Controlling the imagination :how do teachers and managers of adult language literacy and numeracy define achieve and maintain quality

Controlling the Imagination is an exploration of the tensions embedded in the notion of quality when it is\ud used in relation to the teaching and managing of Adult Language, Literacy and Numeracy, with specific\ud relation to 'Skills for Life' — New Labour's policy attempt, instigated in 1999, to improve the basic\ud skills of adults living in England. The thesis offers an analysis that charts the development of discourses\ud around quality from the vague and attractive transcendental quality of the 18th C artisan to its object like\ud textualisation in the Common Inspection Framework. Through critical discourse analysis and interview\ud data with teachers and managers in further and adult education colleges graded as good or outstanding\ud in their most recent ALI / OfSTED inspection, the text traces the contours along which practitioners\ud experience the tension between quality-as-professional-aspiration in contrast to quality-as-demanded by\ud policy. This axis, wrenched apart in several directions, is further complicated by the tension between\ud quality-as-abstract and quality as embodied in day-to-day experience. I argue that practitioners talk\ud about quality in ways that journey through these competing and contrasting meanings. In considering the\ud implications of these ideas about quality, the thesis explores the research, policy and practice nexus.\ud Research can inform policy and practice, but it can also lead to uncomfortable and unsettling conclusions\ud that to some extent also unframe professional practice.\ud Key concepts: quality, adult literacy, professionalism, policy, Skills for Life, basic skills, research and practice, further\ud education,\u

Self assessment in religious education

This research investigates the nature of pupil self-assessment in religious education. It considers the implications of theories of self-assessment as assessment for leaming for self-reflection in pedagogies of pluralistic religious education, and vice versa. Assessment for learning: Research on assessment has claimed that selfassessment is essential in formative assessment, to combat the negative effects of summative assessment. Other recent research has considered the situated nature of classroom practice. How would these classroom factors affect selfassessment in RE? Policy and pedagogy In religious education: The history of the current policy documents is analysed using policy scholarship, and the tension is revealed between measurable intellectual skills and a wider understanding of the place of religious education in developing tolerance and respect, both in the England and Wales, and internationally. Are policy and assessment properly aligned? Practitioner research: Virtue theory is developed as a research paradigm for practitioner research for professional development. Rigour is established through a reflexive use of qualitative, largely ethnographic methods, especially group interviews. Analysis includes consideration of pupils' assessment careers. Reflexive self-assessment: As a result of analyzing the data on assessment and religious education an original form of self-assessment is proposed. Reflexive self-assessment is a subject-specific model of self-assessment, linked to interpretive approaches. This harmonizes classroom self-assessment of both intellectual skills and intercultural values. The classroom conditions necessary to allow it to develop are examined. The implications of this for theories of self-assessment, learning autonomy and current policies of religious education are considered. Finally, the research is reviewed, notably the implications for researching and teaching, and future developments. The quality of the research is defended, in terms of significance, originality and rigour

Narrative inquiry of language assessment literacy development of pre-service English as a foreign language teacher in China

As an indispensable element in the teaching and learning, assessment not only informs teachers about the effectiveness of the instruction, but also frames student learning. However, pre-service English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers across the world have been suggested to possess an inadequate level of language assessment literacy (LAL). The first step is to understand their concerns in LAL. To address the paucity, this narrative inquiry is conducted to explore pre-service EFL teachers’ LAL conceptualizations, self-evaluated proficiency level, evolvement trajectories, and the mediating factors in the evolvement process. Six participants from a pre-service EFL teacher education programme in China were purposefully sampled. The narrative interviews, assessment artifacts, and journals were collected and analyzed by narrative analysis and thematic analysis. The findings showed that the participants conceptualized LAL as a scaled eight-dimensional concept embedded in the social-cultural contexts. They tend to self-evaluate their LAL proficiency ranging from insufficiently qualified, through marginally qualified, to satisfactorily qualified. Besides, the experiential, contextual, and personal mediating factors were identified to participate in LAL evolvement. From bottom-up, the mediating factors participated in constructing pre-service EFL teachers’ knowledge base, shaping their assessment conceptions, filtering the assessment practices, and facilitating the assessor identity construction. With the enhanced LAL, they were more attentive to reflect on the influence of these mediating factors. As to the LAL evolvement trajectory, all the participants went through three mastery levels from the first assessment knowledge base through internalized assessment understanding to assessor identity construction. This study contributes to LAL conceptualization by involving in the neglected stakeholders, pre-service EFL teachers and enriches the application of narrative inquiry in LAL field. The findings can be used as a guidance for the improvement of deficient LAL among pre-service EFL teachers by offering implications for the teacher educators and teacher preparation programmes

The efficacy of feedback in pianoforte studies

In 1998, the publication of a major piece of research (Black and Wiliam, 1998) triggered an explosion of interest both nationally and internationally in a hitherto neglected topic: formative assessment. My interest in conducting this re-search stemmed from my involvement as a secondary school music teacher in the development of formative assessment practice within the classroom, but as my primary interest was in teaching the piano, I became curious about formative assessment practice in piano lessons, particularly the provision of feedback, which is a discipline-specific area that had received little attention. This study examined the efficacy of feedback in one-to-one piano lessons in four case studies, involving students aged 11 to 14 years, in a rural location within the United Kingdom. Data were collected through lesson observations, interviews with teachers and students, together with lesson notes and students‘ practice diaries. The results of the research indicated that while the teachers within the case studies had not received any training in formative assessment or the provision of feedback to students, feedback was provided in similar ways, thus illustrating features of piano teaching, which had probably developed over centuries. The feedback differed from that provided in school-based classroom situations in important respects, although there were some similarities with other cognate performance-based disciplines. Students‘ self-efficacy and motivation were influenced by the feedback they received in lessons, and concerning self-regulation, which is an essential factor in pianoforte studies, students received little information about how to actually utilise feedback and feed-forward in their private practice. The conclusion indicates that within the context of one-to-one piano lessons, while some aspects of feedback practice were effective, others were less efficacious. Thus, teachers could benefit from access to training in the provision of formative feedback and feed-forward, in line with current research into best practice in schools

Prática avaliativa de uma professora na promoção da autorregulação da aprendizagem dos alunos em matemática

Tese de doutoramento, Educação (Didática da Matemática), Universidade de Lisboa, Instituto de Educação, 2016Nesta investigação, procuro compreender a prática avaliativa de uma professora com o intuito de promover a autorregulação da aprendizagem dos alunos em matemática. A prática da professora é integrada numa intervenção de ensino concebida e planificada num contexto de trabalho colaborativo entre cinco professores de matemática do 3.º ciclo do ensino básico e eu, enquanto investigadora. Nesse âmbito são consideradas estratégias orientadas para três vertentes centrais: (i) promoção de uma comunicação oral intencional em discussões matemáticas coletivas; (ii) apropriação dos critérios de avaliação pelos alunos; e (iii) desenvolvimento de autoavaliações escritas pelos alunos. Numa metodologia de abordagem qualitativa, paradigma interpretativo e design de estudo de caso, estudo a prática avaliativa da professora Joana (caso), na concretização da intervenção de ensino ao longo de dois anos letivos, numa turma do 8.º ano de escolaridade (9.º ano no segundo ano). A recolha de dados inclui a observação e o registo vídeo de aulas e sessões de trabalho colaborativo, entrevistas aos participantes, questionários aos alunos, e recolha documental. A análise de dados é concretizada através de um sistema de categorias, definidas durante o processo de análise, com base no referencial teórico do estudo. Joana promove uma comunicação oral intencional em discussões matemáticas coletivas, através da regulação da participação e interação orais e do foco matemático das discussões, e ainda de modos específicos de questionar, ouvir e responder aos alunos. No sentido de promover a apropriação dos critérios de avaliação pelos alunos, Joana dinamiza processos de negociação no que se refere, quer ao significado dos próprios critérios, quer ao nível do reconhecimento e uso dos critérios pelos alunos como referentes para a regulação da aprendizagem. Já para o desenvolvimento de autoavaliações escritas pelos alunos, Joana propõe, tarefas de autoavaliação diferentes, sob condições variáveis e suportadas por estratégias múltiplas (em particular, ao nível das orientações e feedback), em função de necessidades e objetivos específicos, que têm como fim último um aumento da regulação interna pelos alunos. Na concretização da intervenção de ensino em sala de aula, Joana experiencia desafios associados com fatores diversos, entre eles: gestão dos tempos; hábitos/rotinas instalados na sua prática; natureza da tarefa matemática e dificuldades dos alunos; e nível de interesse/empenho dos alunos. Ao longo da intervenção de ensino e em relação com a prática de Joana, os alunos tendem a apresentar um desempenho de melhor qualidade nas discussões coletivas, caminham em direção à apropriação dos critérios de avaliação e revelam melhorar a sua capacidade de autorregulação, num percurso individualizado e não linear.In this investigation, I seek to understand the assessment practice of a teacher, aimed at promoting students’ self-regulation in mathematics. This practice is part of a teaching intervention designed and planned by a collaborative group composed of five middle school mathematics teachers and myself, the researcher. In this context, three main areas of intervention are considered: (i) promotion of an intentional oral communication in collective mathematical discussions; (ii) students’ appropriation of assessment criteria; and (iii) development of written self-assessments by the students. Using a qualitative methodology, interpretive paradigm and case study design, I study the assessment practice of teacher Joana (case) when implementing the teaching intervention over two academic years, in an 8th grade class (9th grade in the second year). Data collection includes observation and video recording of both lessons and collaborative working sessions, interviews with participants, questionnaires to students, and documentary collection. Data analysis is done using a system of categories, which are defined during the process, based on the theoretical framework. Joana promotes an intentional oral communication in collective mathematical discussions through the regulation of verbal participation/interaction and the mathematical focus of discussions, and particular ways of questioning, listening and responding to students. In order to promote students’ appropriation of the assessment criteria, Joana stimulates negotiation processes with the students in terms of either the meaning of the criteria, or their value and use by students as referents for regulation of learning. In order to enhance students’ written self-assessments, Joana proposes different self-assessment tasks, under varying conditions and the support of multiple strategies (in particular, in terms of guidelines and feedback), depending on specific needs and objectives, whose final goal is to increase internal regulation by students. When implementing the teaching intervention in the classroom, Joana experiences challenges associated with several factors, including: time management; installed habits/routines in their practice; nature of mathematical tasks and difficulties of students; and level of interest/commitment of students. Throughout the teaching intervention and in relation to Joana’s practice, students tend to improve their performance in collective discussions, walk towards the appropriation of the assessment criteria and develop their self-regulation capacity, following an individualized and non-linear route