Pre-Service Teacher Survey Version 4

Thank you

Thank you in advance for your time and willingness to complete this survey on classroom

formative assessment teacher practices. You have been asked to complete this survey

because you are participating in a pre-service teacher education course where one of your

tutors is Professor Mednick. Professor Mednick is simultaneously our tutor for our course at

the VUB called ‘Case Studies in Curriculum Design’. We thank you and Prof. Mednick for

allowing us this opportunity to learn about pre-service teacher education in Suriname.

Who we are

We are two students on a Masters in Educational Sciences Course at the VUB. We are both

originally teachers with 20 years’ experience from K-12.

The reason for our survey

The survey we have created aims to find out what knowledge pre-service teachers in

Suriname currently hold in regards to classroom formative assessment practices. The

information we gather from your answers will help us to design an introductory curriculum

on classroom formative assessment for pre-service teachers in your institution.

How our survey may help pre-service teachers in Suriname

The evidence for the power of classroom formative assessment has been growing for the past

40 years. Academically, classroom formative assessment implemented with fidelity has been

Masters in Educational Sciences Jason King 0526764

shown to lead to significant learning gains. However, and just as importantly, classroom

formative assessment is beginning to be perceived as a pedagogy that builds key

competencies for engaging with the world in the 21st century, economically, collaboratively,

and politically. At its heart, classroom formative assessment promotes emancipatory,

democratic and inclusive learning. As education in Suriname is going through a period of

change and revitalisation we feel that we can provide some information that warrants serious

consideration. This is an opportunity to build on research that has already been conducted

in a variety of countries. Many of these countries have found that this rediscovery of

education has proved hard to transform. We feel that Suriname, with collaboration with VUB,

are in a unique position to take advantage of educational research in classroom formative

assessment. Taking advantage now means that Suriname unlike other countries can already

learn from past mistakes, and be confident that classroom formative assessment leads to the

improvement of all pupils’ capacities to learn, from the very start.

Participant information

Your participation is completely voluntary. Your responses will be kept strictly confidential

and accessible to the research team only. Any report of this study will share group results only

and will not include your name or other individual information by which you could be

identified. There are no right or wrong answers. You should not feel embarrassed about any

response that you provide, as all data gathered is important for our next steps in designing a

curriculum. If you have questions or would like a copy or summary of this study’s results,

please contact Jason King (jason.king@vub.be) or Laura Pizzirani (laura.pizzirani@vub.ac.be).

Masters in Educational Sciences Jason King 0526764

To start, please tell us about yourself

What type of teacher education are you participating in?

Regular education teacher

Special education teacher

English learner teacher

Are you?

Male

Female

Prefer not to say

Which age are you teaching in at the moment?

Not in a school yet.

K1

K2

K3

K4

K5

K6

Masters in Educational Sciences Jason King 0526764

Clarifying Classroom Formative Assessment

Before we ask you to take the survey, we would like to provide you with two definitions of

classroom formative assessment. This may be helpful when making your responses.

Formative assessment remains academically controversial. Much of the reasoning comes

from the idea that a clear definition of formative assessment is difficult to pin-down. There

are many definitions of formative assessment. Dylan Wiliam sees these different definitions

as a necessary evolution of formative assessment. You can find a summary of evolving

definitions described by Dylan Wiliam here.

What is confusing for many, is that Formative Assessment can have different time-frames

(Long, Medium and Short-cycle), span different learning episodes (terms, teaching units,

lessons), have different time lengths (Years, weeks, days, minutes, moments), and have

different impacts (Monitoring, Curriculum Alignment, Student involved assessment,

engagement and responsiveness).

Masters in Educational Sciences Jason King 0526764

Even amongst all these definitions, for this survey we would like you to focus on two

definitions and one conceptual framework, in the form of a diagram. These have been found

to be most useful in learning about and implementing formative assessment. These

definitions are:

Definition 1:

An assessment activity can help learning if it provides information to be

used as feedback, by teachers, and by their [students] in assessing

themselves and each other, to modify the teaching and learning activities

in which they are engaged. Such assessment becomes ‘formative

assessment’ when the evidence is actually used to adapt the teaching work

to meet learning needs. (Black et al. 2002)

Definition 2:

An assessment functions formatively:

to the extent that evidence about student achievement is elicited,

interpreted, and used by teachers, learners, or their peers, to make

decisions about the next steps in instruction that are likely to be better, or

better founded, than the decisions they would have taken in the absence

of the evidence that was elicited. (Black & Wiliam, 2009 p. 9)

Masters in Educational Sciences Jason King 0526764

Conceptual framework:

Left diagram: Describes the kinds of activities that are components of formative assessment.

(Will find more explanation when I get home from holidays).

Right diagram: Identifies the different roles of the teacher and the learners.

Both Definition 1 and Definition 2 of formative assessment, and the conceptual framework of

the the different aspects and roles of formative assessment provide a structure for the

teacher when planning and implementing formative assessment.

Masters in Educational Sciences Jason King 0526764

THE CLASSROOM FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT SURVEY

Please rate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following statements about the

definition of formative assessment.

Strongly Agree Slightly Slightly Disagree Strongly

Agree Agree disagree disagree

Definition 1

Definition 2

The conceptual
framework

I regularly use
assessment data to
inform my teaching

My curriculum and
instruction are aligned
to provide
opportunities for
students to through
classroom formative
assessment

My university mentor
encourages me to use
classroom formative
assessment

My school mentor
encourages me to use
classroom formative
assessment

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 Not 0>2 2 >4 4>6 >6 Every
at times times times times moment
all per per per per within a
lesson lesson lesson lesson lesson

Thinking about one of your

lessons, how often do you
use classroom formative
assessment?

Not At the At Planned Planned Every

at beginning the set pieces times moment
all end within a
lesson

Thinking about one of

your lessons, when do
you use classroom
formative assessment

Based on your answer to the previous question, please describe one example of
classroom formative assessment that you use

At the beginning of the lesson

At the end of the lesson

Planned for set pieces during the

lesson

Planned for set time during the

lesson

Every moment of the lesson

Masters in Educational Sciences Jason King 0526764

 Based on your experiences so far with classroom formative assessment describe some
challenges that you have come across and what challenges you see in the future.
You can add more descriptions if you like.

Challenge 1

Challenge 2

Challenge 3

Challenge 4

Challenge 5

We would also like to survey your ideas about ways of developing classroom formative
assessment in Suriname. You can add more ideas if you like.

Development idea 1

Development idea 2

Development idea 3

Development idea 4

Development idea 5

Masters in Educational Sciences Jason King 0526764

Strategy 1: Clarifying, Sharing, and Understanding Learning Intentions and Success
Criteria
I don’t I do this This is I could
do this sometimes embedded support
in my someone
practise else
I know what the learning intention
of the lesson is, although sometimes
I do not tell the students at the start
of the lesson.
I keep the learning intention and
success criteria context free.
I communicate quality by using at
least two pieces of anonymous
work.
At the end of the lesson I sometimes
ask my students what they have
learned.
.
If you have used other techniques for this strategy
to improve student learning, please describe them here:

Strategy 2: Engineering Effective Discussion, Tasks, and Activities that Elicit Evidence of
Learning
I don’t I do this This is I could
do this sometimes embedded support
in my someone
practise else
I find out what every student knows
at least once a lesson, by using an
all-purpose response system.
I ensure that all students have time
to think about an answer to a
question I pose before I choose who
answers.
I give a student a way out if unable
to answer my question, but then I
come back to the student.

Masters in Educational Sciences Jason King 0526764

I ask a hinge question during a
lesson when I need to decide
whether I could move on.
Students pose their own questions
which other students answer.
I make “no hands up” a standard
classroom policy.
I use learning logs, exit cards, or
another way of collecting extended
responses from students.
I test students, look at their
answers, and then teach the areas
that students have problems with
before I move on.
Other techniques for this strategy
that I use to improve student learning:

Strategy 3: Providing Feedback That Moves Learning Forward

I don’t I do this This is I could
do this sometimes embedded support
in my someone
practise else
I focus on student response to my
feedback rather than the feedback
itself.
I praise students for effort rather
than ability.
I give task-involving feedback rather
than ego-involving feedback.
I limit the written feedback I give to
students, and give class time for
students to respond.
I give “balanced” written feedback.
I make feedback into detective work
for my students.
I use comment-only grading.
Other techniques for this strategy
that I use to improve student learning:

Masters in Educational Sciences Jason King 0526764

 Strategy 4: Activating Students as Learning Resources for One Another.
I don’t I do this This is I could
do this sometimes embedded support
in my someone
practise else
I have groups of students working
cooperatively at times.
Pairs of students look at anonymous
work to comment on.
My students use “two stars and a
wish,” or another technique, to give
feedback to each other.
I support some students with
sentence starters.
I discuss ground rules of peer
feedback with students.
I use a structured-protocol to ensure
well-paced feedback and response
between pairs of students.
I get peers to mediate my feedback
to students.
I use group goals.
I prioritize individual accountability
in peer and group work.
Other techniques for this strategy
that I use to improve student learning:

Strategy 5: Activating Students as Owners of Their Own Learning.

I don’t I do this This is I could
do this sometimes embedded support
in my someone
practise else

Masters in Educational Sciences Jason King 0526764

 I use student self-reports but am
careful to check on the accuracy of
their reporting.
Student self-assessment is a routine
part of my work.
Students have learning portfolios
that focus on their progress.
I give students challenging tasks that
are achievable with effort, and make
it clear that failure is not only
acceptable but also expected
(otherwise the work is too easy).
I use a framework to help my
students see connections.
I use both intrinsic and extrinsic
orientations to motivate my
students.
I use trained students to observe
some of my lessons.
I use trained students to videotape
parts of my lessons.
Other techniques for this strategy
that I use to improve student learning:

Reference:
Wiliam, D., Leahy, S. (2015). Embedding formative assessment. FL, Learning Sciences
International.

Acknowledgement:
The survey is used with permission from Dylan Wiliam.

Masters in Educational Sciences Jason King 0526764