Presentation Overview

1. The use of self-assessment to foster students’ learning in teacher education: An experience in teaching practiceDr. Rebecca CHEUNGDepartment of Early Childhood EducationHong Kong Institute of Education

2. Presentation Overview • Background information • Research purpose and methodology • Research results and findings • Ways forward

3. Assessment in Education • Assessment has been recognized to have a major impact on teaching and learning (National Curriculum Task Group on Assessment and Testing, 1988). • “Assessment is the single most powerful influence on learning in formal courses” (Boud et al., 1999, p.413).

4. Assessment in Hong Kong • Assessment in Hong Kong usually focuses on measuring student learning. • There has been a predominant emphasis on summative assessment in primary, secondary and higher education. • Teachers have always played a dominated role in student assessment.

5. Assessment in Hong Kong Higher Education • There has been a shift in the way of student assessment in higher education assessment practices away from supervisors’ assessment of students to methods that help students evaluate their own performance and take steps to improve it (Carless et al., 2006).

6. The Learning-Oriented Assessment Project • The learning-oriented assessment project was a 3-year project in HKIEd focused on increasing awareness and supporting the improvement of assessment practices in higher education • It highlighted the role of assessment as a source of student learning; to stimulate a reflective discourse about assessment issues; and to develop, promote and disseminate good practices in learning-oriented assessment.

7. Framework of Learning-Oriented Assessment Students involvement in assessment processes Assessment tasks as learning tasks Forward looking feedback (Carless et al. 2006)

8. Key Element in Learning-Oriented Assessment • Feedback • Feedback is formative and it leads to actions which improve learning (Black, 1993). • where students are now • where they are trying to go • how they can get there

9. HKIEd Students’ Views on Feedback Feedback should be: • timed to suit the students • be specific to student needs and difficulties • be prompt, supportive and oral • involve a dialogue which includes helping the lecturer to understand the students’ thought processes (Carless, 2002, 2003)

10. Research projects of LOAP • Self-assessment through K-W-L (Know, want, learn) • Technology-enhanced assessment • Field experience assessment • Performance assessment • Feedback • Portfolio assessment

11. Background of the Study • Teaching practice is a core activity in Hong Kong Institute of Education with the purpose of translating theory into practice. • Assessment in teaching practice: • Criteria used. The criteria give to students without discussion • Student is judged on their performance by the institute supervisor with a grade and a short series of comments • Assessment and feedback are still largely controlled by and seen as the responsibility of teachers; Teachers ‘transmit’ feedback messages to students about what is right and wrong in their teaching, about its strengths and weaknesses, and students use this information to make subsequent improvements.

12. HKIEd Students’ Views on TP • Students view teaching practice more an assessment than a learning experience • Attention only on the result • Receive external feedback from their tutor passively

13. Teachers’ Views on TP • How much students really understand the criteria or standard with which they are judged ? • How can students be better equipped to reflect deeply and critically?

14. Integrating self-assessment in TP • According to Hopkins (1995), if teaching practice is regarded as an assessment in which students only receive external feedback, this assessment does little to promote students’ learning. • Using self-assessment as a tool for learning to learn and encouraging independent learning has been well documented (e.g. Boud, 1995; Reynolds & Trehan, 2000; Ross & Bruce, 2007). • The idea of engaging students in a self-assessment process in teaching practice aims to explore forms of assessment that would encourage students to take more responsibility for their learning.

15. Purpose of the study This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of self-assessment during teaching practice and to determine whether the students, after engaging in the self-assessment process, exhibited changes in their learning and teaching.

16. Research Questions Two research questions guided the study: • How does self-assessment aid in teaching practice? • How does the self-assessment process bring about changes in students’ teaching and learning practices?

17. Theoretical Framework of the Study

18. What is self- assessment ? Boud’s definition (1995, p.12) Two characteristics were identified : • the involvement of students in identifying standards and/or criteria to apply to their work • making judgments about the extent to which they have met these criteria and standards

19. What is self- assessment ? • Bailey’s (1981) claimed self-assessment was an essential component for the professional preparation of teachers and suggested that self-assessment was a process of self-examination in which a series of sequential feedback strategies could be used for the purpose of self-improvement. • Black and William (1998) saw self-assessment as essential to learning and claimed that teachers could assess themselves when they had a clear picture of their objectives. They said that if teachers engaged in the process of gathering and interpreting evidence of their children’s learning, they would become more committed and effective as learners.

20. Conceptual model of the study

21. A journey into self-assessment

22. Assessment task • 請兩個人組成一組 • 仔細地觀察對方 • 畫一幅對方的畫像 • 自評 • 交換畫像 • 互評 回饋

23. Self-assessment and peer assessment are based on public criteria (Goal setting) 評估準則： • 能畫出人的輪廓、五官形象、合乎比例 • 能畫出人的主要特征 • 能表達人的神情、感覺 What I want to achieve?

24. Evidence Recording • 能畫出人的輪廓、五官形象、合乎比例 憑證在哪裡表現？ • 能畫出人的主要特征 憑證在哪裡表現？ • 能表達人的神情、感覺 憑證在哪裡表現？ What counts as good?

25. Self-Evaluation • Judging -What level have I achieved? • What do well? • What does not do well? • Reflecting - What are my strengths and weaknesses?

26. Further Action for Improvement • If I want to improve, what action will I take?

27. Feedback from peer and instructor • Feedback by instructor and peers enhances self assessment for students. • Considering others’ perception can point out areas missed or lack of understanding by the student.

28. Method

29. Participants • 47 female in-service student teachers enrolled in the Two-Year Certificate of Education (ECE) program at the HKIEd. • Participants were drawn from two groups within the program on voluntary basis. The first group comprised 27 final year students who had completed the 1st year teaching practice. The second group had 20 first-year students who had no prior experiences of teaching practice.

30. Procedures • A self-assessment record sheet was formulated and students were engaged in a self-assessment process by four steps: • Goal setting • Evidence Recording • Self-Evaluation • Further Action for Improvement

32. Procedures • At the beginning of the study, participants were informed about the objectives of and procedures for self-assessment. A demonstration of goal setting and evidence recording based on the criteria printed on the handbook was then given and the participants practiced goal setting using the self-assessment record sheet. • The self-assessment record sheet was used at three stages during the block teaching practice: • to set the teaching goals before a lesson; • to record evidence during the lesson and • to have students evaluate their own performance and identify areas for improvement after the lessons

33. Data Collection • Source 1 – Questionnaires • Source 2 - Focus group interview • Source 3 – Self-assessment sheet

34. Source 1 Questionnaire : • The researcher developed a nine-item questionnaire with a combination of closed- and open-ended questions • The items dealt with the following: • Students’ general perception of the self-assessment experience (Question 1: How useful did you find self-assessment in the block teaching practice?); • The extent to which self-assessment helped students to plan, teach, and reflect (Three items, such as: How did self-assessment help you in lesson planning?); • The impact of using self-assessment during teaching practice (Three items, such as: To what extent has your teaching changed after participating in self-assessment?); • Students’ feelings about using self-assessment during teaching practice (Selection from eight adjectives such as: meaningful, insightful, difficult to understand, not practical, difficult to handle) and; • Students’ suggestions for improvement (one item)

35. Source 2 Two semi-structured focus-group interviews were conducted a week after the last day of the block teaching practice with 12 teachers.

37. Source 3 • The self-assessment sheet were collected at the end of teaching practice

38. Data Analysis Three aspects of teaching assessed in teaching practice were investigated: lesson planning, teaching skills and reflection. • Questionnaire data were examined at the single-item level in relation to the perception of the usefulness of self-assessment during teaching practice. • The interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. The transcripts were analyzed using the constant-comparison method (Bogdan & Biklen, 1992) in which transcriptions were carefully read and coded using the target qualities. Instances and excerpts were then grouped and compared to reveal changes in students’ learning and teaching practices. • The self-assessment sheets were used to provide supplementary information for the study.

39. Results The findings have been organized into two sections: 1. the usefulness of self-assessment in teaching practice;2. changes in students’ teaching and learning practices.

40. The usefulness of self-assessment in teaching practice

41. Overall students’ perception of the usefulness of self-assessment was positive. • 79% of the participants perceived self-assessment was very useful or useful, and the mean score of 2.98 on the four-point scale revealed a generally favorable response. • While 100% of the final-year participants reported self-assessment very useful or useful, only 64.2% of first-year participants responded positively. • An independent-sample t-test was employed to determine the difference between the two groups. Analysis indicated a statistically significant difference (t=3.927; p<0.01) between first-year students (M=2.71, SD=0.60) and final-year students (M=3.37, SD=0.50), with the final year participants having more favorable responses.

42. In relation to the three qualities identified as important in teaching practice, the mean scores for all areas are shown to be above 2.5 - a positive response towards each of the qualities. • Reflection received the highest mean followed by teaching skills and then lesson planning. The final-year participants again consistently rated higher than the first-year participants across all qualities. Significant differences (p<0.05) were revealed between the two groups, with mean scores decreasing significantly for first-year participants.

43. Changes in students’ teaching and learning practice

44. Lesson planning: • Participants in both focus groups expressed the opinion that the self-assessment process enabled them to be more systematic in planning their lessons. Goal setting helped them to identify specific areas to work on and suggested what they might plan for the children. After using self-assessment in teaching practice, the participants were clearer about underlying teaching principles, and understood better the children’s needs and interests.

45. It helped me to focus. When I wrote down the goal, I dealt with one first if I had found more than one problem in the previous lesson plan. After I’d achieved that, I would set another one. (Fung – First-year participant) Before using self-assessment, I focused on what I wanted to teach and I didn’t know where the children’s interests and needs were in the previous lesson. After I’d set my goals, I could refer to them when I evaluated, I could check if I had achieved my goal. If I hadn’t, I would consider children’s needs and interests and revise the plan the next day accordingly. (Chan – final-year participant)

46. Teaching skill: • Both first and final year participants commented that the self-assessment process helped them to shift their focus from what the teacher does to how the children respond. They pointed out that they were often more conscious of their own performance in terms of a smooth implementation of activities than children’s learning. Collecting evidence during the lesson helped them to think about the children’s performance and identify what counted as evidence in relation to the goals.

47. Before using self-assessment, if I saw the children following my instruction to do the activity, I thought I had achieved the objectives. I am now clearer about good teaching. By referring to the goals I set, I knew specifically which aspect I should scaffold for children. (Cheung – final-year participant) Before using self-assessment, I usually focused on my teaching only. After using self-assessment, I felt that I had improved in responding to children in class. I‘ve got more ways to talk to them. (Lam – first-year participant)

48. Reflection: • Students said that they were made to think more when they were required to set goals, search for evidence and judge their own performance. This thinking also enabled them to have a clearer understanding of the standards and criteria against which their teaching performance was judged. • By engaging in self-assessment, students could see the problems in their teaching, and make decisions to improve it. • Some students reported that before adopting self- assessment, their day-to-day evaluation was mostly description of teaching episodes rather than attempts to think critically about them. The self-assessment process enabled them to see the link between different aspects, and thus develop their skills in critical thinking. Participants appreciated that self-assessment had motivated them to rethink their daily evaluation.

49. Through self-assessment process, I developed my analytic skills. I felt more confident if I could gather evidence for my improvement. This means I can do better and I’ve got a clearer idea of what to do next and how to do it. (Ng – first- year participant) Before using self-assessment, I did evaluation everyday and just described what children could do and couldn’t do. After using self-assessment, I would think about what I did well or didn’t do well according to my goals. (Leung – final-year participant) Before using self-assessment, the daily evaluation was just a record of what I did that day. I didn’t see the need to follow up. I didn’t change my planning for the next lesson according to the evaluation. This is what we mean by feeling very vague about what to plan. The self-assessment stimulated me to think and evaluate systematically. Now, I will refer to the goals and evidence when I reflect. I will think more when I plan because I need to meet my goals. I will try my ideas for improvement in next lesson to see if it really works. (Cheung – final-year participant)

50. Example from self-assessment worksheet