'How appropriate is this task for my class?' : exploring teachers' classroom decision-making processes as they waver between 'practical' and 'ideal' positions

Abstract

This paper is based on a qualitative study that explored the classroom assessment practices of twelve mathematics teachers in a Maltese sixth form college. As part of the data gathering process, these teachers were presented with four tasks (which varied along a continuum from the traditional examination-type to the non-traditional type) and were asked to comment about the appropriateness of using them inside their classroom. The analysis revealed that teachers’ task selection largely reflects what they consider ‘to work within their context’ rather than what they consider as ‘ideal’. Three levels of context that influence, both on their own and interactively, the way in which teachers make their classroom decisions were identified. These are the national, school and personal contexts.