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Professional development : mathematics teachers’ implementation of formative assessment strategies

Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.

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Other Authors: Long, Caroline
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2019
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Long, Caroline
author_browse Long, Caroline
author_facet Long, Caroline
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018.
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:38:52.535Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2019
publishDateRange 2019
publishDateSort 2019
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/70029 Professional development : mathematics teachers’ implementation of formative assessment strategies Long, Caroline u86559878@tuks.co.za Engelbrecht, Johann C. (Johannes Cornelis), 1946- Van der Nest, Adri UCTD Formative Assessment Assessment for learning Mathematics teachers Professional Development Teacher learning Education theses SDG-04 Education theses SDG-10 Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2018. Although buoyed by the induction of a democratic government, and the high ideals of our constitution, the South African education system has in many ways not met the expectations of its people, in this case, the mathematics education community. With the birth of an expansive intended curriculum came the monitoring of the outcomes through systemic type testing, the so-called attained curriculum. In time, it became clear that the inevitable ‘teaching to the test’ would constitute a narrowing of the implemented curriculum. Too much emphasis on systemic test results also resulted in summative assessment (assessment of learning) dominating instructional practices, neglecting other important curricular goals and content, and reliance on only one source of external monitoring to determine learner success in mathematics. Literature on formative assessment (assessment for learning) reveals great potential for significant improvements in student achievement. However, little is known about mathematics teachers understanding and experiences of formative assessment strategies as an approach to teacher professional development. To counteract these, a project titled Assessment Enhanced Teaching and Learning (AETL) has been initiated to provide Grade 9 mathematics teachers and learners with curriculum aligned formative assessment tasks at strategic points throughout the year. Against the background of the poor mathematics performance levels in South Africa, interventions for effective teacher development programmes to support practising mathematics teachers are much needed in the country. The review of literature, however, revealed a need for a deepening of understanding regarding the learning processes involved in implementing effective Professional Development (PD) programmes. The literature on Formative Assessment (FA) reveals great potential for significant improvements in student achievement. However, little is known about mathematics teachers’ understanding and experiences of formative assessment strategies as an approach to teacher professional development. To counteract these, a project titled Assessment Enhanced Teaching and Learning (AETL) has been initiated to provide Grade 9 mathematics teachers and learners with curriculum-aligned formative assessment tasks at strategic points throughout the year. In this study, I explored the understanding and experiences of professional growth of nine Grade 9 mathematics teachers from five different schools in the Pretoria (Tshwane) region as they participated in the AETL project. Through a qualitative case study design I was able to explore, analyse and describe the teachers’ understanding and implementation of formative assessment strategies and their perceptions regarding its influence on their professional growth. The findings indicate a strong sense of motivation to participate in professional development interventions through the need to excel in systemic type testing. The overall results suggest that systemic testing, in particular the ANAs (Annual National Assessments), seems to be the most influential factor on the teachers’ instructional and assessment practices. However, in the course of gathering the data, other issues emerged, for example, that teachers’ conceptualisation of formative assessment is often misunderstood and not optimally utilised in the learning process. The most challenging factor experienced by the participants seems to be a lack of time and/or skills to accommodate the wide range of learner abilities in one class. It is therefore recommended that further research, beyond the scope of this study, be carried out to investigate these issues. It was further revealed that the teachers experienced professional growth as a direct result of their involvement in the refinement and implementation of formative assessment strategies. bs2026 Science, Mathematics and Technology Education PhD Unrestricted SDG-04: Quality education SDG-10: Reduced inequalities 2019-06-02T11:39:51Z 2019-06-02T11:39:51Z 2019/04/15 2018 Thesis Van der Nest, A 2018, Professional development : mathematics teachers’ implementation of formative assessment strategies, PhD Thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd <http://hdl.handle.net/2263/70029> A2019 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/70029 en © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
Formative Assessment
Assessment for learning
Mathematics teachers
Professional Development
Teacher learning
Education theses SDG-04
Education theses SDG-10
Professional development : mathematics teachers’ implementation of formative assessment strategies
title Professional development : mathematics teachers’ implementation of formative assessment strategies
title_full Professional development : mathematics teachers’ implementation of formative assessment strategies
title_fullStr Professional development : mathematics teachers’ implementation of formative assessment strategies
title_full_unstemmed Professional development : mathematics teachers’ implementation of formative assessment strategies
title_short Professional development : mathematics teachers’ implementation of formative assessment strategies
title_sort professional development mathematics teachers implementation of formative assessment strategies
topic UCTD
Formative Assessment
Assessment for learning
Mathematics teachers
Professional Development
Teacher learning
Education theses SDG-04
Education theses SDG-10
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/70029