CHAPTER 7 DATA INTERPRETATION
8.5 Further research, implications and impact
The final section of this chapter will outline suggestions for further research and the
implications of some of the findings.
This thesis explored how effective the current assessment practices are in assessing
trainee teachers. Implicit in this has been an enquiry into the specific aspects of skills
development identified in the assessment processes. In reviewing this research I
would suggest that more explicit questions related to what was assessed by each of
the assessment strategies would generate more information about the types of skills
identified by each assessment strategy. Some data did emerge which suggested that
the PDP was used more frequently as a tool to record reflective comments about the
179
tool to record their reflective comments about each standard as they progress
through the 3 year training course. A change in the way the PDP is used will come
into effect next academic year and should have a positive impact on the use of the
PDP. At the start of the new academic year trainees will be required to write one
extensive reflective statement at the end of each week. This statement will relate to
the standards and will be an essential component of the PDP. The reflective
statements will be monitored at the weekly meetings taking place in school between
the trainee, school teacher and school- based tutor and will embed a more secure
monitoring and assessment process into the use of the PDP. It would be useful to
evaluate this strategy to find out if it leads to a more consistent approach to the use
of the PDP. Other links between the assessment strategy and the specific skills and
knowledge assessed by the strategy would provide knowledge to ensure assessment
strategies are fit for the purpose.
Another impact of the research links to the use of the PDP and the different ways in
which tutors use the portfolio. The data revealed that school tutors and university
tutors perceive the PDP in different ways. This has implications for the university
assessment process as it leads to inconsistencies and a confusing picture for some
trainees. At the start of next academic year joint observations of all trainees will be
conducted by school and university based tutors which will lead to more consistent
moderated assessments of trainees’ teaching skills. The post observation
discussions between university and school partners could lead to recommendations
to improve the use of the PDP to develop a more consistent approach.
Further research with a focus on identifying the specific aspects of school support
180
support and how this impacts on trainee progress would enable stronger links to be
established between the theoretical models (Wenger, 1998) related to communities
of practice and the teaching experience. The aim would be to identify which aspects
of school support best enable trainees to develop teaching skills.
An action research study could introduce some of the specific characteristics of the
effective assessment strategies used on teaching practice, in this project, to a
university based assessment. For example, the authenticity of the lesson observation
is a particularly effective feature and there are aspects of this strategy which could be
replicated in university-based training. Assessments in the university setting with a
closer alignment to the classroom environment could ensure that: ‘Effective
professional learning is contextualised practice’ (Bloxham, 2008, p. 17). Trainees
could be assessed using an interactive examination, an example was used in Malmo
University in Sweden (Jonsson & Baartman, 2006) where students viewed short
films of classroom contexts and then described and analysed how the teachers
should act. The students also accessed transcripts of the dialogue and background
information. Bloxham (2008) explains how this interactive examination can be linked
to teaching standards by providing an authentic assessment linking theoretical
knowledge to practical teaching examples. Other examples of authentic assessments
of teaching within the university setting are outlined by Darling-Hammond & Snyder
(2000) in their article which examines how teacher training programmes across the
US have integrated authentic assessment of teaching in context. Some of these
approaches, such as case studies and problem based inquiries, have been adopted
in ITT settings and would be worthy of an action based research project. This has
181
colleagues with the aim of including more authentic assessments in university based
modules. Consequently effective aspects of the way trainees are assessed on
teaching practice will be replicated in university based training.
A longitudinal research design study investigating the trainees over a period of time
would offer the opportunity to gather data to explore the assessment strategies and
might identify a causal link to trainee progress. A research project which used a
longitiudinal research design where a cohort were tracked from their initial teacher
training into their first teaching posts in school could provide evidence of the link
between training and practice. A longitudinal study would generate data over a period
of time from the same respondents and would contrast with the cross sectional
cohort research design used in this study which has looked at a snapshot of the
population at a specific point in time (Cohen, et al., 2007).
A repeated cross sectional design would enable changes to be measured and causal
links to be identified. In a repeated cross sectional design the same research tools
could be used with different cohorts in other ITT institutions which could provide an
opportunity for direct comparisons to be identified. Although, I recognise, that within
the field of social science research ‘cause–effect is still difficult to isolate’ (Gorard, 2002).
Governments are increasing school based training opportunities (Furlong, 2013). A
study comparing the assessment strategies in university based training with
strategies in school based settings would provide information about these two
182
The summative grade method led to the allocation of a specific grade and within this
process all stakeholders commented on using the grading criteria to support this
process. In this grading criteria there are a number of statements which refer to a
reflective approach to teaching. This relates directly to the QTS where reflectivity is
mentioned explicitly in standard 4 in relation to teachers’ skills: ‘Reflect systematically
on the effectiveness of lessons and approaches to teaching’ (DfE, 2010). A reflective
professional approach is also implicit in a number of other standards, for example in
standard 8: ‘Take responsibility for improving teaching through appropriate
professional development…’ (DfE, 2010).
Further research could be conducted into this area to investigate and compare the
strategies used to assess techno- rational skills development with strategies to
assess reflective skills whilst recognising that:
‘The promotion of reflective practice for example, is difficult in a policy culture underpinned by accountability, school improvement and raising standards
(DENI, 2009).
The impact of this would be to identify the most effective assessment strategies to assess specific skills and knowledge including techno- rational and reflective skills.
This thesis has investigated the assessment strategies used to assess primary
trainee teachers on teaching practice. The two key questions have been answered,
the aims were largely achieved and some relevant information has emerged which
contributes to knowledge in this area. The findings indicate that contrary to the
National Student Survey (HEFCE, 2012) students are satisfied with the assessment
and feedback strategies used on teaching practice. This research argues that the key
183
I conclude the study with a positive view of the assessment processes used to
assess teachers on teaching practice and a view that the range of strategies are
184
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