ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING IN PRIMARY TECHNOLOGY CLASSROOMS (original) (raw)
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Research in Science Education, 2001
This paper reports on a two-year classroom investigation of primary school (Years 1–8) technology education. The first year of the project explored emerging classroom practices in technology. In the second year intervention strategies were developed to enhance teaching, learning and assessment practices. Findings from the first year revealed that assessment was often seen in terms of social and managerial aspects, such as teamwork, turn taking and co-operative skills, rather than procedural and conceptual technological aspects. Existing formative interactions with students distorted the learning away from the procedural and conceptual aspects of the subject. The second year explored the development of teachers' technological knowledge in order to enhance formative assessment practices in technology, to inform classroom practice in technology, and to enhance student learning. Intervention strategies were designed to enhance the development of procedural, conceptual, societal and technical aspects of technology for teachers and students. The results from this intervention were very positive. This paper highlights the importance of developing teacher expertise pertaining to broad concepts of technology, detailed concepts in different technological areas and general pedagogical knowledge. The findings from this research therefore have implications for thinking about teaching, learning and assessment in technology.
This paper reports on the research and intervention approaches undertaken by a research team when working with primary school teachers in technology education over a threeyear period (1998)(1999)(2000). The focus of the research was firstly the examination of existing practice, secondly the enhancement of formative interactions, and thirdly the enhancement of summative strategies. In the first year interviews, observation, and document analyses were used to develop a comprehensive picture of existing practice. The findings from this year informed both the intervention approaches and the research approaches that were adopted in the second year. These included, negotiated intervention, observation, the development and use of frameworks, interviews and facilitation. The focus of this second year was the enhancement of teachers' formative assessment practices. The results from the second year informed the approaches undertaken in the final year where the focus moved to enhancing teachers' summative assessment practices. The evidence gained over the three years has shown how effective research, development, and negotiated intervention strategies can be introduced to enhance the understanding of assessment in technology.
Emerging Assessment Practices in an Emergent Curriculum: Implications for Technology
International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 2000
This paper reports on detailed case studies into emerging assessment practices in technology in two New Zealand primary schools (Years 1–6) with nine teachers. This research is part of the two year Research in Assessment of Primary Technology (RAPT) project and formed the basis for the one year New Zealand Ministry of Education funded Learning in Technology Education (Assessment) project. Emerging classroom assessment practices in technology, a new subject area in the national curriculum, are discussed. It was found that the existing subcultures in schools, teachers' subject expertise and the school wide policies impacted on the teachers' assessment practices. Assessment was often seen in terms of social and managerial aspects such as team work, turn taking and information skills, rather than procedural and conceptual aspects. Therefore teachers' formative interactions with students distorted the learning away from procedural and conceptual aspects of the subject, and the learning and the formative assessment interactions focused on generic skills rather than student technological understanding. The importance of developing teacher expertise in three dimensions of knowledge about the subject, knowledge in the subject and general pedagogical knowledge is highlighted. Thus the findings from this research have implications for thinking about teaching, learning and assessment in technology.
International Journal of Technology and Design Education, 2006
Students involved in holistic technological practice need to develop an understanding of technological practice outside the classroom and to participate in tasks set as close as practicable to actual technological practice. This paper investigates the context of assessment and its relationship to achievement and the importance of teacher knowledge to student technological practice. I argue that 'out of context' assessment tasks do not give an accurate indication of achievement levels of the children assessed. Introduced is the Model of Student Technological Practice, which identifies four constraints that influence student technological practice. A significant factor is teacher knowledge, as it impacts greatly on the quality of feedback given to students by their teachers. Timely teacher intervention and formative assessment feedback will alter student technological practice and should improve the students' likelihood of developing successful outcomes.
Assisting teachers’ understanding of student learning in technology
International Journal of Technology and Design Education
This article describes a study undertaken in New Zealand, England and Sweden and is based on the use of a tool developed by the researcher as a professional development and teaching tool in technology education for teachers of students between four and six years of age. The aim of the research was to investigate teachers' views of the effectiveness of the tool designed to deepening their understandings of technology content and pedagogical content knowledge. The tool, technology observations and conversation framework (TOCF) was designed to guide teachers' interactions with and observations of young children when learning technology with the aim of developing teacher insight into their own understanding of technology and how students learn technology. The tool was developed using the building of learning power theory to facilitate the identification of key dispositions and attitudes within four aspects of learning and across five predetermined behaviours relevant to technology education. Qualitative research methods were used to investigate teachers' interaction with the TOCF by observing their use of it, and interviewing them about their perceived developed understanding of technology content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The initial purpose of the framework, presented to the teachers prior to teaching, was to guide interactions with students to assist this development and subsequently assist their ability to teach technology effectively and give specific feedback to students in technology education. The study found that teachers felt that they gained a deeper understanding of technology education and their understanding of students' learning in technology also developed. This article presents the final framework and teachers' views on how they were assisted by the framework. The study offers an international perspective on ways to broaden and deepen students' understanding in technological literacy through the development of teacher content knowledge and PCK and contributes significantly to the field of formative assessment in technology education.
Development of formative assessment tool for a primary, technology classroom
Design and technology education : an international journal, 2020
Teachers and students' interactions in the classroom include a large number of questions, some of which are a key part of formative assessment. Questions can lead to an extended dialogue between the teacher and the student, potentially facilitating a better understanding of the students' conceptions and providing teachers with information to guide student learning. Technology Observation and Conversation Framework (TOCF) was identified as a framework of questions specially designed for a technology classroom. In this qualitative, design-based research, the TOCF was modified for alignment with the New Zealand curriculum and provided to two primary teachers teaching ages 9-10. The version of TOCF reported in this article was developed through an iterative process in an authentic environment. The teachers were interviewed periodically, and modifications were made to the format of the framework. The findings in this paper focus on the outputs of the iterative process and the fee...
The pathway to enriching teaching and assessment with technology
itl.usyd.edu.au
Embedding learning technologies into teaching requires a range of new skills and knowledge for academics in higher education. While teaching programmes are designed for learners to achieve different learning outcomes, academics can adopt alternative teaching strategies and assessment methods to provide a conducive learning environment through learning technologies. There is a need to collaborate with technical experts to design and develop interactive materials, while academics need to acquire skills in the daily operation of networked learning environments. To implement and manage these new practices, academics need to set clear expectations as they take on different roles to guide and support students to exceed their potential. Finally, academics can review effects on student learning and teaching practice to see if changes in practice can provide further evidence of achieving the intended outcomes.
Technology-Enhanced Assessment Feedback
The enabling power of assessment, 2016
This series heralds the idea that new times call for new and different thinking about assessment and learning, the identities of teachers and students, and what is involved in using and creating new knowledge. Its scope is consistent with a view of assessment as inherently connected with cultural, social practices and contexts. Assessment is a shared enterprise where teachers and students come together to not only develop knowledge and skills, but also to use and create knowledge and identities. Working from this position, the series confronts some of the major educational assessment issues of our times.
Interactive Learning Environments, 2016
In this paper we review the literature on Teacher Inquiry to explore the possibility that this process can equip teachers to investigate students' learning as a step towards the process of formative assessment. We draw a distinction between formative assessment and summative forms of assessment (CRELL, 2009, Webb, 2010, EACEA, 2009, OECD, 2010b). Our review of Teacher Inquiry is combined with a review of the research concerning the way that practices with technology can support the assessment process. We conclude with a comparison of Teacher Inquiry and Teacher Design Research from which we extract the characteristics for a method of teacher inquiry that can be used to develop technology enhanced formative assessment: Teacher Inquiry into Student Learning (TISL). In this review our primary focus is upon enabling teachers to use technology effectively to inquire about their students' learning progress.