Kurebwa mercy thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for doctor of philosophy
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- 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
- 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
- 1.5 ASSUMPTIONS OF THE STUDY
- 1.6 DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY
- 1.7 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDY
- 1.8 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
- 1.10 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMClassroom assessment poses a number of problems in the primary schools. During the course of my duties as a school teacher, Acting Deputy Head teacher and Acting Head teacher, of primary schools respectively, I observed that some teachers had a casual approach to assessment. Some teachers would set tests that would only address one level of the taxonomy of objectives while others would duplicate items from past examination papers. It was also observed that some test items were poorly structured and that assessment procedures lacked variety. I presented papers on classroom testing, measurement and evaluation to fourteen primary schools in the Midlands Region. During the visits, interviews with the head teachers of schools visited indicated that assessment was grey in primary schools.These problems needed to be identified and solutions to the problems suggested. Research has been carried out in other countries, but it was worthwhile to substantiate the results and discover more insights, particularly in the Zimbabwean context. It was important to do so because assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. Poor assessment practices are detrimental to effective decision- making as well as the teaching-learning situation. This study, therefore, sought to unravel the problems and seek solutions. As indicated in the preceding paragraphs, the problem which triggered this study is that assessment in the primary schools is bedevilled by an array of problems and it is the purpose of this study to unravel these problems and suggest possible solutions. 1.3 RESEARCH OBJECTIVESThe main objectives of this study were to: determine classroom teachers perceptions on assessment; establish what schools and colleges are doing to equip teachers with; classroom assessment skills. determine whether any resources are put in place by schools to support classroom assessment efforts; and explore the influence of public examinitions on classroom assessment. 1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONSThe researcher attempted to find answers to the following research questions: What sort of assessment skills do classroom teachers have to enable them carry out classroom assessment? Do teachers’ perceptions influence their assessment procedures? How do classroom procedures influence classroom assessment? How do public examinations affect and influence poor assessment procedures? How does lack of resources affect poor assessment procedures? 1.5 ASSUMPTIONS OF THE STUDYThe study assumed that the participants, who included teachers, primary school head teachers, college lecturers, Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture officers and ZIMSEC staff either lacked or had insufficient assessment skills to carry out classroom assessment. Further the study was based on the assumption that participants would be conversant with assessment procedures in the primary schools. The study was also based on the assumption that teachers encountered problems during assessment and that teachers’ knowledge on assessment was limited. 1.6 DELIMITATION OF THE STUDYThe study was confined to Gweru District schools in the Midlands Region in Zimbabwe. Its focus was on primary school teacher-made classroom assessments. It sought to utilize responses from qualified school teachers, head teachers, college lecturers, ZIMSEC staff and Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture Officers. 1.7 RATIONALE FOR THE STUDYAssessment is at the heart of effective teaching and learning in the Zimbabwean schools. Without assessment teachers are not able to identify the gap between what was taught and what is actually being learnt. Teaching without learning is just talking (Angelo & Cross, 1993:3). Assessments are created, administered and analysed by teachers themselves on questions that are important to them. In other words teachers are expected to be literate and capable of constructing valid and reliable assessment instruments in order to inform the instructional process.Despite these expectations, limits in teachers’ assessment knowledge and training are well documented (Bookhart 2001; Campbell 2000; Melter & Campbell 2006). Hill (2000) reported that teachers experienced difficulty in designing school systems assessment, in which assessment was used mainly for improving learning through focused teaching rather than where summative reporting dominated. Given the above background and the general notion held on the importance of assessment, it has been found necessary to investigate assessment problems in primary schools. 1.8 PURPOSE OF THE STUDYThe purpose of this study was to investigate the problems of assessment in the primary schools and to suggest possible solutions to these problems. 1.9 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDYAssessment is pivotal to successful teaching and learning. Poor assessment procedures may result in poor decision making in the teaching-learning situation. The study, should therefore, be significant in as far as it may shed more light on the problems encountered by teachers in assessment in Zimbabwe. It should also be relevant to Teachers College Curriculum Developers, school staff development programmes, and policy makers, leading to changes in primary school assessment methods. Teachers, Teachers Colleges and schools should be sensitized about the inadequacies of teachers’ skills in assessment. This should enable Teachers’ Colleges and schools to equip teachers with relevant skills. Finally the findings should stimulate further research on assessment in order to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on the subject. 1.10 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORKAssessments are conducted for a range of purposes by a large number of people in different contexts. In other words, assessment is a wide topic, which encompasses everything from statewide accountability tests to district benchmark tests or entry tests to everyday classroom tests. Teachers should frame the view of testing as assessment and that assessment is information. The more information obtained about the learner, the clearer the picture about the learners’ achievement. According to Lin & Gronlund (1995:5), “Assessment is a general term that includes a full range of procedures used to gain information about learner learning (observations, rating of performances on projects, paper and pencil tests), and the formation of value judgment concerning the learning progress”. Assessment thus, is an integrated process of determining the nature and extent of learner learning and development. Classroom assessment uses a variety of techniques to provide information for instructional improvement and for monitoring learner learning (Angelo & Cross, 1993). Classroom assessment techniques provide useful feedback on what, how much and how well their learners are learning (Torrance & Pryor, 2001). Torrance & Pryor (2001) go on to say that teachers can use this information to re-focus their teaching to help learners make their learning more efficient and effective. Classroom assessment seeks to empower both teachers and learners to improve the quality of learning in the classroom (Angelo and Cross, 1993). Assessment can be roughly divided into two, formative and summative assessments (Fair Test, 2001). Formative assessment occurs when teachers feed information back to learners in ways that enable learners to know better, or when learners can engage in similar, self-reflective processes. Thus results of formative assessments are used to modify and validate instruction. On the other hand summative assessments are used to summarise learners’ learning at some point in time, say the end of the course.The goal of summative assessments is to make a judgment of learners’ competence after an instructional course. Classroom assessment encompasses teacher observation, classroom discussion, analysis of learners’ work including homework and tests. Tests are assessments but not all assessments are tests (Black & William, 1998). Classroom assessment is a formative approach (not summative) because its purpose is to improve the quality of learner learning and not to provide evidence for evaluating or grading pupils (Angelo & Cross, 1993; Stiggins, 2002). Classroom assessments are created by teachers themselves on the questions of teaching and learning that are important to them. The Canadian Technology Assisted Learner Assessment Institute (2001) suggested that assessment should follow the following three step Balanced Model of Assessment:
Of Information Interpretation Of Results Effective Decision- Making
Learner Centered - Classroom assessment focuses attention on teachers and learners on observing and improving learning rather than observing and improving teaching. Classroom assessment can provide information to guide teachers and learners in making adjustments to improve learning. Teacher Directed – Classroom assessment respects the autonomy, academic freedom, and professional judgment of the school. The teacher decides what to assess, how to assess and how to respond to information gained through assessment. The teacher is not obliged to share the results of assessment with anyone. Mutually Beneficial – Classroom assessment requires the active participation of learners. By cooperation in assessments, learners reinforce their skills at self-assessment and teachers also sharpen their teaching skills. Formative – Classroom assessment’s purpose is to improve the quality of learner learning and not provide evidence for evaluating or grading.Assessment is done during pupils learning in order to provide feedback to the pupils. Content Specific – Classroom assessments have to respond to particular needs and characteristics of teachers, learners and disciplines, which they are applied. Ongoing – Classroom assessment is continuous. Rooted in good teaching practice- Classroom assessment is an attempt to build on existing good practice by making feedback on learners more systematic, more flexible and more effective, in order for teachers to bring about the most productive and beneficial learning. Cognisant of the value of learning, Black & William (1998) contend that quality assessment is relatively rare in classrooms. They also found that most testing encourages rote and artificial learning. Furthermore, there has been lip service, but little real attention to strengthening teachers’ assessment capabilities. They go on to say, worse still, there has recently been a proliferation of so called “benchmark” tests that are claimed to be formative but intended to predict how well the test taker will do in the end-of-year big test. It was within this broad knowledge of the term ‘assessment’ that the research looked at assessment problems in the Gweru district primary schools. Directory: dspace -> bitstream bitstream -> A study of Major League Baseball team salary structure analysis bitstream -> Orde wingate and the british army, 1922-1944: Military Thought and Practice Compared and Contrasted dspace -> Developing air cargo operations at regional airports: a case study of East Midlands Airport, uk dspace -> Tactics of interruption dspace -> Advances in Imaging from the first x-ray Images bitstream -> ¡no te dejes quitar a tu hijo! Operation pedro pan and the cuban children’s program Download 1.72 Mb. Share with your friends:
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