Assessment for learning in a Maltese physics classroom

Abstract

The qualitative study involves an investigation in the normal professional practices of a secondary school physics teacher and specifically the research focuses on the assessment strategies adopted within the classroom. The main aim of the study was that of exploring how assessment for learning could be implemented in a Maltese classroom and its implications on teaching and learning. The study explored the pre-existing school assessment culture and how assessment for learning was implemented within this context. The research presents the students' and teacher's viewpoints and perceptions as the implementation evolved, together with insights about possible implications that assessment for learning could have on the teaching and learning process. The study was carried out using an action research methodology and it was accomplished along the academic year 2006-2007 during which assessment for learning strategies were adopted with one Form 4 class in a boys' Junior Lyceum. Data collection was an ongoing process and it involved the use of focus group interviews carried out with 8 physics teachers and 22 students, informal discussions with parents, observations of lessons held by a colleague, the students' reflective writings, personal reflections maintained in a research journal, artefacts of the students' work and audio recordings of lessons. The study uses these multiple sources of data in order to investigate the complex patterns observed. The research indicates that the implementation of assessment for learning within a Maltese classroom can have a positive impact on the students' learning, notwithstanding the fact that such an implementation is directly influenced by the socio-cultural context in which it is carried.