Exploring Teachers’ Language Assessment Literacy: A Social Constructivist Approach to Understanding Effective Practices

Exploring teachers’ levels of assessment literacy in terms of their previous assessment experiences may help teacher educators to better understand the factors which promote or prevent effective assessment, thus contributing to more targeted and empowering teacher education. The research presented in this paper adopts a social constructivist model of learning and meaning-making, with the language classroom representing the community of practice. The first phase of the project consisted of interviews with teachers, in which they were invited to estimate their understanding of individual components of the assessment process and indicate how much they would like to learn about each. Classroom observations then took place followed by post-observation, reflective interviews. Finally, focus group discussions were conducted with further groups of experienced teachers. Four key findings are presented, highlighting the considerable differences in understanding which exist between teachers and those who research and write about language testing/assessment

Assessment: attitudes, practices, needs

This presentation focuses on a project which investigated language assessment literacy practices in the English as a foreign language classroom. We sought to bring teachers more directly into the assessment literacy debate and provide them with training materials which meet their stated needs. Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs are frequently cited as exerting a powerful role in shaping their decisions, judgements and behaviour (see, for example, Borg, 2006). However, an investigation into what is happening in classes may be of little value without exploring why it is happening. A qualitative approach was adopted and methods used included interviews, observations and focus group discussions. The interviews drew on Davies’ (2008) components of assessment literacy which he defined as Skills, Knowledge and Principles. These explored the attitudes to assessment of the teachers. Observations were conducted which focused on teacher assessment practices. Post-observation interviews were conducted with the teachers. The observations and interviews were conducted at the international study centre of a British university. Focus group discussions were held at teaching centres attached to a major international organisation overseas. A workshop was held at an international teacher conference to pilot the online training materials. These explored the training needs of the teachers. The project culminated in the creation of a set of on-line training materials. The presentation will describe the project, its findings and conclude with a discussion of the training materials. Perhaps the significance of this project lies in its adoption of a qualitatively orientated approach to research the topic and its inclusion of observation and interview data. Much of the previous research into assessment literacy has relied on survey data

Assessment: attitudes, practices and needs.

This presentation focuses on a project which investigated language assessment literacy practices in the English as a foreign language classroom. We sought to bring teachers more directly into the assessment literacy debate and provide them with training materials which meet their stated needs. Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs are frequently cited as exerting a powerful role in shaping their decisions, judgements and behaviour (see, for example, Borg, 2006). However, an investigation into what is happening in classes may be of little value without exploring why it is happening. A qualitative approach was adopted and methods used included interviews, observations and focus group discussions. The interviews drew on Davies’ (2008) components of assessment literacy which he defined as Skills, Knowledge and Principles. These explored the attitudes to assessment of the teachers. Observations were conducted which focused on teacher assessment practices. Post-observation interviews were conducted with the teachers. The observations and interviews were conducted at the international study centre of a British university. Focus group discussions were held at teaching centres attached to a major international organisation overseas. A workshop was held at an international teacher conference to pilot the online training materials. These explored the training needs of the teachers. The project culminated in the creation of a set of on-line training materials. The presentation will describe the project, its findings and conclude with a discussion of the training materials. Perhaps the significance of this project lies in its adoption of a qualitatively orientated approach to research the topic and its inclusion of observation and interview data. Much of the previous research into assessment literacy has relied on survey data. Borg, S (2006) Teacher cognition and language education: Research and practice. London: Continuum Davies, A (2008) Textbook trends in teaching language testing. Language Testing 25/3: 327–34

Responses of hyperthermophilic crenarchaea to UV irradiation

The transcriptional response to UV irradiation was analyzed in two related crenarchaea, Sulfolobus solfataricus and Sulfolobus acidocaldarius, showing a clear response to DNA damage but no increase in the expression of DNA repair genes

Mind the gap – bringing teachers into the language literacy debate

Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs are frequently cited as exerting a powerful role in shaping their decisions, judgements and behaviour (Borg, 2006; Kagan, 1992). Consequently, exploring teachers’ levels of assessment literacy may help teacher educators to better understand the factors which promote or prevent effective assessment, and thus contribute to more targeted teacher education. Much previous research into teachers’ assessment literacy has relied on survey data (Fulcher 2012, Plake & Impara 2002)). The research to be discussed in this presentation focuses on the sociocultural context in relation to actual assessment literacy practices in the language classroom, since an investigation into what is happening in classes may be of little value without exploring why it is happening. With the exception of a case study following three Chinese University teachers (Xu 2015), no teachers have been asked directly about their attitudes to assessment or their specific training needs. This project sought to bring teachers more directly into the assessment literacy debate in order to provide them with training materials which meet their actual stated needs. The initial phase of the project consisted of a series of interviews and observations of experienced teachers, conducted at the international study centre of a British university. The interviews drew on Davies’ (2008) components of assessment literacy which, following Stiggins (1991, 1997) he defined as Skills + Knowledge but with the important addition of Principles. In the interviews, teachers were invited to estimate their understanding of the components of the assessment process and asked to indicate how much they would like to learn about each individual component. Observations were then conducted which focused on teachers’ assessment practices in the classroom. Post-observation interviews were subsequently conducted with the teachers, in which they were asked to reflect on their observed classroom practice. In the second phase of the project, focus group discussions were held with experienced teachers at teaching centres attached to a major international organisation in two European countries. These teachers taught a variety of different English language classes across a range of ages and proficiency, including kindergarten, elementary, secondary and tertiary level students, plus special-purpose classes for organisations. These discussions confirmed the findings from the initial phase of the project, culminating in the creation of a set of on-line training materials. Four key findings from the project will be presented relating to the teachers’: 1) previous training in assessment; 2) attitudes to language testing and associated theory; 3) understanding of assessment in its broader sense; 4) understanding of ‘language assessment literacy’. From this research it would seem that the gap between teachers and those who research and write about language testing is considerable. This research project sought to narrow the gap by giving teachers a stronger voice in the debate, which, in turn, may have important implications for the development of future teacher training courses

What do teachers really want to know about assessment?

This presentation will focus on a project which sought to bring teachers more directly into the assessment literacy debate and provide them with training materials which meet their stated needs. With the exception of a single case study following three Chinese University teachers (Xu, 2015), no teachers have been asked directly about their attitudes to assessment or their specific training needs. Following an earlier study which relied on survey data from teachers (Berry and O’Sullivan, 2015), the first part of this project was based on interviews and observations. The interviews drew on Davies’ (2008) categories of testing knowledge, defined as skills, knowledge and principles. In the interviews, teachers were asked to estimate their understanding of components of the assessment process and then to indicate how much they would like to learn about an individual component. Observations were conducted which focused on teachers’ assessment practices. Post-observation interviews were then conducted with the teachers. The observations and interviews were conducted at the international study centre of a British university and the focus group discussions were held at teaching centres attached to a major international organisation overseas. A workshop was also conducted at a major international conference with teachers from many parts of the world. These all served to confirm the earlier findings. The outcome of the project was the creation of a set of on-line training materials for teachers. This presentation will describe the project its findings and conclude with a discussion of the training materials developed. Audience feedback will be welcome

Assessment: attitudes, practices and needs

This presentation was delivered as a webinar. The webinar was organised by British Council Wider Europe and was available in 15 countries across the region

Singing from the same hymn sheet? What language assessment literacy means to teachers

This proposal focuses on a project which investigated language assessment literacy practices in the classroom. The project sought to bring teachers more directly into the assessment literacy debate and provide them with training materials which meet their stated needs. With the exception of a single case study following three Chinese University teachers (Xu 2015), no teachers have been asked directly about their attitudes to assessment or their specific training needs Exploring teachers’ current levels of assessment literacy may help teacher educators to better understand the factors which promote or prevent effective assessment, and thus contribute to more targeted teacher education. However, an investigation into what is happening in classes may be of little value without exploring why it is happening. Teachers’ attitudes and beliefs are frequently cited as exerting a powerful role in shaping their decisions, judgments and behaviour (see for example: Borg, 2006; Kagan, 1992). The first part of the project was based on interviews and observation. The interviews drew on Davies’ (2008) categories of testing knowledge. He defines these as skills, knowledge and principles. The interviews asked teachers to estimate their understanding of components of the assessment process and asked them to indicate how much they would like to learn about an individual component. Observations were conducted which focussed on teacher assessment practices. Post-observation interviews were conducted with the teachers. The observations and interviews were conducted at the international study centre of a British university. Focus group discussions were held at two teaching centres attached to a major international organisation overseas. These served to confirm the earlier findings. The project culminated in the creation of a set of on-line training materials. The presentation will describe the project, its findings and conclude with a discussion of the training materials

Microglia maintain structural integrity during fetal brain morphogenesis

Microglia (MG), the brain-resident macrophages, play major roles in health and disease via a diversity of cellular states. While embryonic MG display a large heterogeneity of cellular distribution and transcriptomic states, their functions remain poorly characterized. Here, we uncovered a role for MG in the maintenance of structural integrity at two fetal cortical boundaries. At these boundaries between structures that grow in distinct directions, embryonic MG accumulate, display a state resembling post-natal axon-tract-associated microglia (ATM) and prevent the progression of microcavities into large cavitary lesions, in part via a mechanism involving the ATM-factor Spp1. MG and Spp1 furthermore contribute to the rapid repair of lesions, collectively highlighting protective functions that preserve the fetal brain from physiological morphogenetic stress and injury. Our study thus highlights key major roles for embryonic MG and Spp1 in maintaining structural integrity during morphogenesis, with major implications for our understanding of MG functions and brain development.</p

Nursing considerations to complement the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines

Objectives: To provide a series of recommendations based on the best available evidence to guide clinicians providing nursing care to patients with severe sepsis. Design: Modified Delphi method involving international experts and key individuals in subgroup work and electronic-based discussion among the entire group to achieve consensus. Methods: We used the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines as a framework to inform the structure and content of these guidelines. We used the Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system to rate the quality of evidence from high (A) to very low (D) and to determine the strength of recommendations, with grade 1 indicating clear benefit in the septic population and grade 2 indicating less confidence in the benefits in the septic population. In areas without complete agreement between all authors, a process of electronic discussion of all evidence was undertaken until consensus was reached. This process was conducted independently of any funding. Results: Sixty-three recommendations relating to the nursing care of severe sepsis patients are made. Prevention recommendations relate to education, accountability, surveillance of nosocomial infections, hand hygiene, and prevention of respiratory, central line-related, surgical site, and urinary tract infections, whereas infection management recommendations related to both control of the infection source and transmission-based precautions. Recommendations related to initial resuscitation include improved recognition of the deteriorating patient, diagnosis of severe sepsis, seeking further assistance, and initiating early resuscitation measures. Important elements of hemodynamic support relate to improving both tissue oxygenation and macrocirculation. Recommendations related to supportive nursing care incorporate aspects of nutrition, mouth and eye care, and pressure ulcer prevention and management. Pediatric recommendations relate to the use of antibiotics, steroids, vasopressors and inotropes, fluid resuscitation, sedation and analgesia, and the role of therapeutic end points. Conclusion: Consensus was reached regarding many aspects of nursing care of the severe sepsis patient. Despite this, there is an urgent need for further evidence to better inform this area of critical care