Teachers' Reflective Practices in Implementing Assessment for Learning Skills in Classroom Teaching

Purpose:This article examines how 34 teachers self-assessed their work with the nine Assessment for Learning(AfL)strategies in teaching and their own suggestions for improvement as evidenced by the reflective statements given on reflection forms.Design/Approach/Methods:The sample was a group of 34 teachers from 10 primary schools and 10 kindergartens who have participated in the project.School Development Officers(SDOs)were assigned to conduct class observations in the schools,in which they recorded whether the teachers had used the AfL strategies in teaching.The SDOs would also share and discuss the comments with the teachers who had returned the self-reflection forms in which they wrote their feedback on the research questions.Findings:The findings show that teachers in kindergartens and teachers in primary schools might have different emphases on the nine AfL strategies in teaching.Their own suggested room for improvement in practicing AfL skills has provided insights for enhancing teaching effectiveness.Originality/Value:We propose that reflective practices can generate a"reflective spiral"of planning,acting,observing,and then reflecting.The study shows that reflective practitioners become professional experts who are able to assure thequality of teaching by self-enhancement and self-improvement.

A Study on Teacher’s Questioning Practice in an ESL Learning Context in Hong Kong

This empirical study intends to explore the questioning behaviors of an English as a second language(hereinafter referred to as ESL)teacher in Hong Kong by quantitatively looking at the distribution of the two types of questions,namely display questions and referential questions,as well as by qualitatively evaluating the universally accepted functions of the questions and the effectiveness of the modification techniques used to enhance the factual value of the questions.Data-based explorations challenging the traditional views toward questions are critically presented,and new findings are excavated and advocated.Pedagogical implications are considerably raised as they serve as a theoretical framework to be applied and further analyzed in future real-life EFL and ESL settings,so as to realize better assessment for learning.

A Qualitative Examination of Classroom Assessment in Chinese High Schools from the Perspective of Self-Regulated Learning

The present study is set in the context of ongoing educational reform that advocates fostering self-regulated learners and using assessment to improve learning.Drawing on existent research on classroom assessment(CA)and self-regulated learning(SRL),the authors have formulated a conceptual framework outlining the CA features that promote SRL among students.Guided by this framework,the 12 high school teachers’CA practice was scrutinized to find out to what extent their CA was pro-SRL.Based on interview data and classroom observation,gaps were found in Chinese high school teachers’CA.First,CA tasks are primarily low-level closed-end problems,with rare exceptions.Second,students are not allowed much autonomy in CA.Third,self-assessment practice is mostly self-grading.Fourth,peer-assessment is uncommon and mainly involves simply marking peers’work.Fifth,teacher feedback is focused on task and process levels;regulation-level feedback is less common.Sixth,despite teachers’encouragement,most students feel threatened by CA.