The purpose of this study is to evaluate teachers attitudes towards reading homework and their thoughts regarding feedback. The study will also be looking at what type of support pupils are given regarding their reading homework and homework in general. This study will also evaluate the teachers’ thoughts on equality in connection with the pupils varying home conditions that affect how much support and help they receive with their reading homework.  I collected data for this study by using survey and interview methods. These two methods complement each other as they give a wide and in-depth-look at the questions in this study.  The results from this study show teachers attitudes towards reading homework as well as different forms of feedback that can be given. It also highlights teachers experiences when it comes to their schools homework support practice relating to reading and other types of homework that their pupils are given. Also included are the teachers’ thoughts regarding equality when related to pupils varying home conditions that affect help and support related to reading homework. The word that best describes teachers’ opinions on the current equivalent schooling is unfairness. / Syftet med studien är att undersöka lärares inställning till läsläxa samt deras tankar angående återkoppling och skolans stöd till eleverna med deras läsläxa och läxor i övrigt. Studien syftar även till att undersöka lärares tankar gällande likvärdighet kopplat till elevers olika förutsättningar till stöd och hjälp i hemmet med deras läsläxa.  Studiens tillvägagångssätt gällande datainsamling har skett via två metoder, enkät samt intervju. Datainsamlingsmetoderna kompletterar varandra och ger en bredd samt ett djup i frågorna.  Resultatet i studien redovisar lärares inställning till läsläxa samt varianter på återkoppling till den. Studiens resultat lyfter även lärares upplevelser om skolans stöd med läsläxa och övriga läxor till sina elever samt lärares tankar angående likvärdighet kopplat till elevers olika förutsättningar i hemmiljön gällande stöd och hjälp med läsläxa. Ordet som beskriver lärarnas åsikt gällande likvärdighetstanken är orättvisa.

Empirical research evidences have confirmed the pedagogical power of formative assessment to improve students‟ learning, particularly in science education. Thus, this study investigated science teachers‟ practice of assessment for learning in second cycle secondary schools at East Gojjam Zone, Amhara Regional State. To meet this objective mixed method research design, particularly concurrent mixed method was used. The subjects of the study were all of science teachers in the randomly selected schools. Questionnaire, semi-structured interview, and observation were used to collect the data. From 186 science teachers, 153 teachers properly filled and returned the questionnaire. Moreover, 8 purposively selected teachers were included in the interview and observation sessions. To analyze the quantitative data, frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, one-sample t-test, multiple regression, MANOVA, and ANOVA were used. For the qualitative data content analysis was used. The results of the quantitative and qualitative data showed that the practice of assessment for learning in the selected schools was very low. Most science teachers administered tests, home works, assignments, and class works at the end of the lesson to consolidate what they taught and to collect marks, but they did not integrate different assessment for learning methods throughout their instruction for the sake of learning. Teachers mentioned lack of science resources, large class size, shortage of instructional time, inadequate school support, lack of appropriate professional development activities, lack of instructional materials, students‟ and teachers‟ negative perception on formative assessment, teachers‟ lack of knowledge and skill about formative assessment, and large content of courses as major factors for not implementing assessment for learning. Besides, this study revealed a significant relationship between teachers‟ perception and school supports with teachers‟ overall practice of assessment for learning. Teaching experience has also significant effect on the combined practice of assessment for learning, particularly teaching experience significantly affects the collection of learning evidences than other factors. However, class size, subject taught, and teaching load per week have no significant effect on the combined practice of assessment for learning. Moreover, the pre-service and in-service assessment trainings have no significant contributions to the practice of assessment for learning. Therefore, comprehensive and relevant assessment trainings should be given for science teachers on a regular basis to integrate assessment with daily instruction to improve learning. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

The purpose of this study was to examine the ways by which student learning improvement and the self-regulation of learning are possible through the use of quality formative assessment in the teaching of a university course. In recent years, researchers in educational assessment are showing an increased interest to the improvement of learning resulting from the use of formative assessment. Formative assessment is generally recognised as an improvement oriented assessment. It is believed to result in instructional effectiveness. Quality formative assessment includes formative feedback, self-assessment and peer assessment. Previous studies show the contribution of each of these quality formative assessments to learning improvement. However, less attention has been given to studying the combined effect of quality formative assessments on learning improvement. On the other hand, the predominant use of summative assessment remains a challenge to the improvement in instruction. Thus, the question was to determine the extent to which the use of quality formative assessment improves learning. The literature review in this study show an over reliance upon summative assessment in the context of higher education classrooms. There is also recognition in that formative assessment improves learning and enhances self-regulation. This study followed a mixed-methods research design of the type partially mixed sequential and applied a quasi-experimental intervention, where the educators used quality formative assessment on lessons with the students in the intervention group. The quasiexperimentation was implemented with 378 (214 male and 164 female) first year students of three universities enrolled for “General Psychology” course and six educators who were teaching the course. The students in this study were taken from intact classes, because this is possible in quasi experimental research. Data for the quantitative part of the study were generated using a structured questionnaire and achievement tests. Interviews with the educators, focus group discussions with the students, and classroom observations were used to generate data for the qualitative phase of study. The pretestposttest scores as well as the students’ perceptions on self-regulating learning were compared between the intervention (N =191) and the comparison (N = 187) groups. The quantitative analysis used different inferential statistics, which proved the presence of statistically significant variations between the intervention and comparison groups for the outcome measures (posttest achievement and perception about self-regulating learning). Although the qualitative study showed the presence of positive perceptions towards quality formative assessment, the practice was found to be inconsistent. Perhaps, this may be because of the predominantly summative assessment tradition and the reluctance to use quality formative assessment. Finally, recommendations were made to promote the use of quality formative assessment aiming at the improvement and the self-regulation on learning. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / D. Ed. (Didactics)

This independent degree project investigates how formative feedback on written assignments affect Swedish upper secondary school pupils’ writing skills regarding form, what the effects are, and if the effects are the same for pupils in different ability bands. This was done by a time series analysis of tests where a collection of texts from pupils in different ability bands (E, C, and A) in two different classes was collected. All errors in the texts were counted and categorised, as well with the teachers’ highlighted errors on the pupils’ texts. The errors were further calculated into number of errors per 100 words due to different lengths of the texts. The results showed that there was a somewhat positive effect of the teachers’ feedback overall, and that pupils in lower ability bands processed feedback more effectively than pupils in higher ability bands. However, the results also suggested that in order to fully draw conclusions such as these, a statistical study is necessary to strengthen the results due to the low numbers in the results. The pedagogical implications found showed that teachers need to work differently with feedback for high-grade pupils. In order to do so, teacher education programs must emphasise this and address to teachers how to do this.

Vi har undersökt hur instruktionernas utformning inför deltagande i en kamratrespons påverkar högstadieelevers motivation att lära sig samt måluppfyllelse av kunskapskravet att utforma egen undersökning i ämnet biologi. Efter en kort genomgång av hur en egen undersökning ska utformas fick eleverna från tre åk 7 klasser och två åk 8 klasser i uppgift att utforma en egen undersökning i ämnet biologi. Uppgiften var utformad efter nationella provet del 3 från 2017. Vid nästa lektion blev elever indelade i par efter likvärdig måluppfyllelse. Slumpmässigt fick elevparen antingen förenklade, ospecificerade instruktioner som inbjöd till öppen, elevledd dialog eller detaljerade, punktformade instruktioner som uppmuntrade till en specifik innehåll och samtalsstruktur. Vi genomförde en enkät före och efter deltagandet i kamratresponsen som uppmätte elevens motivation att lära sig de olika kunskapskraven för biologi i högstadiet samt elevens upplevelse av deltagandet och sitt eget lärande. Uppgiften bedömdes efter Skolverkets bedömningsmall för rättning av nationella prov. Vi fann inga belägg för att elevers motivation att lära sig kunskapsmålen i ämnet biologi påverkades av varken kamratrespons som helhet eller instruktionernas utformning. Däremot fann vi en högre förbättringsgrad av måluppfyllelse bland de elever som fick de detaljerade, strukturerade instruktionerna jämfört med de förenklade, öppna instruktionerna. Vi drar slutsatserna att kamratrespons är ett användbart pedagogisk verktyg för att ge individuell formativ bedömning som leder till förbättrad måluppfyllelse under arbetes gång i kunskapskravet att forma egen undersökning och att utformningen av instruktionerna bör vara tydliga och detaljerade för att nå maximal resultat.

The study aims to examine (1) the extent to which EFL learners in upper secondary school use feedback comments from teachers and peers to revise their texts and how the usage patterns vary by type of feedback approach, (2) how the students use feedback to revise their texts and how the usage patterns vary by type of feedback approach, and (3) What positive or negative effects the type of feedback approach has on students’ revisions. Moreover, the study aims to investigate the extent the type of feedback approach affects students’ usage patterns in their revisions. The findings will provide a basis for discussions about the possible qualities of written feedback that could be included to help students improve their writing skills. Content analysis of 28 argumentative essays written by first-year upper secondary students in Sweden is used to identify the type of feedback provided by teachers and peers and the type of revisions made by the students. Using the identified types of feedback and revisions, a text analysis was adopted to examine the frequency of feedback and revisions, and how students used it to revise their text. Furthermore, the results are presented and compared to different relevant studies (e.g., Baker, 2016; Lee; 2008) and theories such as Krashen's (1985) input hypothesis and Swain's (2005) output hypothesis, to draw some insights into the effects of feedback on students' revisions. The results show that students utilized corrective feedback on the micro level more than the macro level – especially indirect corrective feedback on the micro level. The students used most of the feedback to revise their errors on the micro level such as grammar, spelling, and punctuation; however, a few revisions were made on the macro level where students improved their text by restructuring their arguments and ideas. Finally, the findings indicate that formative feedback had a positive effect on students' revisions both on the macro and micro level where students improved the coherence and cohesion of their texts in the final draft. Therefore, if formative feedback is applied in the appropriate context, it may help students develop their writing abilities.

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I takt med att tekniken går framåt krävs det att företag håller sig ständigt uppdaterade genom att vidareutbilda sina medarbetare. Inom företagsutbildning finns behovet av att utveckla metoderna för lärande samt att hitta sätta att utbilda personalen mer effektivt. I tidigare forskning har det framkommit att frågebaserat lärande kan effektivisera utbildningen med 50 %. Den här studien vill undersöka en ny metod som kallas rent frågebaserat lärande, utvecklat av Bälter och Glassey. Rent frågebaserat lärande innebär att lära sig endast genom att svara på frågor och av återkopplingen som följer därefter. Studien som presenteras i detta examensarbete syftar till att utvärdera och undersöka beteendet och erfarenheterna hos deltagare på en kurs som är uppbyggd med metoden rent frågebaserat lärande. Ett existerande utbildningsmaterial om Scanias ledarskapsmodell har först omvandlats med hjälp av den givna metoden och sedan har en grupp medarbetare på Scania testat och utvärderat kursen. Genom enkäter med både kvalitativa och kvantitativa frågor har totalt 27 kursdeltagares upplevelse av sitt eget lärande analyserats med hjälp av tematisk analys och kursmaterialet har utvärderats. Detta har sedan jämförts med resultatet från 15 personer som gick den ursprungliga kursen med individuellt internetbaserat lärande. Det visar sig att gruppen som deltagit i den utvecklade kursen hade mer aktivt lärande jämfört med de som deltagit i den ursprungliga kursen. Kursdeltagarnas uppfattning av hur mycket de har lärt sig skiljer sig inte åt mellan grupperna. Tiden det tog att slutföra kursen har analyserats och av detta framkommer att kursen som är utvecklad med rent frågebaserat lärande kortar ner inlärningstiden med ca 33 %. / As technology advances, companies need to stay updated by continuously training their employees. Therefore, there is a need to make the learning material more efficient and in previous research, question-based learning has been shown to do just that by up to 50%. This study seeks to investigate a new method called pure question-based learning, developed by Bälter and Glassey. Pure question-based learning means learning only by answering questions and the feedback that follows. The study that is presented in this thesis aims to evaluate and investigate the behavior and experience of participants in a course that is structured with the method pure question-based learning. An existing training material on Scania's leadership model has first been transformed using the given method and then a group of employees at Scania has tested and evaluated the course. Through surveys with both qualitative and quantitative questions, 27 course participants' experience of their own learning has been analyzed with the help of thematic analysis and the course material has been evaluated. The result has since then been compared to the results of 15 participants in the original course with individual internet-based learning. It turns out that the group that participated in the developed course had more active learning compared to the group that participated in the original course. The course participants' perception of how much they learned does not differ between the groups. The time it took to complete the course has been analyzed and from this it appears that the course that is developed with pure question-based learning shortens the learning time by approximately 33 %.

Aim Develop an IT artifact that provides formative feedback for students based on their programming assignments. Background One of the best methods to learn programming is by practice. Providing feedback to students is an important and a valuable factor for improving learning, which plays a vital part in the student’s possibility to enhance and improve its solutions. Software development courses have several assignments and each course instructs about 100 students. To assess and provide feedback for all the students and each assignment demands considerable resources. In a survey conducted by TCO (2013) half of the respondents’ state that feedback is rarely or never given in reasonable time. Method Action Design Research (ADR) was used to intervene an organizational problem in parallel with building and evaluating an IT artifact. Conclusion The results from the study were four generated design principles and a proposed solution on how to use existing static code analysis tools for provide formative feedback to students.

This study investigated the effective use of online Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) with immediate formative feedback, and the granting of partial credit for correct second or third chance answers when assessing and assisting students’ conceptual learning at higher cognitive levels. The research sample comprised first year engineering science students at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Pretoria campus. The differences between using online MCQ-assessment for problem-solving calculations and using constructed written questions (CRQs)1 in the assessment of problem-solving calculations were explored. Furthermore, the differences between the assessment of problem-solving calculations using online MCQs without immediate formative feedback, and with immediate formative feedback and the granting of partial credit were analysed. The findings revealed that students’ marks were lower when answering problem-solving calculations using online MCQs without immediate formative feedback than when answering the same questions using CRQs. This clearly indicates that using online MCQs without immediate formative feedback is not effective in assessing scientific problem-solving calculations. Alternatively, online MCQs proved effective in assessing problem-solving calculations when immediate formative feedback and partial credit were employed. The statistical analysis showed that students performed significantly better when immediate formative feedback was given and partial credit was granted for correct second or third attempts. This was due to online MCQs utilising immediate formative feedback, which made it possible to grant partial credit when students chose the correct answers after feedback. This showed that online MCQs with immediate formative feedback and partial credit being granted can be an effective assessment tool for scientific problem-solving calculations. It increases performance and supports learning from assessment. Students can thus correct their calculations whilst in the process of doing them. / Science and Technology Education / M. Ed. (Science Education)