This case study research investigated the formative assessment practices of four Year One teachers in one local education authority, and the influences which have shaped their skills. School-level contextual factors such as the role of colleagues, the head teacher, and experience in the classroom were investigated through interview and questionnaire. External influences on teacher practice, most specifically the influence of the National Curriculum and its assessment requirements, were also examined. The findings identified experience in the classroom and colleagues as key sources of influence on practice. The study reviewed the current understanding of formative assessment from social-constructivist perspective on learning. Research has illustrated specific elements of formative assessment practice, including the development of learning goals, communicating criteria, feedback, and the role of discourse. In this research, questioning emerged as a vital formative assessment skill. Underpinning the practice of the teachers who demonstrated the widest range of strategies were three key features. These teachers were reflective about their own daily practice, and demonstrated a problem-solving approach to teaching and learning. Lastly, they had established a collegial relationship of shared power in which pupil and teacher thinking processes and ideas could be expressed and exchanged. Theory has pointed to formative assessment as a teacher practice embedded in planning, teaching and assessing. Case study data were analysed to describe the practices of the teachers and to understand the ways in which formative assessment strategies might be linked together. A model of integrated practice is developed from the analysis, useful for teacher development and further research.

<p>I have made interviews with a teacher and with pupils from the lower grades in a school dominated by pupils with Swedish as their second language, about the role and effects of assessment with particular focus on the subject of <em>mathematics</em>. I have also studied the policy documents (“kursplanen”) for the subjects of Swedish and mathematics. The formulations of the learning goals in Swedish are differentiated, so that the demands are somewhat lower for pupils with Swedish as their <em>second language</em>. In mathematics, however, the learning goals are the same for all pupils, and they include the ability to communicate mathematical concepts in meaningful and relevant situations. The language of this communication is supposed to be Swedish, and the cultural code necessary to find the situation meaningful and relevant is often Swedish. The textbooks in mathematics for the early grades are oriented towards the learning goals, and contain many problems formulated in plain Swedish language, and with meaning and relevance often oriented to assumed fruit distribution habits among culturally Swedish children. This creates a problem with assessments in mathematics for many pupils with Swedish as their second language. They often feel that the assessments in mathematics are <em>unfair</em>, if they already know the numerical system and could have solved the problem, had it been given to them in a more simplified language. There is a risk that these pupils give up on the subject of mathematics too early, and for linguistic and cultural reasons. My research has shown that some of these pupils even question the mathematical ability of their teacher, because they can so easily check the numerical results on their pocket calculators, and at the same time find the verbal explanations of the teacher so difficult to understand. The problems resulting from the discrepancy between the learning goals in Swedish and mathematics, are aggravated by the recently introduced national tests in the third grade, witch give an official stamp on the use of <em>summative assessment</em> in the form of mathematical tests that includes verbally and culturally demanding problems. What the individual teacher in mathematics can do under these circumstances, is exploiting the rights and demands for <em>individualization of learning</em> to the outmost for pupils with Swedish as their second language. Children who in the future are going to use their mathematical skills and abilities professionally in the Swedish society certainly have to learn the appropriate words, as well as the cultural codes for the Swedish way of formulating mathematical problems. But their roads to achieving these particular goals in the national learning plan for mathematics, will in various ways be different from that of pupils with Swedish as their first language. The advent of national tests in mathematics in the third grade makes it even more important for the teacher to focus on the use of <em>formative assessments</em>, that make temporary allowance for the pupils present shortcomings in the linguistic and cultural understanding of mathematics, while at the same time setting up personal and individualized learning goals, aimed at overcoming these shortcomings.</p>

I have made interviews with a teacher and with pupils from the lower grades in a school dominated by pupils with Swedish as their second language, about the role and effects of assessment with particular focus on the subject of mathematics. I have also studied the policy documents (“kursplanen”) for the subjects of Swedish and mathematics. The formulations of the learning goals in Swedish are differentiated, so that the demands are somewhat lower for pupils with Swedish as their second language. In mathematics, however, the learning goals are the same for all pupils, and they include the ability to communicate mathematical concepts in meaningful and relevant situations. The language of this communication is supposed to be Swedish, and the cultural code necessary to find the situation meaningful and relevant is often Swedish. The textbooks in mathematics for the early grades are oriented towards the learning goals, and contain many problems formulated in plain Swedish language, and with meaning and relevance often oriented to assumed fruit distribution habits among culturally Swedish children. This creates a problem with assessments in mathematics for many pupils with Swedish as their second language. They often feel that the assessments in mathematics are unfair, if they already know the numerical system and could have solved the problem, had it been given to them in a more simplified language. There is a risk that these pupils give up on the subject of mathematics too early, and for linguistic and cultural reasons. My research has shown that some of these pupils even question the mathematical ability of their teacher, because they can so easily check the numerical results on their pocket calculators, and at the same time find the verbal explanations of the teacher so difficult to understand. The problems resulting from the discrepancy between the learning goals in Swedish and mathematics, are aggravated by the recently introduced national tests in the third grade, witch give an official stamp on the use of summative assessment in the form of mathematical tests that includes verbally and culturally demanding problems. What the individual teacher in mathematics can do under these circumstances, is exploiting the rights and demands for individualization of learning to the outmost for pupils with Swedish as their second language. Children who in the future are going to use their mathematical skills and abilities professionally in the Swedish society certainly have to learn the appropriate words, as well as the cultural codes for the Swedish way of formulating mathematical problems. But their roads to achieving these particular goals in the national learning plan for mathematics, will in various ways be different from that of pupils with Swedish as their first language. The advent of national tests in mathematics in the third grade makes it even more important for the teacher to focus on the use of formative assessments, that make temporary allowance for the pupils present shortcomings in the linguistic and cultural understanding of mathematics, while at the same time setting up personal and individualized learning goals, aimed at overcoming these shortcomings.

This is a study of the national test in 3rd grade. The national test is obligatory and is conducted in 5th and 9th grade, but since the spring of 2009 the tests also become mandatory in 3rd grade. The case study of this research is to find out how children in 3rd grade perceive the purpose of the national test. The survey should also clarify how students think and feel about the national test, and how they feel before the national test and after they have finished writing the test. Has the test positive or negative influence on children? The survey will also show how much teachers clarify what the significance of the national test is for the students. The study was conducted as a qualitative survey. The testing was performed at two different schools. In each school the survey was conducted in two classes in which questionnaires were adapted to students from 3rd and 4th grade. Why I use two different questionnaires adapted to these two grades is to find out different aspects of the time before and after the national test. What appears to be obvious is in this study is that these particular students who have completed the survey have no knowledge of the purpose of the national test.

Physical educators are concerned with the development of the whole child, as reflected by the affective cognitive and psychomotor domains that drive our standards. However, many times the focus is on one, maybe two, domains in a single task. This session will provide examples and strategies for incorporating all three domains into learning tasks, creating rich learning experiences. These ideas will help teachers of all experience levels and those preparing for edTPA.

This study explores how native English speakers (NESs) are affected by the backgrounds of non-native English speakers (NNESs) when it comes to being comfortable interacting with then in English. Speech samples of 12 NNESs were gathered from the Level Achievement Tests conducted at Brigham Young University's English Language Center. There were six speakers who spoke Spanish as their first language (L1) and six speakers who spoke Chinese as their L1. In each L1 group, there were two Low proficiency speakers, two Mid proficiency speakers, and two High proficiency speakers. The speech samples were included in a Qualtrics survey which was completed by 122 American NES participants. The NES participants listened to each speech sample and rated their comfort level interacting with each NNES speaker in six different communication situations categorized as either formal or casual. The results were statistically analyzed in order to determine the effect of proficiency level, L1, and communication situation on NES comfort levels in NNES interactions. High proficiency speakers were rated significantly higher than Mid proficiency speakers which were in turn rated higher than Low proficiency speakers. Spanish L1 speakers were rated higher than Chinese L1 speakers. The more casual communication situations were ranked higher than the more formal communication situations. A statistical analysis of the interaction between proficiency level and L1 revealed that Spanish L1 speakers were strongly preferred at higher proficiency levels but Chinese L1 speakers were preferred at lower proficiency levels. These results suggest that Spanish L1 speakers have a greater need to be higher than Low proficiency while Chinese L1 speakers have a greater need to achieve High proficiency. NNESs who anticipate being in formal situations should also aim for High proficiency.

The development of interpersonal competence cannot be underestimated for college students. Indeed, it could be the single, most important element that a student can develop. Equipped with interpersonal competence, a student is able to solve problems, lead a group to achieve a common task, and interact successfully in social environments and sensitive situations. In essence, a student has the ability to develop into a productive worker and citizen. Without it, a student may literally fail no matter how valid the student's endeavor or how sincere the effort. The primary purpose of this study was to examine if participation in student government at University of the Pacific (UOP) influences the development of interpersonal competence. Research on interpersonal competence was examined. Skills related to interpersonal competence were clustered together in themes, forming four different scales: Communication Scale, Perceptual Scale, Relational Scale, and Goal Achievement Scale. In conjunction with this literature-based research, studies were completed using student survey instruments, assessing those who participated in student government at UOP over a six-year period. Nine areas of statistical significance were found within the four scales. The data clearly exhibit that participation in student government at UOP positively influences students' interpersonal competence, and that the student government is successfully achieving its anticipated learning outcomes. The student government leadership program is a place where participants gain valuable skill-building traits and significant learning.

The diploma thesis deals with the topic of assessment, introduction of formative evaluation in literature environmental education at grades 5 of elementary school. It focuses on linking the assessment of outcomes of pupils evaluation with real evidence of learning from their work in literature environmental education classes. Through the mediation of action research, it examines possible forms of such evidence for the educational goals, ways and criteria for their assessment. It is based on an analysis of documents created by pupils of grades 5 of elementary school. On the basis of the newly - emerged learnings evidence, it proposes possible further steps in the teaching and evaluation process aimed at improving pupils' search and understanding of literary texts. It analyses the ability of pupils of a particular class to search, link and infer information from text and proposes the further steps in reading lessons within literature environmental education classes, in which pupils develop their reading strategies in a targeted way and move towards the goal using the criteria of success. It examines the possibilities of further work of pupils and teachers with evidence of learning. The work demonstrates the influence of formative assessment on the internal pupils motivation to learn in the sense of a...

Formative assessment is an integral part of teaching, not only as a tool for monitoring student-development, but also as basis for potential adjustments of pedagogical strategies. Therefore, this research paper examines how upper secondary students perceive, and report acting on different forms of formative assessment on writing in the subject of English 6. It also highlights what teachers perceive as key strategies in formative assessment, and how they report applying these strategies for improving students writing when teaching English 6. How teachers report clarifying, sharing, and explaining learning goals and criteria for success to their English 6 students is also discussed. The study was carried out by using mixed methods research and included a student questionnaire, a student focus group interview, and individual teacher interviews. Our results show important similarities and crucial differences in how students and teachers perceive different forms of formative assessment on writing, as well as how they perceive the learning goals and criteria for success in the subject of English 6. Moreover, our study identifies the need for further research on the perceptions of formative assessment on writing from a student viewpoint. In addition, we present ideas on how teachers could work with different forms of formative assessment to better meet the students’ needs.

Genomförda undersökningar visar att formativ bedömning förbättrar elevers inlärning och förståelse. Den svenska läroplanen från 2011 ger tydliga indikationer på att formativ bedömning ska inkluderas i undervisningen. Vår diskussion i denna uppsats är därför aktuell och den visar hur forskare artikulerar fenomenet formativ bedömning. Litteraturstudien inkluderar information om vad formativ bedömning innebär och förslag på hur man kan arbeta utifrån ett sådant arbetssätt. Vår studie visar att de viktigaste komponenterna inom formativ bedömning är att tydliggöra målen, återkoppling samt själv- och kamratbedömning. Beskrivningarna av dessa resulterar i en analys där vi diskuterar det formativa arbetssättet. Både positiva och negativa aspekter tas upp. Vårt syfte med denna uppsats är att införskaffa djupare kunskaper om formativ bedömning likväl för oss själva som för redan aktiva lärare. Vi har en föraning om att många lärare inte har tillräckliga kunskaper kring ämnet och vår förhoppning är att denna uppsats kan fungera som ett verktyg för lärare som arbetar med eller skulle vilja arbeta med formativ bedömning. / Previous research shows that formative assessments improve pupils’ learning and understanding. Also, the Swedish Curriculum 2011 gives clear guidance that formative assessment should be included in school. Our discussion in this essay is therefore needed and it deals with how researchers articulate the phenomenon formative assessment. The study includes information about what formative assessment means and suggestions for how to work with it are given. The main parts within formative assessment are to clarify learning goals, feedback and self- and peer assessment. The information about these main parts ends in an analysis where a discussion about formative assessment and its positive and negative effects takes place.   Furthermore, the purpose of this essay is to inherit deeper knowledge about formative assessment as well for ourselves as for teachers already on duty. We anticipate that many teachers do not have sufficient knowledge about formative assessment and our expectation is that this essay can function as a tool for teachers who work or would like to work with formative assessment.