Natasha Serret - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Natasha Serret

Educational Assessment, Dec 31, 2022

Association for Science Education eBooks, Jan 2, 2018

In this new edition of the ASE Guide to Primary Science Education, two important areas are highli... more In this new edition of the ASE Guide to Primary Science Education, two important areas are highlighted. The first is the importance of taking a scientific approach to teaching. This means using evidence, where it exists, in making decisions that affect teaching, and being sceptical about claims where there is no evidence. The complexity of the processes of learning and teaching means that finding convincing evidence in relation to teaching practices is more difficult than conducting a scientific experiment in a laboratory. What works in some classrooms may not be so effective in others. But it is always useful to try out what others find helpful – and there are many good ideas in this Guide – whilst collecting evidence of changes in children’s engagement in learning. The second message continues the longstanding debate around the dual goals of science education: the development of conceptual understanding and the development of inquiry skills. We value learning with understanding, as opposed to rote learning, and have long recognised that this depends on children starting from their existing ideas and on teachers enabling them to develop ‘bigger’ ideas. However, this will only help children’s scientific understanding if they are working Scientifically, that is, gathering and using evidence and developing the skills of inquiry. This takes time, not just for carrying out these processes, but also for reflecting on how this has been done and how it has led to ideas being changed.

ASSISTME (Assessing Inquiry in Science, Technology, and Mathematics Education) is an EU FP7 resea... more ASSISTME (Assessing Inquiry in Science, Technology, and Mathematics Education) is an EU FP7 research project. In collaboration with 8 European countries, this fouryear (20132017) project aims to find out how to support primary and secondary teachers in the formative assessment of inquirybased learning in science, technology and mathematics. Within this context, we developed a professional development programme that aimed to support primary teachers in their teaching and assessment of science inquiry. Our research aims to investigate how teachers transform their teaching of science inquiries and the assessment conversations that they have during classroom inquiries. This paper begins to identify what kinds of professional development experiences enable this transformation to take place. Our data sources include written teacher reflections, audiorecordings of the professional development meetings and observed lessons and semistructured postlesson interviews. We draw from a multistep, opencoding analysis of selected transcripts of the audiorecordings of classroom talk made during lesson observations. We substantiate this with teacher reflections, arising from the professional development sessions, to extend our understanding of effective ways to guide teachers in transforming their teaching and assessment practices in scientific inquiry. Our preliminary analysis suggests that transforming the assessment and teaching of science inquiry requires some specific professional development opportunities. Sharing some examples of classroom inquiries that were bounded, initially, and then later open (Wenning, 2005) gave teachers the confidence to incorporate inquiry within their existing practice. This was introduced in conjunction with regular professional reading (Turner et al, 2011) and a focus on discrete inquiry skills (e.g. making predictions). Collectively, this allowed teachers to sharpen their professional understanding of classroom inquiry. The critical teacher reflections, made during professional development days, supported teachers in refining their formative practice. Their assessment conversations went beyond accepting or rejecting answers and, instead, facilitated a more open and formative discussion that encouraged children to share their ideas with others.

Open University Press eBooks, 2010

This paper is focused on the characterization of informal formative assessment conversations (i.e... more This paper is focused on the characterization of informal formative assessment conversations (i.e., interactions on-the-fly) from a methodological perspective. Interactions on-the-fly are unexpected teachable moments in which the teacher tries to probe students’ understanding and use that information to support their inquiry process. One of the coding systems used (ESRU framework) was adopted from the research literature (Ruiz-Primo & Furtak, 2007). Two other systems described here were developed and previously reported in two papers written by the authors (Correia, Nieminen, Serret, Hahkioniemi, Viiri, & Harrison, in press; Nieminen, Hahkioniemi, Leskinen, & Viiri, 2016). This paper presents these three coding systems together and discusses their features to characterize interactions on-the-fly. Examples for coding interactions on-the-fly from Finnish and English physics lessons are presented. For example, on the one hand, on-the-fly discussion proceeds as follows: The teacher init...

In England, recent changes to the National Curriculum for primary science (Great Britain, DfE, 20... more In England, recent changes to the National Curriculum for primary science (Great Britain, DfE, 2013) have tried to respond to the legacy of national tests set at the end of primary schooling (10-11 years old) and establish a better balance between formative and summative assessment practice. Within this context, we have developed a professional development programme that aimed to support primary teachers in their teaching and assessment of science inquiry. Our research aims to investigate what kinds of professional development approaches support the formative assessment of primary science inquiry and how these are reinterpreted into teacher practice. This paper reports on the preliminary findings emerging from our study. Our data sources include written teacher reflections, audiorecordings of the professional development meetings and observed lessons and semistructured post lesson interviews. We draw from a multi-step, open-coding analysis of selected lesson observations and substan...

Professional Development in Education

Contributions from Science Education Research, 2017

Inquiry activities generate rich opportunities for STEM learning and for assessment. When teacher... more Inquiry activities generate rich opportunities for STEM learning and for assessment. When teachers pay attention to assessment information collected during the course of learning, they are able to interpret and make decisions about such assessment data in a timely fashion that can drive future planning and support student learning, for example through feedback. This chapter focuses on how classroom talk can generate evidence of learning and how teachers can utilise this to enable assessment to guide inquiry learning. It looks at several vignettes from different countries of on-the-fly interactions in inquiry settings and unpacks how teachers organised, facilitated and assessed learning in inquiry classrooms. Finally, the chapter considers opportunities, dilemmas and constraints that occurred as teachers attempted to integrate on-the-fly assessment into their existing assessment classroom practices.

Glenys Hart, Ade Magaji, Margaret Fleming and Natasha Serret reflect on the highlights of the 202... more Glenys Hart, Ade Magaji, Margaret Fleming and Natasha Serret reflect on the highlights of the 2021 Online ASE Annual Conference particularly relevant for international delegates

There has been much recent controversy over coursework-based examinations with concerns centring ... more There has been much recent controversy over coursework-based examinations with concerns centring on the issue of plagiarism. In mathematics, teachers’ concerns have extended to the validity of coursework. A recent survey of mathematics teachers overwhelmingly favoured the immediate abandonment of coursework at GSCE with the result that QCA have abolished GCSE coursework from this year onward (QCA, 2006). The decision for English has been put on hold, for now, but in the past English teachers have argued, often vehemently, for its inclusion in the way in which pupils are assessed. Coursework is still used for 40% of the GSCE and complaints occur every year about KS3 exams, which contain no course based assessment at all On the other hand, there is evidence that highlights weaknesses in both the reliability and validity of current examination based forms of assessment (e.g., Black & Wiliam, 2006; Stobart, 2005).

Educational Assessment, Dec 31, 2022

Association for Science Education eBooks, Jan 2, 2018

In this new edition of the ASE Guide to Primary Science Education, two important areas are highli... more In this new edition of the ASE Guide to Primary Science Education, two important areas are highlighted. The first is the importance of taking a scientific approach to teaching. This means using evidence, where it exists, in making decisions that affect teaching, and being sceptical about claims where there is no evidence. The complexity of the processes of learning and teaching means that finding convincing evidence in relation to teaching practices is more difficult than conducting a scientific experiment in a laboratory. What works in some classrooms may not be so effective in others. But it is always useful to try out what others find helpful – and there are many good ideas in this Guide – whilst collecting evidence of changes in children’s engagement in learning. The second message continues the longstanding debate around the dual goals of science education: the development of conceptual understanding and the development of inquiry skills. We value learning with understanding, as opposed to rote learning, and have long recognised that this depends on children starting from their existing ideas and on teachers enabling them to develop ‘bigger’ ideas. However, this will only help children’s scientific understanding if they are working Scientifically, that is, gathering and using evidence and developing the skills of inquiry. This takes time, not just for carrying out these processes, but also for reflecting on how this has been done and how it has led to ideas being changed.

ASSISTME (Assessing Inquiry in Science, Technology, and Mathematics Education) is an EU FP7 resea... more ASSISTME (Assessing Inquiry in Science, Technology, and Mathematics Education) is an EU FP7 research project. In collaboration with 8 European countries, this fouryear (20132017) project aims to find out how to support primary and secondary teachers in the formative assessment of inquirybased learning in science, technology and mathematics. Within this context, we developed a professional development programme that aimed to support primary teachers in their teaching and assessment of science inquiry. Our research aims to investigate how teachers transform their teaching of science inquiries and the assessment conversations that they have during classroom inquiries. This paper begins to identify what kinds of professional development experiences enable this transformation to take place. Our data sources include written teacher reflections, audiorecordings of the professional development meetings and observed lessons and semistructured postlesson interviews. We draw from a multistep, opencoding analysis of selected transcripts of the audiorecordings of classroom talk made during lesson observations. We substantiate this with teacher reflections, arising from the professional development sessions, to extend our understanding of effective ways to guide teachers in transforming their teaching and assessment practices in scientific inquiry. Our preliminary analysis suggests that transforming the assessment and teaching of science inquiry requires some specific professional development opportunities. Sharing some examples of classroom inquiries that were bounded, initially, and then later open (Wenning, 2005) gave teachers the confidence to incorporate inquiry within their existing practice. This was introduced in conjunction with regular professional reading (Turner et al, 2011) and a focus on discrete inquiry skills (e.g. making predictions). Collectively, this allowed teachers to sharpen their professional understanding of classroom inquiry. The critical teacher reflections, made during professional development days, supported teachers in refining their formative practice. Their assessment conversations went beyond accepting or rejecting answers and, instead, facilitated a more open and formative discussion that encouraged children to share their ideas with others.

Open University Press eBooks, 2010

This paper is focused on the characterization of informal formative assessment conversations (i.e... more This paper is focused on the characterization of informal formative assessment conversations (i.e., interactions on-the-fly) from a methodological perspective. Interactions on-the-fly are unexpected teachable moments in which the teacher tries to probe students’ understanding and use that information to support their inquiry process. One of the coding systems used (ESRU framework) was adopted from the research literature (Ruiz-Primo & Furtak, 2007). Two other systems described here were developed and previously reported in two papers written by the authors (Correia, Nieminen, Serret, Hahkioniemi, Viiri, & Harrison, in press; Nieminen, Hahkioniemi, Leskinen, & Viiri, 2016). This paper presents these three coding systems together and discusses their features to characterize interactions on-the-fly. Examples for coding interactions on-the-fly from Finnish and English physics lessons are presented. For example, on the one hand, on-the-fly discussion proceeds as follows: The teacher init...

In England, recent changes to the National Curriculum for primary science (Great Britain, DfE, 20... more In England, recent changes to the National Curriculum for primary science (Great Britain, DfE, 2013) have tried to respond to the legacy of national tests set at the end of primary schooling (10-11 years old) and establish a better balance between formative and summative assessment practice. Within this context, we have developed a professional development programme that aimed to support primary teachers in their teaching and assessment of science inquiry. Our research aims to investigate what kinds of professional development approaches support the formative assessment of primary science inquiry and how these are reinterpreted into teacher practice. This paper reports on the preliminary findings emerging from our study. Our data sources include written teacher reflections, audiorecordings of the professional development meetings and observed lessons and semistructured post lesson interviews. We draw from a multi-step, open-coding analysis of selected lesson observations and substan...

Professional Development in Education

Contributions from Science Education Research, 2017

Inquiry activities generate rich opportunities for STEM learning and for assessment. When teacher... more Inquiry activities generate rich opportunities for STEM learning and for assessment. When teachers pay attention to assessment information collected during the course of learning, they are able to interpret and make decisions about such assessment data in a timely fashion that can drive future planning and support student learning, for example through feedback. This chapter focuses on how classroom talk can generate evidence of learning and how teachers can utilise this to enable assessment to guide inquiry learning. It looks at several vignettes from different countries of on-the-fly interactions in inquiry settings and unpacks how teachers organised, facilitated and assessed learning in inquiry classrooms. Finally, the chapter considers opportunities, dilemmas and constraints that occurred as teachers attempted to integrate on-the-fly assessment into their existing assessment classroom practices.

Glenys Hart, Ade Magaji, Margaret Fleming and Natasha Serret reflect on the highlights of the 202... more Glenys Hart, Ade Magaji, Margaret Fleming and Natasha Serret reflect on the highlights of the 2021 Online ASE Annual Conference particularly relevant for international delegates

There has been much recent controversy over coursework-based examinations with concerns centring ... more There has been much recent controversy over coursework-based examinations with concerns centring on the issue of plagiarism. In mathematics, teachers’ concerns have extended to the validity of coursework. A recent survey of mathematics teachers overwhelmingly favoured the immediate abandonment of coursework at GSCE with the result that QCA have abolished GCSE coursework from this year onward (QCA, 2006). The decision for English has been put on hold, for now, but in the past English teachers have argued, often vehemently, for its inclusion in the way in which pupils are assessed. Coursework is still used for 40% of the GSCE and complaints occur every year about KS3 exams, which contain no course based assessment at all On the other hand, there is evidence that highlights weaknesses in both the reliability and validity of current examination based forms of assessment (e.g., Black & Wiliam, 2006; Stobart, 2005).