Alternative Assessment Practices of a Classroom Teacher: Alignment with Reform-Based Science Curriculum

Gökhan Serin

doi:10.12973/eurasia.2015.1330a

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Gökhan Serin ¹ ^*

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¹ Anadolu University^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background The purpose of this study was to explore alignment between reform-based Turkish primary science curriculum and alternative assessment practices of a classroom teacher. Materials and methods Observational case study approach was utilized. A classroom teacher with 32-year experience and his 31 students participated in the study. The data were collected throughout an academic year via classroom observations, teacher interviews, instructional materials and a science teaching belief instrument. Results Analysis of the data indicated that the teacher’s use of traditional assessment activities was more dominant than alternative assessment activities although the latter was strongly emphasized by the curriculum. Moreover, implementation of alternative assessment activities was not in line with what the curriculum stated. Conclusions Decisions of policy makers, lack of instructional time, exclusion of the curriculum by the teacher, inadequate pedagogical content knowledge and insufficient teacher training on assessment were found to be the elements that might affect the alignment negatively. Possible actions that may support in getting high alignment were discussed.

Keywords

science education
primary school
curriculum implementation
alternative assessment practices
classroom teacher

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, Volume 11, Issue 2, 2015, 277-297

https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1330a

Publication date: 02 Apr 2015

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How to cite this article

APA

Serin, G. (2015). Alternative Assessment Practices of a Classroom Teacher: Alignment with Reform-Based Science Curriculum. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 11(2), 277-297. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1330a

Vancouver

Serin G. Alternative Assessment Practices of a Classroom Teacher: Alignment with Reform-Based Science Curriculum. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2015;11(2):277-97. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1330a

AMA

Serin G. Alternative Assessment Practices of a Classroom Teacher: Alignment with Reform-Based Science Curriculum. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2015;11(2), 277-297. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1330a

Chicago

Serin, Gökhan. "Alternative Assessment Practices of a Classroom Teacher: Alignment with Reform-Based Science Curriculum". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2015 11 no. 2 (2015): 277-297. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1330a

Harvard

Serin, G. (2015). Alternative Assessment Practices of a Classroom Teacher: Alignment with Reform-Based Science Curriculum. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 11(2), pp. 277-297. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1330a

MLA

Serin, Gökhan "Alternative Assessment Practices of a Classroom Teacher: Alignment with Reform-Based Science Curriculum". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 11, no. 2, 2015, pp. 277-297. https://doi.org/10.12973/eurasia.2015.1330a