Creativity as Queer Praxis: History, Pedagogy and Academic Assessment

Queer pedagogy is an approach to educational praxis and curricula emerging in the late 20th century, drawing from the theoretical traditions of poststructuralism, queer theory, and critical pedagogy. The ideas put forth by key figures in queer theory, including principally Michel Foucault and Judith Butler, were adopted in the early 1990s by to posit an approach to education that seeks to challenge heteronormative structures and assumptions in K–12 and higher education curricula, pedagogy, and policy. Queer pedagogy, much like the queer theory that informs it, draws on the lived experience of the queer, wonky, or non-normative as a lens through which to consider educational phenomena. Queer pedagogy seeks to both uncover and disrupt hidden curricula of heteronormativity as well as to develop classroom landscapes and experiences that create safety for queer participants. In unpacking queer pedagogy, three forms of the word “queer” emerge: queer-as-a-noun, queer-as-an-adjective, and queer-as-a-verb. Queer pedagogy involves exploring the noun form, or “being” queer, and how queer identities intersect and impact educational spaces. The word “queer” can also become an adjective that describes moments when heteronormative perceptions become blurred by the presence of these queer identities. In praxis, queer pedagogy embraces a proactive use of queer as a verb; a teacher might use queer pedagogy to trouble traditional heteronormative notions about curricula and pedagogy. This queer praxis, or queer as a verb, involves three primary foci: safety for queer students and teachers; engagement by queer students; and finally, understanding of queer issues, culture, and history.

One of the major roles of a teacher is assessing student performance in classrooms. Assessment is an essential aspect of teaching and learning that has led to significant time allocation for assessment activities. In Malaysia, classroom-based assessment (CBA) has been implemented formally since 2016. CBA is a process of assessing students continuously during teaching and learning. CBA is a multifaceted approach to assessment that can be adjusted according to students and learning outcomes. CBA is aimed at supporting and improving student learning. CBA can be directly included in the teaching and learning process; and can also be adapted to various educational objectives and contexts. This paper explores the perceptions of English language teachers towards CBA. This study also explores perceptions of CBA and the relationship with teachers’ assessment practices. This study employed a questionnaire to gather data. The study involved 164 secondary English language teachers in one school district in the northern region of Malaysia. The study found that the perceptions towards CBA and assessment practices of teachers are positively related, suggesting that when teachers' attitudes towards assessment changed, so did their practices. This study provides insights into how CBA can be integrated into language classrooms to enhance assessment practices. It is hoped that these findings of this study will provide valuable insights to policymakers and stakeholders to make well-informed decisions. It is hoped that this study can help illuminate the potential of CBA in refining assessment practices in Malaysia.

This is a quantitative study regarding the concept on assessment practices in higher institutions of learning as perceived by BA ISAGO undergraduate students. A questionnaire was developed on the concept regarding assessment practices on a four likert scale and administered to a convenience random sample of 400 undergraduate students at BA ISAGO University in Botswana. Out of which 365 undergraduate students studying varying degree programmes responded to the questionnaire and their responses were coded, analysed using exploratory factor analytic method (available on the SPSS computer package). SPSS software produced the descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) and factor analysis. The Principal factor with iteration was employed and varimax rotation method was also used to extract the perceived constructs on the concept on assessment practices at institutions of higher education. Seven constructs with eigen values greater than one, emerged from the factor analysis. Results revealed seven (7) main concept on assessment practices were perceived by BA ISAGO University undergraduate students. The seven main constructs were to: determine students’ higher level of thinking/ cognitive abilities; provide constructive feedback for effective students’ learning outcomes; allow for students’ self-reflection and peer assessment of learning outcomes; use of different alternative modes of assessing learning outcomes; maintain quality assurance processes in form of assessment criteria; modify learning outcomes using formal and informal assessment procedures; identify students prior knowledge before beginning instruction. The study further determined if gender and faculty of study of students have significant influence on students’ perceived concept on assessment practices at higher education. It was found that gender and faculty of study had significant influence on students’ perceptions with regards to some assessment practices All these perceived assessment practices by the undergraduates would inform institutions of higher education on how to appraise undergraduate students’ cognitive abilities.

Background Higher education teachers dwell on various classroom assessment practices. Their assessment practices play a significant part of the teaching learning process and in determining student achievement. In this respect, their different attributes determine the nature of their classroom assessment practices. This cross-sectional survey study aimed to examine differences in assessment practices among public university teachers with respect to their academic status, teaching experience, assessment training and specializations. Methods The study adopted Assessment Practices Inventory (API) which was distributed to a sample of 380 randomly selected teachers from four public universities. The majorities (93.4%) of questionnaires which were properly completed were entered to SPSS version 25 software and used for analysis. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was used for analysis and Pillai’s Trace was utilized for interpretation of the results. Results The results showed that academic status (P= .000); teaching experience (P = .000); and assessment training (P =.030) had significant differences for the combined dependent variables (assessment practice). However, field of specialization (P =.130) did not show significant difference in the overall assessment practice although differences were observed in assessment design and interpretation. Conclusion Academic status, teaching experience, and assessment training are important attributes of teachers that shape their assessment practices. Therefore, as teachers hold the sole responsibility of classroom assessment, training and development courses in assessment, experience sharing and learning opportunities are necessary regardless of their specializations, academic status, and teaching experience.

This paper discusses the efficacy of a model of benchmarking toward best practices in learning assessment in higher education. It outlines the need for best practices in learning assessment and reports findings on a comprehensive model of assessing learning outcomes of an undergraduate business program. By developing competency expectations of students, the model led to a multi‐method data collection/analysis toward benchmarking learning outcomes. The findings demonstrate how benchmarking leads to continuous curriculum improvement of instructional process and the curriculum. The authors claimed that in the absence of a generally accepted model, if the methodology is replicated, it may lead to the best practices in assessing learning outcomes of an undergraduate business program.

In the field of education, assessment is used to evaluate and document the learning progress and educational needs of students. Assessment takes many forms, including direct and indirect methods and summative and formative measures, and occurs across levels from the individual student to the district and state levels. At the individual student, classroom, and school levels, academic assessment data are used to make instructional decisions regarding differentiation, intervention, program placement, and special education eligibility. Specifically, academic skills assessment enables the educator to determine student performance on tasks in the basics of reading, writing, and math against a criterion or standard (e.g., grade-level expectations) and in relation to same age or grade peers. At the district level, high-stakes statewide assessment data are used for accountability purposes, such as documenting adequate student progress. Additionally, statewide assessment results often are used to “grade” and rank schools and may influence decisions regarding allocation of resources and school choice vouchers. The purpose of this annotated bibliography is to provide an overview of general resources for academic assessment as well as more-specific resources for differing modalities and methods of assessment, applications, and implications for policy and practice. The bibliography includes seminal and contemporary references from educational publishers and peer-reviewed sources.

This study was conducted to find out if the selected courses at the University of Botswana that have been prepared to meet the compliance standards of the Botswana Qualifications Authority (BQA) have any effects on teaching, learning and assessment processes with respect to the use of lesson outcomes. The study was guided by three research questions and these were: (1) What is the difference between lesson (or learning) outcomes and lesson objectives? (2) How are learning outcomes used in writing question items for tests and examinations? (3) How do learning outcomes improve teaching and learning or academic achievement and assessment in comparison with the use of learning objectives? These research questions were converted into three research objectives and these were: (1) To find out the difference between lesson (learning) outcomes and lesson objectives. (2) To find out how lesson (learning) outcomes are used to write question items for tests and examinations. (3) To find out how lesson outcomes improve teaching, learning or academic achievement and assessment in comparison with the use of lesson objectives. The courses that were analyzed to find answers to research questions and research objectives that guide this study were purposively sampled and they were five (5) of them. The study found that there was no clear difference between lesson outcomes and lesson objectives. It found that lesson outcomes were not used to write test or examinations questions unless they had been written as lesson objectives. The study also found that in comparison to lesson objectives, lesson outcomes did not improve teaching, learning (or students’ academic achievement) and assessment. The study recommended that lesson outcomes be phased out and be replaced with lesson objectives as the latter (lesson objectives) were effective in ensuring that there is proper (or effective) teaching, learning and assessment instead of causing confusion to students, teachers and other stakeholders as learning outcomes do.
 
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Reviewed by: Frameworks for Assessing Learning and Development Outcomes Marilee J. Bresciani Frameworks for Assessing Learning and Development Outcomes Terrell L. Strayhorn (principal author); Don G. Creamer, Ted K. Miller, Jan Arminio (consulting eds.) Washington, DC: Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education, 2006, 154 pages (CD included), $55.00 (softcover) Implementing credible, yet manageable assessment of student learning and development in student affairs/services as well as other administrative arms of higher education is a growing concern. Resources to aid busy administrators and faculty in embedding assessment of their work into their day-to-day routine are growing in number. As such, administrators have a variety of choices in the manner in which they evaluate the end results of all their activities, particularly as they relate to students' learning and development. The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) offers Frameworks for Assessing Learning and Development Outcomes as a resource to aid administrators in their endeavor to implement outcomes-based assessment of student learning and development. Frameworks for Assessing Learning and Development Outcomes is intended to build on the work that the CAS began in 1979. CAS first published general standards and guidelines for a variety of functional areas within student affairs/services and student development in 1986. The CAS General Standards were [End Page 616] constructed to represent the minimum criteria that particular functional areas should be able to achieve over a period of time with proper institutional support and resources. In 2003, CAS added learning development outcomes to their General Standards, which were organized into sixteen domains of student learning and development. The intent was to provide an illustration of indicators or learning outcomes that would be relevant to a student interacting within each particular functional area. In 2006, CAS produced an additional resource, Frameworks for Assessing Learning and Development Outcomes. Frameworks offers assistance to student affairs/services practitioners by presenting a conceptual approach to evaluating student learning and development. The book builds on CAS' 2003 publication by presenting examples of learning and development assessment within its 16 learning and development domains that are intended to cut across functional areas. The 16 learning and development domains include: career choices, collaboration, effective communication, appreciating diversity, personal and educational goals, healthy behavior, independence, intellectual growth, leadership development, satisfying and productive lifestyles, meaningful interpersonal relationships, realistic self-appraisal, enhanced self-esteem, social responsibility, spiritual awareness, and clarified values. The two introductory chapters provide the conceptual framework for assessment, highlight the complexity of such an endeavor, and explain the organization of the book. Following these chapters, Frameworks provides examples for each learning and development domain. Each domain has its own chapter and each chapter has the same sections for which the meaning is explained in chapter 1. The sections for each domain "chapter" include an introduction; theoretical context; relevant variables and indicators; assessment examples; assessment, evaluation, and research tools; related websites; references; and conclusion. In the "Assessment Examples" section, Frameworks presents both qualitative and quantitative examples of assessment of student learning within each domain; a concept that was not illustrated with as much detail in their 2003 publication. In addition, Frameworks posits theoretical contexts for learning and development within each learning and development domain, as well as provides a list of instruments and websites for further consultation within each domain. To further aid the reader, Frameworks includes a CD of the book; once loaded onto your computer, it allows for easy point and click access to their recommended websites. I applaud the author and consulting editors for providing assessment resources that are easy to access by domain area. Such assistance can only aid administrators in their own approach to their assessment planning. The "Word of Caution" that is noted under each section of "Available Instruments" demonstrates great responsibility of the author and editors in not advocating a selection of an assessment instrument without first considering the intended outcome and method of delivery for that outcome. Various helpful instruments and resources, published in Schuh and Upcraft's (2001) Assessment Practices in Student Affairs: An Applications Manual, are organized by functional area and offered by type of assessment design. Frameworks adds to Schuh and Upcraft's (2001) rich...

This study examines the impact of AI, particularly ChatGPT, on academic integrity and assessment practices in higher education. As AI integration grows, concerns about its potential to undermine academic rigour and increase inequalities have surfaced. Through interviews with students and a lecturer, the research explores the benefits and challenges of using ChatGPT in academic work. The innovative approach of having students use ChatGPT to write assignments highlights both efficiency gains and the need for responsible use. Findings reveal the importance of using AI-generated content as a supplement rather than a replacement for traditional learning, with concerns about its potential misuse. The study advocates for updated integrity policies and clear guidelines to ensure AI enhances, rather than compromises, education. Emphasising ethical AI use and process-oriented assessments, the study offers strategies to promote fairness, integrity, and critical thinking in the digital age.

Assessment of children’s learning and development is a cornerstone of early childhood education, yet the complexities of what to assess, why, and how have been described in numerous research-based reports. Tensions among the purposes for assessment, paired with various debates about quality assessment practices, have led to views and perspectives that tend to polarise approaches, methods, and purposes. Increasingly, there is a focus on tracking children’s learning progressions or pathways to achieving curricular learning outcomes. Information about children’s progression may be of interest to parents, teachers, and policy makers. In New Zealand, the current dominance of narrative approaches to assessment has led to challenges in teachers’ workload and to identified problems in adequately assessing progress in children’s learning and development. This chapter will provide an historical analysis of the assessment approaches that early childhood teachers in New Zealand have used over time and the various influences on assessment practices as a case example for the complexities of assessment. We use the metaphor of a pendulum swing to illustrate movement between the use of objective and subjective assessment measures and shifting views of early childhood learning and development. We argue there is a need for teachers to have robust understanding of learning and development and effective assessment and evaluation practices, together with access to a range of assessment and evaluation measures, in order to appropriately analyse and support children’s progress towards the learning outcomes of Te Whāriki and other child-centred, culturally responsive curriculum.

Physical education (PE) teachers' assessment practices and frequently applied teaching content suggest that pupils' academic achievement in PE may be influenced by individual differences in pupil-related factors such as leisure-time physical activity levels and sport participation. Although physical activity could be considered an inherent part of PE, neither of these factors are explicit assessment criteria in the Norwegian PE curriculum. Hence, the current study aimed to investigate the association between leisure-time physical activity levels and sport participation (e.g., team ball, endurance, aesthetic, and strength sports) on academic achievement in PE for pupils attending lower secondary school (13-16 years). A total of 169 boys, 174 girls, and 6 who identified as other gender (N = 349) participated in the study. The pupils answered an online questionnaire to collect data on their last-received grade in PE, as well as different questionnaire items from the Young-HUNT study related to leisure-time physical activity and sport participation. The main analysis, via stepwise regression, revealed that a greater frequency of pupils' leisure time physical activity and participation in endurance type and team/ball sports was significantly associated with a better grade in PE. The pupils who attended PE and similar subjects more frequently were also significant predictors in the regression model. The final mediation analysis indicated that participation in endurance type and team/ball sports mediated the relationship between the frequency of leisure-time physical activity and the grade in PE. The results are discussed in relation to the Norwegian PE curriculum, indicating a misalignment between learning outcomes and teachers' assessment and grading practice.

Background Assessment is an integral component of learning at higher education institutions of Ethiopia. It plays a critical role of ensuring quality education and student learning and development. In this respect, teachers’ capabilities to conduct effective assessment and use assessment evidence are central to quality assessment practices. These capabilities are related to different attributes such as their academic levels, teaching experience, assessment training received and specializations. Therefore, this study aimed to examine predictors of teachers’ perceived assessment skills and assessment practices in public universities of Ethiopia. Methods Assessment Practices Inventory was adopted and distributed to a sample of 380 randomly selected teachers from four randomly selected public universities of Ethiopia. 355 properly completed questionnaires were used for analysis. Teachers’ academic level, teaching experience, field of specialization and assessment training were included in two separate multiple regression analyses. Results Academic level (p < 0.001), teaching experience (p < 0.001), and assessment training (p < 0.001), were significantly positively related to both teachers’ perceived assessment skills and assessment practices. Teachers’ perceived assessment skill was also strongly correlated with their assessment practices. Field of specialization was not significantly correlated to both teachers’ perceived assessment skills and assessment practices. Conclusions The study concluded that academic level of teachers, their teaching experience, and assessment training they received predict their perceived assessment skills and assessment practices. Appropriate assessment training and professional development programs should be devised based on the higher education curriculum needs and teachers’ actual gaps in assessment. Teacher education programs would benefit from the findings of this study to carefully devise their programs to fulfill the growing needs of learning and assessment.

Assessment literacy is defined as knowledge, conceptions, and skills to conduct an assessment. Having sufficient assessment literacy levels, teachers can assist students in improving learning and in achieving learning outcomes. This study employs a descriptive quantitative design that explores EFL secondary teachers' assessment literacy and assessment practice. The data were gathered using an online survey and semi-structured interviews. Forty-eight respondents willingly fulfilled an online questionnaire containing 32 questions adapted from the Teachers Assessment Literacy Questionnaire (TALQ). The data obtained from the survey were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Furthermore, three participants representing each assessment literacy level were selected for interviews to explore their classroom assessment practice. The interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis in terms of the conceptions of assessment, the procedure of assessment construction, and some challenges in assessment practice. The findings reveal that EFL secondary teachers generally have a moderate assessment literacy level. However, the participants reflect different conceptions of assessment, procedures, and challenges in assessment practice depending on an individual level of assessment literacy, institutional and national policies, and socio-culture factors. It shows that assessment literacy is not a single element that can influence teachers' assessment practices.

ABSTRACTBackground: Assessment can have various functions, and is an important impetus for student learning. For assessment to be effective, it should be aligned with curriculum goals and of sufficient quality. Although it has been suggested that assessment quality in physical education (PE) is suboptimal, research into actual assessment practices has been relatively scarce.Purpose: The goals of the present study were to determine the quality of assessment, teachers’ views on the functions of assessment, the alignment of assessment with learning goals, and the actual assessment practices in secondary PE in the Netherlands.Participants and setting: A total of 260 PE teachers from different schools in the Netherlands filled out an online Physical Education Assessment Questionnaire (PEAQ) on behalf of their school.Data collection: The online questionnaire (PEAQ) contained the following sections: quality of assessment, intended functions of assessment, assessment practices, and intended goals of PE.Data analysis: Percentages of agreement were calculated for all items. In addition, assessment quality items were recoded into a numerical value between 1 and 5 (mean ± SD). Cronbach’s alpha was calculated for each predefined quality aspect of the PEAQ, and for assessment quality as a whole.Findings: Mean assessment quality (±SD) was 3.6 ± 0.6. With regard to the function of assessment, most PE teachers indicated that they intended using assessment as a means of supporting the students’ learning process (formative function). At the same time, the majority of schools take PE grades into account for determining whether a student may enter the next year (summative function). With regard to assessment practices, a large variety of factors are included when grading, and observation is by far the assessment technique most widely applied. A minority of PE teachers grade students without predetermined assessment criteria, and usually criteria are identical for all students. There is an apparent discrepancy between reported PE goals and assessment practices; although increasing students’ fitness levels is the least important goal of PE lessons according to the PE teachers, 81% reports that fitness is one of the factors being judged. Conversely, while 94% considers gaining knowledge about physical activity and sports as one of the goals of PE, only 34% actually assesses knowledge.Conclusions: Assessment in Dutch PE is of moderate quality. The findings further suggest that PE teachers consider assessment for learning important but that their assessment practices are not generally in line with this view. Furthermore, there seems to be a lack of alignment between intended learning outcomes and what is actually being valued and assessed. We believe that these results call for a concerted effort from PE departments, school boards, and the education inspectorate to scrutinise existing assessment practices, and work together to optimise PE assessment.

Objectives – The purpose of this collaborative qualitative research project, initiated by the Greater Western Library Alliance (GWLA), was to explore how librarians were involved in the designing, implementing, assessing, and disseminating student learning outcomes (SLOs) in GWLA member academic libraries. The original objective of the research was to identify library evaluation/assessment practices at the different libraries to share and discuss by consortia members at a GWLA-sponsored Student Learning Assessment Symposium in 2013. However, findings raised new questions and areas to explore beyond student learning assessment, and additional research was continued by two of the GWLA collaborators after the Symposium. The purpose of this second phase of research was to explore the intersection of library and institutional contexts and academic library assessment practices.
 
 Methods – This qualitative research study involved a survey of librarians at 23 GWLA member libraries, about student learning assessment practices at their institutions. Twenty follow-up interviews were also conducted to further describe and detail the assessment practices identified in the survey. Librarians with expertise in library instruction, assessment, and evaluation, either volunteered or were designated by their Dean or Director, to respond to the survey and participate in the interviews. Interview data were analyzed by seven librarians, across six different GWLA libraries, using constant comparison methods (Strauss & Corbin, 2014). Emerging themes were used to plan a GWLA member Symposium. Based on unexpected findings, after the Symposium, two GWLA researchers continued the analysis using a grounded theory methodology to re-examine the data and uncover categorical relationships and conceptual coding, and to explore data alignment to theoretical possibilities.
 
 Results – Seventeen categories and five themes emerged from the interview data and were used to create a 3-part framework for describing and explaining library SLO assessment practices. The themes were used to plan the GWLA Assessment Symposium. Through additional qualitative grounded theory data analysis, researchers also identified a core variable, and data were re-evaluated to verify an alignment to Engeström’s Activity and Expansion Theories (Engeström, 2001, 2004). 
 
 Conclusions – The findings of this multi-phased qualitative study discovered how contextual, structural, and organizational factors can influence how libraries interact and communicate with college departments, and the larger institution about student learning outcomes and assessment. Viewing library and campus interaction through the activity theory lens can demonstrate how particular factors might influence library collaboration and interaction on campuses. Institutional contexts and cultures, campus-wide academic priorities, leadership at the library level, and changing roles of librarians were all themes that emerged from this study that are important factors to consider when planning the design, implementation, assessment and dissemination of library SLOs.