nuvarande tekniken finns det en ökning av användningsområden för mobiltelefoner, vilket leder till en ökning av mobilanvändare. Trots detta har utvecklingen av mobilvänlig design inte skett i samma takt som tekniken har fortskridit. Detta har skapat ett stort behov av att anpassa webbsidor för mobilanvändning. Syftet med denna studie är att belysa användningen av den mobila lärplattformen Canvas. Genom att utgå från rekommendationer för förbättringar av den mobila lärplattformen undersöker studien studenters och instruktörers uppfattningar om Canvas samt deras syn på föreslagna mobilvänliga förbättringar av plattformen. Det bör noteras att studien inte inkluderade rekommendationer för storskaliga förbättringar, eftersom fokus var på användningen av Canvas vid Högskolan i Borås. Dessutom begränsades respondenternas erfarenheter av den befintliga lärplattformen till Högskolan i Borås. För att vidare undersöka ämnet genomförde respondenterna formativa bedömningar med hjälp av ett system som kallas Formative, vilket möjliggjorde förbättringsförslag. Detta system presenterades under fem föreläsningar vid Högskolan i Borås. Efter föreläsningarna genomfördes en enkätundersökning bland samtliga deltagande studenter. underlätta inlärningsprocessen på den mobila lärplattformen Canvas. / In today's society, the use of mobile phones has increased dramatically and become increasingly common. Technological advancements have transformed people's habits. With the current technology, there are more and more applications for mobile phones, leading to a rise in mobile users. However, the development of mobile-friendly design has not kept pace with technological advancements. This has resulted in a significant need to adapt websites for mobile usage. This study aims to shed light on the mobile usage of the Canvas learning platform. Based on recommendations for improving the mobile learning platform Canvas, this study examines how students and instructors perceive Canvas and their opinions on proposed mobile-friendly enhancements to the platform. However, this study does not address recommendations for larger-scale improvements as the main focus is on the usage of the platform at the University of Borås. Additionally, the respondents experiences with the existing Canvas platform at the University of Borås were defined. To further the research, respondents were asked to provide formative assessments using a system called Formative, which facilitates improvement suggestions. This was presented in four lectures at the University of Borås. Subsequently, a survey was conducted among all participating students and lecturers.

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No description available.

The democratic era in South Africa has led to the introduction of a wide-ranging series of teaching and learning policies aimed at school reform. The study aimed at establishing how these policies are implemented by educators in selected schools. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather information from educators, members of the School Management Teams and learners through in-depth individual and focus group interviews as the main data collection methods. Critical discourse analysis was used to examine participants‟ spoken words and the content of relevant documents such as lesson plans in detail. Comparisons were drawn and similarities identified through the coding, categorisation and condensation of data. The researcher interpreted the displayed data. A discussion of the main themes was presented and supported by quotations by participants. Findings indicate that there have been only few changes in terms of how educators teach; some educators conceded that they had not changed the way they teach since the introduction of new curriculum and assessment policies. The role played by learning outcomes in teachers‟ lesson planning was uneven. Members of School Management Teams demonstrated diverse views on teaching and learning policies. Learners who are taught in their home language encounter few difficulties in learning; this is not the case with learners who are taught through medium of a second language and thus lack the necessary language proficiency necessary for academic achievement. A shift from teacher-centred to learner-centred approaches to teaching is still required: that is, a shift from teaching to learning to enhance thinking and reflection which accommodates and draws on learners‟ prior knowledge and experiences. Class sizes should be reduced to enable effective educator and learner interaction. Educators‟ interest, tolerance, innovativeness and competency in the subject matter will help sustain learners‟ interest in the learning activities. Policy makers should explore professional development from viewpoint of the participating educators in order to identify the most effective strategies to support and change educators‟ classroom practice where necessary. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

This study, based on interviews with seven teachers of Swedish, investigates how they define the concept of text interpretation and how they assess pupils’ ability to interpret text. The results show that the teachers define text interpretation as an ability to perceive hidden messages in text and an ability that is closely connected to reading comprehension. This description agrees with the way text interpretation is explained in previous research but not with the description in the curriculum. This is a defect, since teachers ought to know what they are supposed to assess, based on the steering documents they are expected to follow in their professional practice. Here, however, the teachers’ assessment skills are shown to be an asset. When teaching literature the teachers say that they normally use dialogue and written assignments in which pupils reason on the basis of the content of the text and their personal experience. The forms of assessment are summative and formal, although it seems difficult to use fixed answer templates for reasoning in contexts like this where it is not clear what can be said to be right or wrong. Summative assessment, however, seems more reliable and credible than formative assessment. A picture thus emerges of the difficulty of assessing text interpretation which is simultaneously multivalent and reliable. / Denna studie är grundad på intervjuer av 7 svensklärare i syfte att undersöka hur de definierar begreppet texttolkning och hur de bedömer elevers förmåga att tolka text. I resultatet framgår att lärarna definierar texttolkning som en förmåga att uppfatta dolda budskap i text och en förmåga som är nära sammankopplad med läsförståelse. Denna beskrivning stämmer väl överens med hur texttolkning förklaras i tidigare forskning men inte med den beskrivning som framkommer i läroplanen. Detta är en brist då lärare bör veta vad de ska bedöma, utifrån styrdokument de ska utgå från i sin yrkesutövning. Här framstår dock lärares bedömningsfärdighet som en tillgång. Vid litteraturundervisning säger lärarna att de vanligen tillämpar dialog och skriftliga inlämningsuppgifter, med resonemang utifrån både textens innehåll och personliga erfarenheter. Bedömningsformerna är summativa och formella, även om fasta svarsmallar ter sig svåra att använda vid resonemang, då det i dessa sammanhang inte tydligt framgår något som med säkerhet kan sägas vara rätt eller fel. Summativ bedömning ter sig dock mer tillförlitlig och trovärdig vid en bedömningssituation, jämfört med formativ. Här framkommer således en bild av att det är svårt att bedöma texttolkning som på samma gång är flertydig och tillförlitlig.