Year
2023Credit points
10Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.Prerequisites
(EDET200 Effective Teaching 3: Engaging Learners and Managing Learning Environments AND LNTE111 Literacy and Numeracy Test ) OR (EDET200 Effective Teaching 3: Engaging Learners and Managing Learning Environments AND LNTE100 LANTITE - Literacy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students AND LNTE101 LANTITE - Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students ) OR (EDET211 Effective Teaching 3 Positive Environments to Engage Young Learners AND LNTE111 Literacy and Numeracy Test ) OR (EDET211 Effective Teaching 3 Positive Environments to Engage Young Learners AND LNTE100 LANTITE - Literacy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students AND LNTE101 LANTITE - Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students )
Incompatible
EDFD471 Assessment Practices and Evaluation
Unit rationale, description and aim
Includes: 5 days placement in an educational setting
Pre-service teachers must develop an awareness of assessment as integral to effective teaching.
This unit develops pre-service teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the nature and purpose of assessment, and its role in guiding teaching and learning. They will examine contemporary assessment theories, policies, practices and technologies and will apply these in the construction of assessment strategies that meet the learning needs of students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socio-economic background including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and students with disability.. Pre-service teachers are provided with opportunities to analyse, interpret and moderate assessment data to arrive at credible conclusions and to make recommendations for the improvement of teaching practices. They will develop knowledge and understanding of principles and strategies for engaging parents/carers in the educative process and for reporting to parents/carers and other significant stakeholders. Strategies for working collaboratively with specialist teachers and other school community personnel to support students from diverse backgrounds to teaching and learning will also be considered.
This unit aims to develop pre-service teachers’ understanding and skills for designing effective assessments and gathering, interpreting and reporting assessment data in order to improve learning outcomes.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
On successful completion of this unit, students should be able to:
LO1 - Apply knowledge of contemporary assessment theories, practices and technologies in the construction of assessment strategies, including informal, formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches, to promote engagement and assess student learning (GA4, GA5, GA8, GA10; APST 2.1, 2.3, 3.1, 3.4, 5.1, 5.2)
LO2 - Demonstrate awareness of processes for collecting and storing evidence of learning, analysing and moderating quantitative and qualitative data to improve student learning (GA3, GA4, GA5, GA8; APST 3.6, 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 7.1)
LO3 - Explain a range of strategies for reporting to parents/carers and engaging them in the educative process, in the design of a parent/carer communication strategy (GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9, GA10; APST 3.6, 3.7, 5.2, 5.5, 7.2, 7.3)
LO4 - Construct a professional learning plan identifying professional learning needs and sources of professional development (GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9, GA10; APST 3.6, 4.4, 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4)
LO5 - Complete a successful professional experience in a classroom setting engaging in critical reflection and responding to feedback from colleagues and supervisors to improve teaching practice (GA1, GA3, GA4, GA5, GA9; APST 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 4.2, 4.4, 5.1, 5.2, 6.3, 7.1, 7.2)
Graduate attributes
GA1 - Demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity
GA3 - Apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making
GA4 - Think critically and reflectively
GA5 - Demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession
GA8 - Locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information
GA9 - Demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media
GA10 - Utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively
AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS - GRADUATE LEVEL
On successful completion of this unit, pre-service teachers should be able to:
1.5 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities. |
2.1 Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area. |
2.2 Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence. |
2.3 Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans. |
3.1 Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics. |
3.3 Include a range of teaching strategies. |
3.4 Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning. |
3.5 Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement. |
3.6 Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning. |
3.7 Describe a broad range of strategies for involving parents/carers in the educative process. |
4.2 Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions. |
4.4 Describe strategies that support students’ well-being and safety working within school and/or system, curriculum and legislative requirements. |
5.1 Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies, including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning. |
5.2 Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of providing timely and appropriate feedback to students about their learning. |
5.3 Demonstrate understanding of assessment moderation and its application to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning. |
5.4 Demonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching practice. |
5.5 Demonstrate understanding of a range of strategies for reporting to students and parents/carers and the purpose of keeping accurate and reliable records of student achievement. |
6.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in identifying professional learning needs. |
6.2 Understand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers. |
6.3 Seek and apply constructive feedback from supervisors and teachers to improve teaching practices. |
6.4 Demonstrate an understanding of the rationale for continued professional learning and the implications for improved student learnings. |
7.1 Understand and apply the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession. |
7.2 Understand the relevant legislative, administrative and organisational policies and processes required for teachers according to school stage. |
7.3 Understand strategies for working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers. |
7.4 Understand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice. |
Content
Topics will include:
- The role of assessment in the planning, teaching, learning and evaluation cycle and curriculum decision-making
- Nature of assessment and its major concepts and purposes (including formal, informal, diagnostic, formative and summative)
- The role of assessment in the continual evaluation and improvement of teaching and learning and the challenges associated with this process
- The use of assessment to monitor and improve children’s learning and development
- Documentation of children’s learning and the roles documentation plays in making children’s thinking visible
- Construction of quality and diverse assessment tasks informed by contemporary assessment theories, policies, approaches and curriculum
- Differentiating assessment tasks to meet the specific needs of diverse learners, particularly EALD students and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- Approaches for monitoring student progress and providing timely, focused and constructive feedback to learners
- Processes for gathering, organising and interpreting evidence of learning, and provision of feedback
- Moderation practices (both within school and externally facilitated, as appropriate)
- The information processing cycle in the school context: acquisition, validation, processing, storage, output and archiving/deletion
- Data storage and ethical practice related to storage and communication of assessment data
- The use of relevant technologies to record, access, aggregate and evaluate assessment data
- Data tracking: What constitutes relevant and effective data in the area of specialisation
- The interpretation of assessment data to inform the construction of quality learning sequences.
- A range of communication strategies to engage sensitively and confidentially with parents/ carers and involve them in the educative process
- Reporting student progress to learners, colleagues, parents/carers and other significant stakeholders
- The affects assessment data and processes may have on children, families and the broader community
- Understanding the role of formal and informal external and commercially prepared assessment programs
- Use of ‘big data’ to inform teaching and learning
- The data sets available and used by schools/teachers
- Identification of cohort/school strengths and weaknesses, and impact for school-wide decision-making, instructional decision-making, teacher’s personal learning goals, school/faculty evaluation and planning and reporting
- Strategies for supporting the various literacy and numeracy needs of cohorts (as identified through such datasets), particularly EALD students and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- Relationships with special needs and learning-support teachers
- High-stakes and external assessment (e.g. NAPLAN, external exams and Year 12 performance)
- Responding to cohort data and issues of diversity among learner populations, particularly EALD students and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students
- Impacts on teacher/school/faculty evaluation and goal-setting
- Impact on reporting to parents/carers, stakeholders, etc
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit applies a social constructivist approach to develop pre-service teachers’ understanding of principles and practices of assessment and their skills in developing assessment tasks. They will have the opportunity to build on their understanding of assessment concepts and strategies through critical reading, lecturer modelling, active engagement and rehearsing in tutorials. Teaching skills of professional communication will be developed through class discussions and the construction of a parent/carer communication plan. Understanding of assessment, and the ability to locate and synthesise information, will be developed through designing assessment plans for a specific class. Placement in a school will enable engagement with experienced practitioners and to make links between theory and its application to classroom contexts. Pre-service teachers will continue to gather and reflect upon evidence of their attainment of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate, in the Digital Portfolio.
The unit will involve lectures and tutorials with discussion, written activities and on-going assessment tasks. Teaching strategies may include:
- Formal online weekly input by the teaching team and moderated by a panel of guests of experienced practitioners and teachers;
- Hands-on tutorials and discussion sessions that promote peer learning; and
- Online activities.
The unit is hosted on a Learning Management System (LMS) site with resources and online links, announcements, and a discussion board to post questions and reflections that promote connection between content and educational experiences.
Mode of delivery: This unit may be offered in different modes to cater to the learning needs and preferences of a range of participants.
On Campus
Most learning activities or classes are delivered at a scheduled time, on campus, to enable in-person interactions. Activities will appear in a student’s timetable.
Multi-mode
Learning activities are delivered through a planned mix of online and in-person classes, which may include full-day sessions and/or placements, to enable interaction. Activities that require attendance will appear in a student’s timetable.
Online unscheduled
Learning activities are accessible anytime, anywhere. These units are normally delivered fully online and will not appear in a student’s timetable.
Online scheduled
All learning activities are held online, at scheduled times, and will require some attendance to enable online interaction. Activities will appear in a student’s timetable.
ACU Online
In ACU Online mode, this unit is delivered asynchronously, fully online using an active, guided learning approach. Pre-service teachers are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions and receive regular and timely feedback on their learning.
Professional Experience: teaching requirements
The professional experience placement consists of 5 days of school/centre experience, either as individual days or as a single week of continuous engagement. (The lecturer-in-charge may exempt students who have already completed EDFX173 from these five days of placement.) These days serve as orientation for the subsequent unit and placement EDET401 Effective Teaching 6: Professional Engagement and Reflection, and should be arranged at the same school with any requirements of the EDET401 placement applying. Teaching opportunities in this unit may be individual or paired. The professional experience will be in the area of the teaching specialisation of the pre-service teacher:
- Each Primary pre-service teacher will have a nominated primary subject specialisation (such as English, Mathematics, Religious Education, Science/Technology, Health and Physical Education, Creative Arts and Languages). The placement must allow the pre-service primary teacher to consolidate the content of this unit in the particular context of the primary teaching specialisation.
- Each Early Childhood and Primary (ECP) pre-service teacher will be placed in a lower (F-2) primary school setting. They, similarly, have a primary teaching specialisation of English OR Mathematics OR Religious Education. The placement must allow the pre-service ECP teacher to consolidate the content of this unit in the particular context of the primary teaching specialisation.
- A pre-service teacher preparing to teach across Primary and Secondary has a ‘primary subject specialisation’ based on their secondary teaching area, and will be placed in a primary education setting. The placement must allow the pre-service primary teacher to consolidate the content of this unit in the particular context of the primary teaching specialisation.
- A pre-service Secondary teacher will be placed in a secondary setting that will support practice teaching in at least one their two secondary subject areas. The teaching placement must allow for engagement with the particular area of specialisation (that is, the ‘first teaching area’ for secondary teachers, and possibly the ‘second teaching area’; the primary specialisation as RE, English, Mathematics, English/Mathematics, Arts, Health and Physical Education).
Recommended Teaching Experiences
The following engagements are recommended across the 5-day placement. They provide a scaffolded, praxis-oriented approach to building experience, competency and confidence, and are designed to align with on-campus content. These engagements are to be discussed, negotiated and planned with the supervising teacher/s.
The principle focus of the five-day placement is observation and familiarisation with the class and school context, in particular the identification of a specific issue or problem in negotiation with the supervising teacher. This may include gathering existing assessment data to ascertain the current level of learner attainment.
Pre-service teachers are encouraged to support the class teacher through assisting individual learners and groups of learners and they may teach one or more individual lessons across the five days.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The assessment tasks and their weightings allow pre-service teachers to progressively demonstrate achievement against the course learning outcomes by demonstrating academic and professional standards. The Effective Teaching sequence of units in this course focus on developing understanding of, and skills across the professional knowledge, practice and engagement needed to meet expectations of the APST: Graduate level. In this unit the assessment focuses on the construction of informed assessment procedures and practices which incorporate contemporary educational thought, understandings of the psychology of learning, and modern technologies. As well as employing the practices of collecting, analysing, interpreting and actioning quantitative and qualitative student assessment data to evaluate student learning.
The three assessment tasks are sequenced to allow feedback and progressive development of knowledge in purpose and forms of assessments and communicating with parents/carers in the educative process. Task 1 assesses pre-service teachers knowledge of assessment concepts. It is an early low-weighted assessment task which provides feedback to pre-service teachers within the first six weeks of the standard semester. This task enables the teaching staff to identify pre-service teachers who are experiencing difficulties understanding the purpose of assessment and the importance of quality data. These students will be advised to seek assistance from their tutor. The knowledge assessed in Task 1 is then applied in the development of an assessment portfolio for Task 2 which enables the collection of quality assessment resources for teaching. Task 3 allows pre-service teachers to use their creativity in the developing communication strategies to parents and carers.
A range of assessment procedures are used to meet the unit learning outcomes and develop graduate attributes and professional standards and criteria consistent with University assessment requirements. (http://www.acu.edu.au/policy/student_policies/assessment_policy_and_assessment_procedures).
Minimum Achievement Standards
The assessment tasks and their weighting for this unit are designed to demonstrate achievement of each learning outcome. In order to pass this unit, students are required to submit all assessment tasks, meet the learning outcomes of the unit and achieve a minimum overall passing grade of 50%.
In addition, pre-service teachers must attain a Pass in the two hurdle tasks. These are the preparation for the Professional Experience Placement (PEP) and the Professional Experience Assessment (PEA), which includes ensuring that all components of the preparation for Professional Experience are complete and current (A student who has been granted an exemption from Professional Experience component of the unit because of having previously completed EDFX173 will have completed 5 days of placement in that unit and are presumed to have met the hurdle requirement of this unit.)
Assessment in EDET400 includes a Critical Task: Assessment Task 1: Assessment Plan and Portfolio. This task is core to the demonstration of a number of Australian Professional Teacher Standards. Pre-service teachers must demonstrate mastery of every summative Graduate Teacher Standard identified and attain a score of at least 50% in Task 1 in order to pass this unit. Learning Outcome 3 (Explain a range of strategies for reporting to parents/carers and engaging them in the educative process, in the design of a parent/carer communication strategy) is only assessed in Assessment Task 2. A pass in Task 2 is an additional requirement for passing the unit overall.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes | Graduate Attributes |
|---|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1: Assessment Plan and Portfolio Critical Task Construct an assessment portfolio in your area of teaching specialisation that is associated with a particular year/stage and unit of study or topic. It should have an emphasis on assessment as a means to promote students' engagement in their learning and should include a variety of assessments tools, pre-and post-assessment, opportunities for peer and self-assessment and formative and summative feedback. The portfolio should include:
| 50% | LO1, LO2 | GA3, GA4, GA5, GA8, GA10 |
Assessment Task 2: Parent/Carer Reports and Communications Demonstrate a range of strategies for reporting to parents/carers the learning successes and challenges of their child.
Reporting should be based on a plan designed to inform the parents/carers and help them to be engaged with you as their teacher and the school to facilitate their child’s learning and development. Your plan and reports should be realistic and based upon authentic school evidence and demonstrate a range of strategies for working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers in the educative process. | 50% | LO3 | GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9, GA10 |
Professional Experience Assessment Online preparation modules: Prior to commencing the Professional Experience placement, pre-service teachers must ensure all components of the hurdle tasks from EDET100 are complete and current. Professional Experience Assessment Successful completion of this unit to support the assessment tasks outlined above will involve a compilation of evidence including.
This evidence must be compiled into a well-presented and well-organised Professional Experience folder, which must be updated on a daily basis throughout the placement. Artefacts and reflections should provide evidence of attainment of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers: Graduate, and can be included in the ePortfolio. | Pass/Fail | LO5 | GA1, GA3, GA4, GA5, GA9 |
Hurdle Requirement: ePortfolio and Professional Learning Plan Critical Task Self-audit of professional practice to evidence and reflect on attainment of the Professional Standards. Identify professional learning needs and construct a plan for professional learning including rationale for continued learning and appropriate sources. | Pass/Fail | LO4 | GA4, GA5, GA8, GA9, GA10 |
Representative texts and references
Required text(s)
Australian Curriculum https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/.
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) www.acara.edu.au.
Relevant State and Territory curriculum documents.
Recommended references
Alkharusi, H., Aldhafri, S., Alnabhani, H., & Alkalbani, M. (2014). Classroom assessment: Teacher practices, student perceptions, and academic self-efficacy beliefs. Social Behavior and Personality: an international journal, 42(5), 835-855.
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2018). Classroom assessment and pedagogy. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 25(6), 551-575.
Brady, L., & Kennedy, K. (2019). Assessment and reporting: Celebrating student achievement (5th ed.). Pearson Australia.
Deneen, Fulmer, Brown, Tan, Leong, & Tay. (2019). Value, practice and proficiency: Teachers' complex relationship with assessment for learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 80, 39-47.
Furtak, E. M., Kiemer, K., Circi, R. K., Swanson, R., de León, V., Morrison, D., & Heredia, S. C. (2016). Teachers’ formative assessment abilities and their relationship to student learning: findings from a four-year intervention study. Instructional Science, 44(3), 267-291.
Gallagher, K. (2018). Why student creation is the hardest/best form of assessment. Tech & Learning, 39(4), 17
Gardner, J. (Ed.). (2012). Assessment and learning (2nd ed.). Sage Publications Ltd.
Hardy, I. (2015). A logic of enumeration: The nature and effects of national literacy and numeracy testing in Australia. Journal of Education Policy, 30(3), 335-362.
Miller, M., Linn, R., & Gronlund, N. (2013). Measurement and assessment in teaching (11th international ed.). Pearson Education Inc.
Readman, K., & Allen, B. (2013). Practical planning and assessment. Oxford University Press.
Romero, L., Saucedo, C., Caliusco, M., & Gutiérrez, M. (2019). Supporting self-regulated learning and personalization using ePortfolios: A semantic approach based on learning paths. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, 16(1), 1-16.
van Dinther, M., Dochy, F., Segers, M., & Braeken, J. (2014). Student perceptions of assessment and student self-efficacy in competence-based education. Educational Studies, 40(3), 330-351.