The quality of education in Botswana is not yet up to standard as there has been emphasis on attainment of Universal Basic Education. Quality in education encompasses a number of factors such as the development of the relevant curriculum, improvement of teacher preparation, development of appropriate learning materials, and improving the methods of assessing pupils (Grisay&Mählck, 1991, cited in Kellaghan&Geaney, 2003). The quality of what is going on in the classroom is judged by the processes and outcomes that are defined qualitatively. Assessment in Agriculture in Botswana senior schools comprises performance assessment and standardised paper-and-pencil tests. Performance assessment contributes only 20% (MoE&SD, 2001.p.6) yet it is allocated more time than paper-and-pencil tests. The aim of the study therefore was to understand and explore the characteristics and quality processes needed in the performance assessment of Agriculture Form Four students to ensure valid and reliable examinations in Botswana. The study was guided by two research questions. The first research question was: How valid and reliable are the performance assessment processes in Botswana schools? This research question sought to understand how performance assessment was conducted in Botswana schools, and how it compared with the international practice. The second research question was: How can quality assurance processes be developed in order to produce valid and reliable marks for BGCSE Agriculture performance assessment? The intention was to develop quality processes for performance assessment in the context of Form Four Agriculture in Botswana, to ensure valid and reliable marks for certification. A design research was employed in this study in which a baseline survey was conducted and based on the outcome, a quality assurance process was designed which included the development of standard tasks and assessment materials. During the baseline survey, teachers and school administrators completed a questionnaire and were also interviewed. Subsequently, prototypes of exemplar materials were developed iteratively in collaboration with practitioners and formatively evaluated. Feedback from evaluation was incorporated into the redesign and development of successive prototypes. Findings from baseline survey revealed that the conduct of performance assessment in schools was not standardised, primarily due to the absence of assessment policy and procedures to guide its conduct. Implementation of performance assessment was done by teachers who had insufficient training, in large classes with inadequate resources and received very little support from supervisors both internally and externally. Despite all these, insufficient time was allocated for conducting performance assessment, resulting in teachers forming groups most of the time during the conduct of tasks and assigning a single mark for the group based on the quality of the group’s product. However, findings from the intervention study revealed that entrenching quality assurance processes in the system produced valid and reliable performance assessment marks for certification. The characteristics of a quality assurance system for implementation of performance assessment were the presence of an assessment policy; training and accrediting teachers to assess; an efficient internal and external monitoring system; the provision of adequate resources; applying multiple modes of assessment; and multiple rating of the students. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Science, Mathematics and Technology Education / unrestricted

Syftet med kunskapsöversikten är att ta reda på hur elevernas skrivutveckling gynnas av en formativ bedömning. Metoden har bestått av informationssökning där resultatet av källorna sedan har bearbetats och noggrant granskats samt slutligen sammanställts. Såväl nationella som internationella studier har använts i kunskapsöversikten. Resultatet visar på att elever uppfattar feedback som något positivt som fokuserar på både styrkorna och vad som kan förbättras och att det faktiskt är till hjälp för deras progression. Forskningen tar även upp två olika verktyg i form av elevportfolion samt kamratbedömning som kan vara användbara i undervisningen.

Orientador: Lourdes de la Rosa Onuchic / Resumo: O principal objetivo deste trabalho foi entender como a Avaliação para a Aprendizagem acontece, ou poderia acontecer, na Metodologia de Ensino-Aprendizagem-Avaliação de Matemática através da Resolução de Problemas. Nossa pesquisa foi amparada pelo Modelo Metodológico de Romberg-Onuchic e possui um viés qualitativo. Para alcançar o nosso objetivo, criamos um Projeto de aplicação dessa Metodologia, que fora desenvolvido no sétimo ano da Educação Básica de um colégio privado da cidade de Lisboa, em Portugal, com 24 alunos com idades entre 12 e 14 anos. O Projeto, com cinco problemas geradores, foi implementado durante o terceiro trimestre do ano letivo de 2017/2018, entre os meses de março e junho. Esses problemas foram trabalhados segundo a Metodologia de Ensino-Aprendizagem-Avaliação de Matemática através da Resolução de Problemas. O registro das aulas foi realizado através da gravação de áudios (distribuídos entre os grupos de alunos), de anotações do pesquisador em diário de campo, pelo recolhimento da produção dos alunos e pelo registro de aula produzido pela lousa eletrônica. Além disso, a pesquisa contou com o registro de algumas aulas, também por áudio, anotações e registros da lousa, e com os depoimentos espontâneos da professora titular da turma e de alguns alunos. Nossa pesquisa revelou que a Metodologia de Ensino-Aprendizagem-Avaliação de Matemática através da Resolução de Problemas pode ser utilizada como um instrumento de Avaliação para a Aprendizagem, segundo os p... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The main objective of this study was to understand how the Assessment for Learning happens, or could happen, in Methodology of Teaching-Learning- Assessment of Mathematics through Problem Solving. Our research was supported by the Romberg-Onuchic Methodological Model and has a qualitative bias. To achieve our goal, we created a Project to apply this Methodology, which was developed in the seventh year of Basic Education of a private school in the city of Lisbon, in Portugal, with 24 students aged 12 to 14 years. The project, with five generating problems, was implemented during the third quarter of the 2017/2018 school year, between March and June. These problems were worked according to the Methodology of Teaching-Learning-Assessment of Mathematics through Problem Solving. Classes were recorded by recording audios (distributed among student groups), notes by the researcher in a field diary, collecting student production and by the class record, produced by the electronic whiteboard. In addition, the research included the recording of some lessons, also by audio, notes and whiteboard records and with the spontaneous testimonials of the head teacher and some students. Our research revealed that the Methodology of Teaching-Learning-Assessment of Mathematics through Problem Solving can be used as an Assessment for Learning tool, according to the principles of the Assessment Reform Group - ARG. This assessment happens naturally during the class that uses this methodology, through... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

Starting from the experience of watching the role of the teacher turn into a bureaucrat, this work examines the factors dominating current education systems. It identies Human Capital Theory as a main inuence on policy and prioritization decisions in education. A central tension that results from this inuence is the fact that economic theory assumes consumer sovereignty, which dismisses many ideological and political aspects of education as paternalism. This inherent conict between economic theory and educational theory leads to an overemphasis on positional goods, goods that are limited by scarcity, over nonpositional goods, such as knowledge. Educating for positional goods is contrasted to the Spinozistic ideal of education for freedom and for increased conatus. It is then discussed how current assessment practices play a central role in cementing the current hegemony in education as governed by economic concerns. Assessment practices are found to both contribute to current trends in education as well as stabilizing the system overall making transformative change less likely. This is more specically illustrated by two particular assessment practices, namely standardized testing and assessment for learning. It concludes with a search for possible paths to meaningful change in education.

Previous research has shown that substantial learning gains are possible when formative assessment and support for students’ development of self-regulated learning skills are implemented in classroom practice. Such implementation is not straightforward and there is a need for both further understanding of the knowledge and skills teachers require to practice formative assessment, and further insights into how different characteristics of ordinary teaching practices support students’ in becoming proficient self-regulated learners. This doctoral thesis includes a licentiate thesis and two articles. In the licentiate thesis, classroom observations are used to investigate the knowledge and skills used by a teacher engaged in a comprehensive formative classroom practice. The results show that the teacher's practice is complex and requires advanced knowledge and skills that are often used simultaneously and under time pressure. For example, the teacher, sometimes in a matter of seconds, handles new (to her) mathematics, makes inferences from students’ responses to their understanding, and based on these inferences makes decisions about her teaching. The first article is a literature review focusing on the effects of formative assessment on student achievement in mathematics since there is a lack of knowledge of the effects of formative assessment on student achievement, in particular for subject areas such as mathematics. In the review, a systematic literature search is made for articles studying the effects of both teacher-centered approaches and approaches emphasizing student involvement in the formative assessment processes. The latter type of approaches includes teacher practices that support students’ development of aspects of self-regulated learning competence. The results show that all approaches included in the review have significant positive effects on student achievement in mathematics. The second article examines in what ways learning situations in authentic classroom practices provide opportunities for the students to develop self-regulated learning skills, and how students experience these opportunities. The analysis is based on data from classroom observations of three teachers’ mathematics lessons, and on interviews with their students. The results show that instruction in self-regulated learning skills mostly occurred implicitly, and the opportunities to develop the skills were mainly provided and experienced at the observational level.

Syfte och frågeställningar Syftet med undersökningen är att undersöka hur nyckelstrategin ”att klargöra, dela och förstå lärandemålen och framgångskriterierna” beskrivs i idrottsdidaktisk litteratur. Följande frågeställning syftar till att uppfylla syftet: Hur skildras nyckelstrategin i de idrottsdidaktiska böckerna? Den övergripande frågeställningen förtydligas med följande frågor: 1) Nämns nyckelstrategin explicit i texterna? 2) Finns det spår av nyckelstrategin i texterna? Metod För att uppfylla syftet och besvara frågeställningarna analyserades fyra idrottsdidaktiska böcker med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Insamlandet av relevant material har gjorts manuellt utifrån ett antal kodningsprinciper. Efter insamlandet av data kodades materialet och sorterades in i teman. Resultat Analysen visar att nyckelstrategin inte nämns explicit i någon av texterna, däremot finns det spår av nyckelstrategin i texterna. Dessa spår förmedlar i princip samma innehåll som nyckelstrategin. Dock är det tveksamt om läsare kommer att förstå detta som viktiga aspekter eller veta hur de ska arbeta med detta som lärare då det relevanta innehållet inte har en framträdande roll i böckerna. Slutsats Det verkar fortfarande, även fast uppdaterade böcker inom ämnet nyligen publicerats, finnas en brist på information om bedömning för lärande och nyckelstrategin ifråga i den här typen av böcker. Det finns ett behov av mer forskning om hur vi kan arbeta med bedömning för lärande inom ämnet och även ett behov av att detta förmedlas till lärare i ämnet. / <p>Fristående kurs Idrott III</p>

Nationwide, higher education institutions are increasingly interested in infusing sustainability content into their curricula. The world is facing complex and interconnected problems creating a need for college graduates with an understanding of the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of sustainability. There is a shortage of research studying sustainability-related teaching practices, particularly in higher education contexts. The University of Vermont (UVM) recently established Sustainability Learning Outcomes (SLOs) as a general education requirement. As a result of this initiative, sustainability-designated courses are offered across the university that fulfill the requirement, creating a unique opportunity to explore related teaching practices. The purpose of this study was to explore how instructors structured and taught the SLOs, how students learned UVM's SLOs, and which teaching practices students found helpful to their learning, within courses designed to meet this general education requirement. To systematically gather people's perceptions of and experiences with the new general education requirement, this study used the following methods: 1) instructor interviews; 2) course document reviews; 3) classroom observations; 4) student focus groups; and 5) an online student survey. Data were collected from eight sustainability-designated courses. The variety of data collection methods enabled identification and triangulation of strong themes. Instructors used class discussions, papers, readings, projects, guest speakers, case studies, and reflective activities to teach sustainability content and skills. Students reported the following teaching practices as particularly helpful: experiencing a real world application, discussing sustainability issues in class, exploring different perspectives, and hosting guest speakers. Moreover, certain instructional methods may be better received with students with prior exposure to sustainability content. Findings suggest that learning from case studies, guest speakers, and written papers may be more helpful to students with higher levels of prior exposure to sustainability courses. This study's findings add to what we know about how instructors teach sustainability content and students' experiences of their teaching practices. They also suggest a number of implications for policy and practice around supporting professional development opportunities in teaching practices and assessment strategies, creating a teaching culture of experimentation and reflection, and using a variety of methods to assess teaching and learning.

Studien syftar till att belysa huruvida bedömning för lärande (BFL) har institutionaliserats bland lärarna på Lindängsgymnasiet efter ett genomfört skolutvecklingsprojekt. Den har också som mål att, med utgångspunkt i en teori om framgångsrik skolutveckling som utvecklats av Ulf Blossing, ta reda på vilka faktorer under initierings- och implementeringsfasen som kan ha varit avgörande för huruvida projektet nådde institutionaliseringsfasen eller inte. Studien syftar vidare till att klargöra om det finns skillnader mellan lärare som undervisar på yrkesförberedande program och lärare som undervisar på högskoleförberedande program samt mellan lärare som undervisar i karaktärsämnen och lärare som undervisar i allmänna ämnen när det gäller institutionaliseringen av BFL i undervisningen. Studiens ansats är kritiskt realistisk och består dels av en kvantitativ enkät, som besvarats av 58 lärare på Lindängsgymnasiet, och dels av en kvalitativ intervju med den förstelärare som fungerade som projektledare under skolutvecklingsprojektet. Enkätresultatet visar att BFL inte har institutionaliserats bland lärarna på Lindängsgymnasiet och analys av både enkätresultat och intervju gör gällande att förklaringarna står att finna i såväl initierings- som implementeringsfasen. För att ta reda på om det finns skillnader mellan lärare som undervisar på yrkesförberedande program och lärare som undervisar på studieförberedande program samt mellan lärare som undervisar i karaktärsämnen och allmänna ämnen användes Chi2-test, t-test och Mann-Whitney U-test. Resultaten av testen tyder inte på några skillnader mellan lärare som undervisar på yrkesförberedande och högskoleförberedande program när det gäller institutionaliseringen av BFL. Resultaten tyder dock på att lärare som undervisar på yrkesförberedande program i något större utsträckning upplever att de har förändrat sin undervisning beroende på BFL-projektets genomförande än lärare som undervisar på högskoleförberedande program. Testen visar inte på några skillnader mellan lärare som undervisar i karaktärs- respektive allmänna ämnen. Studien kan vara användbar för till exempel skolledare vid planering av utvecklingsarbete och kollegialt lärande, då studien bland annat pekar på vikten av en genomtänkt initieringsfas samt kontinuerlig medverkan av skolledare under ett skolutvecklingsprojekt. / This study aims to highlight whether assessment for learning (AFL) has become institutionalized among the teachers at Lindängsgymnasiet after a school improvement project. It also aims to investigate, based on a theory on successful school improvement developed by Ulf Blossing, what factors during the initiation and the implementation phase that may have been crucial for whether the project reached the institutionalization phase or not. The study further aims to clarify if there are differences between teachers who teach on vocational programs and teachers who teach on preparatory programs and between teachers who teach characteristic subjects and teachers who teach general subjects regarding the institutionalization of AFL in the classroom. The approach of the study is critical realistic and it consists of a quantitative survey, that was answered by 58 teachers at Lindängsgymnasiet. It also consists of a qualitative interview with the head teacher that had the role of project manager during the school improvement project. The results of the survey show that AFL has not been institutionalized among the teachers at Lindängsgymnasiet and analysis of both survey results and the interview claims that the explanations can be found in the initiation and implementation phase. In order to find out if there are differences between teachers who teach on vocational and teachers who teach on preparatory programs, and between teachers who teach characteristics and teachers who teach general subjects, Chi2 test, t-test and Mann-Whitney U test were used. The results of these tests do not indicate any differences between teachers who teach on vocational and on preparatory programs in the institutionalization of AFL. The results indicate that teachers who teach on vocational programs to a greater extent experience that they have changed their education due to the implementation of the AFL-project than teachers who teach on preparatory programs. The tests do not indicate any differences between teachers who teach characteristics and teachers who teach general subjects. The study can be useful for school leaders in planning of school improvement work and collaborative learning, as the study focuses on the importance of a well-considered initiation phase and continuous participation by school leaders during a school development project.

The diploma thesis deals with the primary pupils' assessment aimed to support effective learning. In the first section a theoretical background of school and formative assessment is discussed. The concept of assessment, its history, types and function are briefly commented. Further the proposed thesis addresses the idea of assessment for learning and respective approaches with direct connection to the research inquiries. The following section of the thesis concerns empirical investigation of the assessment of two primary school teachers from selected third and fifth-year primary school classes along with the perception of the formative assessment by their pupils. The practical part based on the gained theoretical insight is carried out in a qualitative manner. For the purpose of investigation, a case study of formative assessment aimed at mapping, analyzing and evaluation in the context of school learning systems is proposed. The proposed thesis provides findings about how is the formative assessment put into effect and how this innovative technique is viewed not only by pupils, but also elementary school teachers. According to the conducted research both interviewed teachers integrate formative assessment principles in their classes. Even though the teacher from the third-year class prefers the...

School leaders at an urban high school in the U.S. Midwest encouraged teachers to use formative assessment to help students meet learning goals; however, several years later, they found inconsistent implementation. Without a clear understanding of teachers' formative assessment practices, leaders could not establish needed supports for its consistent use in the classrooms. The purpose of this bounded qualitative case study was to examine teachers' formative assessment use to check for student understanding and to adjust instruction. Black and Wiliam's formative assessment theory formed the foundation of this study. Research questions focused on teachers' perceptions of formative assessment and usage of formative assessment for instruction. Ten state certified high school teachers, who had at least a bachelor's degree, passed basic skills and subject area examinations, and taught within their majors or minors, were purposefully selected to provide data. Data were gathered from observations, interviews, and teacher logs and were analyzed inductively using open and axial coding strategies. Results showed teachers collected and used formative assessment to modify instruction and determine student understanding from a limited number of students. Furthermore, they lacked the knowledge, skills, and strategies to implement formative assessment to help all students meet learning goals. Based on the findings, 3 professional development (PD) sessions were created to help school leaders provide support for teachers' consistent formative assessment implementation. These endeavors may contribute to positive social change when administrators provide teachers with PD to increase teachers' knowledge and skills using formative assessment, and, ultimately, to meet student learning goals.