Assessment for Learning in Africa: Teachers' and Students' Perspectives From a Collaborative Research Study

• In Event: Advancing Research and Practice on Self-Regulated Learning Through Productive Partnerships

Abstract

The ESRC/DfID-supported study, Assessment for Learning in Africa, (AFLA) aimed to work collaboratively with teachers and teacher educators in Dar Es Salaam to create a framework for better instructional quality in mathematics lessons. By engaging teachers and researchers in iterative cycles of planning, our goal was to create a collaborative approach with focus upon helping teachers modify their instructional and assessment practices and build sustainable learning networks (Perry et al 2018).

Research has demonstrated how the use of formative assessment techniques such as peer- and self-assessment can enhance students’ achievement (Wiliam et al., 2004; Wiliam, 2011). Researchers have further explored the links between self-regulated learning and formative assessment processes (Allal, 2016; Panadero et al., 2018a) and how formative practices such as self-assessment and feedback from peers and teachers influence self-regulated learning (Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Brown & Harris, 2013, Panadero et al 2018b). Current theories of self-regulation and formative assessment, also known as Assessment for Learning (AfL), highlight the importance of the learner’s perspective and the need to support students to be proactive in their own learning process (Andrade & Brookhart, 2019). Students who are self-regulated will be able to plan and act upon the feedback they receive from peers and teachers and they are expected to be able to adapt to the ever-changing world as lifelong learners (Dumont et al., 2010).

The current study, led by a research team from University of Oxford in collaboration with Aga Khan University, investigated how teachers can be supported when trying to implement complex, student-centred teaching using SRL and assessment for learning strategies such as self- and peer-assessment in challenging contexts outside Dar Es Salam. The AFLA study engaged with 11 local teachers from six schools to understand from their experiences, from working in very challenging contexts, with large classes (60 – 120 students), and to exchange ideas on how to implement self-regulatory and formative assessment practices in such contexts. A series of workshops were organized where the teachers could practice introducing AfL and SRL strategies in their classes. Data include: workshop and classroom observations as well as interviews with students, teachers and head-teachers, and reflection logs from teachers.

Our analysis indicates that teachers experienced significant challenges with changing their traditional teaching style to a more student-centred approach primarily due to large class sizes and attitudes, shared by both students and teachers, that ‘a good learner is a silent learner’.

The study demonstrates the importance of participatory approaches to research, including research practice partnerships, to ensure teachers’ voices are heard and school communities feel supported in the implementation of educational innovations. The study offers some original insight into how teachers and researchers have worked together to adapt SRL and AfL models to better fit the classroom practices when teaching classes with 100 students.

The study further points to the need to create dialogues between teachers and researchers, and the importance of allowing teachers to take ownership of innovation processes for sustainable change of classroom practice.

Authors

• Therese N. Hopfenbeck, University of Oxford

• Anjum Halai, Aga Khan University

• Veronica Sarungi