Abstract
Classroom assessment is purposeful when the information is utilised by teachers to support learning. Such formative assessment practices can be difficult to enact in a primary science classroom, with the whole class often involved in practical activities and with limited lesson time. This preliminary study seeks to explore formative decision-making and the subsequent actions taken by teachers in the classroom. Primary teachers who used a Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) Focused Assessment activity were asked to describe what action they took as a result of the classroom interactions stimulated by the activity. 142 teachers in 9 regions of England completed a paper questionnaire at a training day. The qualitative data pertinent to the study was extracted and thematic content analysis carried out to determine the kinds of actions and changes to practice that were described. It was found that the “next step” described by teachers varied in timing; some made changes within the lesson, others provided follow up activities or made longer-term adaptation to teaching practices. Being responsive to the assessment information provided by the children took many forms, for example, supporting pupils to reflect on investigations during the lesson, discussing vocabulary or concepts, providing time for further exploration, or explicit modeling of science skills. Formative decisions were taken at a whole class level, rather than making individual adaptations. It is argued that enabling teachers to be more explicit about their tacit decision-making could support them to make more formative use of assessment information to support pupil learning.
Highlights
Formative assessment has widely been hailed as key to supporting children’s learning (e.g. Black and William, 1998; Harlen, 2013; Wiliam, 2018)
How do primary teachers act on information arising from classroom interactions stimulated by the Teacher Assessment in Primary Science (TAPS) Focused Assessment activities?. This preliminary study of teacher-decision making is a small part of the larger TAPS project, which utilises a Design-Based Research methodology of iterative and collaborative research and development (Anderson and Shattuck, 2012)
In order to answer the RQ, teachers undertaking TAPS training were directly asked to describe their practice; a purposive sample (Teddlie and Yu, 2007) who would be able to comment on their classroom interactions in response to TAPS Focused Assessment activities
Summary
Formative assessment has widely been hailed as key to supporting children’s learning (e.g. Black and William, 1998; Harlen, 2013; Wiliam, 2018). Formative assessment has widely been hailed as key to supporting children’s learning In practice, formative use of assessment information has been difficult to implement, with changes to teacher practice taking time and often skewed by current policy such as an increased focus across the world on using assessment for accountability (DeLuca et al, 2019). The difficulties encountered with implementation indicate that there is still a need for further research in this area, with the aim of finding manageable ways for teachers to make use of formative assessment in the classroom. Low levels of teacher assessment literacy or capability across the profession (Gardner, 2007) point to a Formative Decision-Making in Primary Science need for further support for teachers. This article aims to explore the teacher decision-making involved in utilising formative assessment information, in order make such processes more explicit and enhance understanding in the field
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