Browsing by Subject "Summativ bedömning"

Aim: The aim of the study is to find out how primary school teachers understand the concept of formative assessment, how they apply assessments in teaching and what kind of support and resources that are needed to implement assessments in practice. This is to make any misconceptions visible and to gain insights into how much support teachers need to practice formative assessment in teaching. Studies show that formative assessment is a complex phenomenon, difficult to implement in practice. Misconceptions occur among primary school teachers and there seems to be a great need for support measures in the form of time, education and resources from the school. Method: The survey was conducted using semi-structured interviews. The participants in the survey consisted of seven Finnish-Swedish primary school teachers in grades 1-6, from three different schools. The results of the study were recorded, transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results and conclusions: The result of the study shows that primary school teachers have a wide perception and understanding of the concept of formative assessment. Despite this, class teachers tend to use formative assessment for summative purposes, which indicates that there is a limited understanding of formative assessment. The class teachers need to increase their understanding of formative assessment specifically in relation to the summative assessment. The results also shows that the primary school teachers are familiar with several different strategies for the formative assessment, but at the same time they need more practical knowledge about some formative strategies. The descriptions of the strategies did not always correspond to the basic ideas behind the formative assessment, which in turn shows that it isn’t that easy to implement formative assessments in practice. The study also shows that primary school teachers have a need for support and resources for formative assessment, especially primary school teachers with less experience. The primary school teachers especially experienced a lack of time and space to discuss the assessment with other colleagues in the school. The class teachers also wanted more courses and further training in the subject to get more practical tips on how to work with formative assessment. This in turn shows that the school is an important platform for the professional development of primary school teachers, especially in matters concerning assessment.