An Examination of Early Childhood Teachers’ Views and Experiences on Assessment as Learning

Yıl 2024, Cilt: 19 Sayı: 42, 2155 - 2174, 30.06.2024

Nursel Bektaş , Selda Aras

https://doi.org/10.35675/befdergi.1445750

Öz

In recent years, assessment as learning, which is one of the formative assessment types, has attracted attention with its focus on the role of the child in the connection between learning and assessment. Assessment as learning which includes children's awareness of their own learning processes, what they want to learn and how they learn, is a critical component for young children’s self-regulation and metacognition. This study examines preschool teachers' views and self-reported experiences regarding assessment as learning. For this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten preschool teachers, ensuring maximum diversity. The findings of this study were analyzed with the themes of feedback, questioning, self-assessment, and peer assessment. The results indicated that although teachers have various practices in the context of feedback and asking questions, they give a more limited place to self-assessment and peer assessment in their practices. Although there are differences in teachers' experiences, providing support for some critical highlights regarding their practices is important for the effectiveness of assessment.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Assessment as learning, assessment, early childhood education, early childhood teacher, formative assessment

Okul Öncesi Öğretmenlerinin Öğrenme Olarak Değerlendirmeye İlişkin Görüş ve Deneyimlerinin İncelenmesi

Öz

Biçimlendirici değerlendirme türlerinden biri olan öğrenme olarak değerlendirme, öğrenme ve değerlendirme arasındaki bağlantıda öğrenenin rolüne odaklanmasıyla son yıllarda dikkat çekmektedir. Çocukların kendi öğrenme süreçlerine ilişkin farkındalıklarını, ne öğrenmek istediklerini ve nasıl öğrendiklerini içeren öğrenme olarak değerlendirme, çocukların öz-düzenleme ve üst-bilişsel becerileri için önemlidir. Bu çalışma, okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin öğrenme olarak değerlendirmeye ilişkin görüşlerini ve söyleme dayalı deneyimlerini incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Bu amaçla, maksimum çeşitlilik sağlanarak on okul öncesi öğretmeni ile yarı-yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Bu çalışmanın bulguları ile dönüt, soru sorma, öz değerlendirme ve akran değerlendirmesi temalarına ulaşılmıştır. Sonuçlar, öğretmenlerin dönüt ve soru sorma bağlamlarında çeşitli uygulamalarının olduğunu göztermekle birlikte, öz-değerlendirme ve akran değerlendirmesine daha az yer verdiklerini göstermektedir. Öğretmenlerin deneyimlerinde farklılıklar olsa da uygulamalarına ilişkin bazı kritik noktaların desteklenmesi, değerlendirmenin etkililiği açısından önemlidir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Öğrenme olarak değerlendirme, değerlendirme, okul öncesi eğitim, okul öncesi öğretmeni, biçimlendirici değerlendirme

Kaynakça

• Assessment Reform Group. (1999). Assessment for learning: Beyond the black box. Cambridge: University of Cambridge School of Education.
• Assessment Reform Group. (2002). Assessment for learning: 10 principles: Research-based principles to guide classroom practice. University of Cambridge, School of Education.
• Aras, S. (2019). Improving early childhood teachers' formative assessment practices: Transformative role of collaborative action research. International Journal of Curriculum and Instructional Studies, 9(2), 221-240. https://doi.org/10.31704/ijocis.2019.010
• Aras, S. (2023). Formative assessment to support preservice teachers’ self-regulated learning in digital education. In Pedagogy and Psychology in Digital Education (pp. 107-118). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-2107-2_6
• Bay, D. N., & Hartman, D. K. (2015). Teachers asking questions in preschool. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 5(7/1), 60-76.
• Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy and Practice, 5(1), 7–73. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0969595980050102
• Black, P., Harrison, C., Lee, C., Marshall, B., & William, D. (2003). Formative and summative assessment: Can they serve learning together. AERA Chicago, 23.
• Bradbury, A. (2013). Education policy and the ‘ideal learner’: producing recognisable learner-subjects through early years assessment. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 34(1), 1-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2012.692049Ó2013
• Boyd, M. P., & Galda, L. (2011). Real talk in elementary classrooms: Effective oral language practice. Guilford Press.
• Creswell, J. W. (2013). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches, 3rd ed. Los Angeles: SAGE.
• Creswell, J. W. (2018). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Los Angeles: SAGE.
• Crooks, T. (2011). Assessment for learning in the accountability era: New Zealand. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 37(1), 71–77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2011.03.002
• Dann, R. (2002). Promoting assessment as learning: Improving the learning process. (1st ed.). Routledge.
• Dann, R. (2014). Assessment as learning: blurring the boundaries of assessment and learning for theory, policy and practice. Assessment in education: principles, policy & practice, 21(2), 149-166. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2014.898128
• DeLuca, C., Pyle, A., Braund, H., & Faith, L. (2020). Leveraging assessment to promote kindergarten learners’ independence and self-regulation within play-based classrooms. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 27(4), 394-415. https://doi.org/10.1080/0969594X.2020.1719033
• Dunphy, E. (2008) Supporting Early Learning and Development through Formative Assessment. Research paper. Dublin: National Council for Curriculum and Assessment.
• Earl, L. (2003). Assessment as learning: Using classroom assessment to maximize student learning. Thousand oaks. CA: Corwin.
• Earl, L. (2007) Assessment as learning. In W. D. Hawley & D. L. Rollie (Eds.) The Keys to Effective Schools: Educational Reform as Continuous Improvement. (2nd ed., pp. 85-98). Corwin Press.
• Fleer, M. (2006). Sociocultural assessment in early years education-myth or reality. Early Years Education, 2, 392-412. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760220141999
• Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2004). Does your assessment support your students’ learning. Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 1(1), 1–30.
• Karlsdóttir, K., & Garðarsdóttir, B. (2010). Exploring children's learning stories as an assessment method for research and practice. Early Years, 30(3), 255-266. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2010.506431
• Kiger, M. E., & Varpio, L. (2020). Thematic analysis of qualitative data: AMEE Guide No. 131. Medical Teacher, 42(8), 846-854. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159X.2020.1755030
• Lam, R. (2016). Assessment as learning: examining a cycle of teaching, learning, and assessment of writing in the portfolio-based classroom. Studies in Higher Education, 41(11), 1900-1917. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03075079.2014.999317
• Lee, I., Mak, P., & Yuan, R. E. (2019). Assessment as learning in primary writing classrooms: An exploratory study. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 62, 72-81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2019.04.012
• Mentkowski, M. (2006). Accessible and adaptable elements of Alverno student assessment-‐as-‐learning. Innovative Assessment in Higher Education, 48.
• MoNE. (2013). National early childhood education curriculum. Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı.
• MoNE. (2024). National early childhood education curriculum. Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı.
• Patton, M. Q. (2014). Qualitative research & evaluation methods: Integrating theory and practice. Sage Publications.
• Robson, C. (2011). Real World Research. 3rd edn. Hoboken. In: New Jersey, USA: John Wiley & Sons.
• Sadler, D. R. (2010). Beyond feedback: Developing student capability in complex appraisal. In Approaches to assessment that enhance learning in higher education (pp. 55–70). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602930903541015
• Schellekens, L. H., Bok, H. G., de Jong, L. H., van der Schaaf, M. F., Kremer, W. D., & van der Vleuten, C. P. (2021). A scoping review on the notions of Assessment as Learning (AaL), Assessment for Learning (AfL), and Assessment of Learning (AoL). Studies in Educational Evaluation, 71, 101094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stueduc.2021.101094
• Siraj-Blatchford, I. (2014). Early Childhood Education (ECE). In T. Maynard and S. Powell (Eds.), An introduction to early childhood studies, (3rd ed., pp. 172-184). SAGE Publications Inc.
• Svanes, I. K., & Andersson-Bakken, E. (2021). Teachers’ use of open questions: Investigating the various functions of open questions as a mediating tool in early literacy education. Education Inquiry, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/20004508.2021.1985247
• Yan, Z., & Boud, D. (2022). Conceptualising assessment-as-learning. In Z. Yan & L. Yang (Eds.), Assessment as Learning: Maximising Opportunities for Student Learning and Achievement (1st ed., pp. 11-25). Routledge.
• Yılmaz, A., Aras, S., Ülker, A., & Şahin, F. (2023). Reconceptualising the role of the child portfolio in assessment: How it serves for ‘assessment as learning’. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 24(4), 411-424. https://doi.org/10.1177/146394912110480
• Wallace, R., & Hurst, B. (2009). Why do teachers ask questions?: Analyzing responses from 1967, 1987, and 2007. Journal of Reading Education, 35(1), 39–46.
• Wiliam, D. (2010). Standardized testing and school accountability. Educational Psychologist, 45(2), 107-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461521003703060
• Wiliam, D. (2012). Feedback: Part of a system. Educational Leadership, 70(1), 30–34.
• Wood, E. (2013). Play, Learning and the Early Childhood Curriculum. (3rd ed.). London: SAGE.