Assessment for learning (AfL) improves student learning and achievement outcomes but, despite its positive effects, sustained implementation has been problematic. An examination of the policy environment, implementation factors that relate particularly to professional learning, and a New Zealand model of AfL, reveal gaps of interdependence at multiple levels. To bridge ...

The role the visiting lecturer plays in promoting and supporting student teacher learning on practicum is an important one in initial teacher education (ITE). The practicum experience is a challenging and high-stakes environment for student teachers. One of the reasons it is a high-stakes situation is because of the tension ...

As one of the most high-stakes practices in education, grading has been the subject of significant debate and research over the years. However, it is only recently that researchers have started to explore the teaching and learning values embedded in grades by looking at grading policies. This study examined ...

As one of the most high-stakes practices in education, grading has been the subject of significant debate and research over the years. However, it is only recently that researchers have started to explore the teaching and learning values embedded in grades by looking at grading policies. This study examined grading ...

The dichotomy between content knowledge and 21st-century skills (“zest for life” in the Japanese context) has been an issue since the early 2000s in Japan. Recently it has been evident in the demand for a high school–university connection. In spite of such a division, involving apparently incompatible or opposite principles ...

It has been mandatory since March 2015 for New Zealand schools to use the English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP) (Ministry of Education, 2008) to determine English language learners’ eligibility for Ministry funding of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) programmes and support. Teachers are expected to “use a ...

This article considers the assessment of individuals’ contributions to collaborative creative groups. It draws on research into collaborative group composing and its relationship to a secondary school qualification system, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA). It explains how a conceptual model of group composing was used to support valid ...

Students often report that feedback experiences at university are insufficient to make progress. The size of many large courses means the provision of personalised and timely feedback to individual students is challenging. Online systems have been promoted as a way students can receive feedback for learning. This study explores the ...