Developing teachers’ capacities in assessment through career-long professional learning

In a context of increasing demand for quality and equity in education and a sharp focus on accountability, classroom teachers are also expected to support and improve learning outcomes for pupils in response to their individual needs. This paper explores three issues: how teachers understand assessment in relation to their students’ learning, the curriculum and their pedagogical choices; how teachers’ capacity to use assessment to improve students’ learning can be developed through career-long professional learning (CLPL); and how teachers’ learning can be implemented and sustained in schools, both locally and nationally. In considering these issues, recent thinking about learning and assessment and CLPL are considered alongside empirical evidence from the development and implementation of assessment processes and approaches to professional development in Scotland. The paper emphasises the importance of a dynamic framework of CLPL that recognises the individuality of teachers’ learning needs and the consequent need for tailored professional learning opportunities with different combinations of support and challenge at school, local and national levels

Looking back, looking forward: fortieth volume of the European Journal of Teacher Education

No abstract available

Editorial

No abstract available

Teachers’ professional learning within learning systems

No abstract available

The performance management of education services staff in Scottish local authorities: an evaluation

Investigates the extent to which Scottish local authorities measured the performance of education services staff

Editorial

No abstract available

Evaluation of the flexible learning in the community (FLIC) project

The Flexible Learning in the Community project (FLiC) was set up by the City of Edinburgh to take advantage of the potential of the City's information and technology network to support flexible learning and teaching within and across its schools, colleges and community learning centres. An evaluation of the project was commissioned by the Scottish Executive Education Department, which had provided some funding for FLiC, through the Future Learning and Teaching (FLaT) programme. The evaluation was carried out during 2003-04 by a team from the Quality in Education Centre, the University of Strathclyde. The FLiC project had three main strands: video-conferencing, multi-media presentations (Kar2ouche1) and a virtual learning environment (digitalbrain2). Support and training for both teachers and pupils were provided by the Information Technology Support Team (ITSU) alongside a considerable investment in hardware, software and networking. Following a year of pilot work the initiative was launched by the Minister for Children and Young People in March 2003

Evaluation of the North Lanarkshire curriculum flexibility project

This report highlights some of the very good practice about effective use of flexibility in the curriculum that is emerging. It describes how staff have engaged in innovative use of time in ways which have given pupils increased motivation to learn and encouraged them to become more independent learners and more effective collaborative workers. The important role of school managers in monitoring the impact of innovations in the curriculum is exemplified. This report also acts as a call to action for schools which still often adhere too rigidly to inflexible programmes of study. There remains a need for more imaginative leadership and further professional development of staff at all levels to ensure that full and appropriate use of the opportunities offered by Curriculum for Excellence are realised

Evaluation of the Assessment is for Learning programme

The Assessment is for Learning Development Programme (AifL) was designed tobring together the various purposes of assessment into a single coherent frameworkwhich would answer questions of accountability, standards and the monitoring ofprogress and performance, but which also emphasised the role of assessment insupporting individual pupils' learning in the classroom

Evaluation of articulate project

The Articulate Project was commissioned by West Dunbartonshire Council, with funding from the Scottish Executive’s Future Learning and Teaching (FLaT) programme,The Scottish Arts Council, West Dunbartonshire Council and West Dunbartonshire Partnership. Activities relating to the project took place between May and December 2004. The overall aim of the Articulate Project was to “explore how or if the arts, and specifically drama and theatre practice, might impact positively on English language skills in the classroom” (AELP, 2005, p5). The five specific aims of the Articulate Project were to: · develop the creative and imaginative writing skills of participating pupils · improve the ability of pupils to communicate effectively · raise levels of pupils’ self esteem and self worth · increase pupils’ motivation to participate in, and enjoy, learning · create a positive impact on thinking skills, problem solving and team working on individuals, schools and the community. The Traverse Theatre devised a programme of pupil activities with the help of a teacher in one of the participating primary schools. In the initial stage, all participating pupils (in each class from each of five schools) were introduced to drama techniques by a Traverse Theatre actress and they attended two theatre performances. In the next stage the focus shifted to creative writing, and a group of ten pupils from each class worked directly in 10 workshops with a Traverse Theatre playwright, in order to develop their own drama sketches, which were performed by professional actors in Denny Civic Theatre. At the same time, the remainder of each class engaged in similar creative writing lessons with their teacher. Although this second Articulate group did not have their work performed, they supported the Denny Civic Theatre production by producing art work with the help of a professional artist. There were three main phases in the evaluation, which began five months after the projectended. A first phase (June and July 2005) was designed to build up a picture of the Project through extended interviews with its key architects and through document analysis. In a second phase (August – October 2005), impact on pupils was explored through theirresponses to Articulate-specific questionnaires and to two standardised instruments (the Marsh Self Description Questionnaire and the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking - ‘Thinking Creatively with Words’), as well as through their focus group contributions. This second phase included evaluation of the project’s impact on staff through one-to-one interviews with school staff and analysis of an extended interview with the Traverse Theatre Literary Development Officer. A third phase (November 2005 – January 2006) was concerned mainly with data analysis, including pre- and post-project attainment level data for reading and writing, but also provided an opportunity for parents and a local community organisation to express views on the project. During this phase final discussions also took place with a primary Head Teacher and the Depute Head in the secondary school