The notion of the spiral for progression and development is familiar both in general educational discourse and in the domain of music education. This brief article considers the spiral within the context of lower secondary school group composing in England. Through the use of examples taken from two schools in the English midlands, it argues that…

While both summative and formative assessments are necessary, finding the right balance can be challenging. The author examines the pros and cons of each and their reliance on one another.

An intelligent tutoring system for learning basic statistics, called Stat-Knowlab, is presented and analyzed. The algorithms implemented in the system are based on the competence-based knowledge space theory, a mathematical theory developed for the formative assessment of knowledge and learning. The system's architecture consists of the two…

This article seeks to explore different combinations of human and Artificial Intelligence (AI) decision-making in the context of distributed learning. Distributed learning institutions face specific challenges such as high levels of student attrition and ensuring quality, cost-effective student support at scale using a range of technologies, such…

Freedom to innovate in teaching and learning are essential to meaningful higher education. Universities' rhetorical commitments to freedom and innovation are ubiquitous and quite homogenous. Beneath the rhetoric, however, lie sharp divides between neo-liberal and Humboldtian approaches to innovation, course design, teaching and learning. This…

The study analyses the scope and role of Bloom's Taxonomy (1956) in reforming teaching-learning practices in the classroom by employing a systematic balance of questions from both the lower and higher domains of learning in the summative assessment. Thus, this study analyses the annual question papers designed by the Boards of Intermediate and…

This report grew out of an effort by the Consortium for Policy Research in Education's (CPRE's) Center on Continual Instructional Improvement (CCII) to extend its evaluation of the usefulness of the concept of "Learning Progressions" for the fields of mathematics and science education, to include literacy teaching and learning. Herein,…

Over the last two decades, the education system has witnessed a shift from summative, product-oriented assessment towards formative, process-oriented assessment. Among the different learning and assessment initiatives introduced in the slipstream of this paradigmatic turn, the portfolio seems to have become one of the most popular. By redescribing…

Studies of disciplinary work have converged with studies of classrooms to highlight the social and cultural nature of disciplinary knowledge and practices, and of classroom learning and assessment. For students to become discerning and autonomous/authoring learners, classroom assessment needs to ensure students experience what it means to exercise…

Classroom assessment, especially formative assessment, is one of the most challenging areas for new teachers, so it is imperative that teacher educators model effective classroom assessment practices. This article describes the use of rubrics in formative assessment, to support candidates in their progress toward mastery of course outcomes and to…

Current trends and challenges in higher education (HE) require a reorientation towards openness, technology use and active student participation. In this article we will introduce Social Learning Analytics (SLA) as instrumental in formative assessment practices, aimed at supporting and strengthening students as active learners in increasingly open…

The authors of this article, all of whom have been a part of this effort to assess argumentation in literacy-rich science curriculum, have struggled with our attempts to build 3 argument-related assessments--understanding, critiquing, and constructing arguments about scientific phenomena in both oral and written modes. Loosely affiliated with the…

In recent years, learning progressions (LPs) have captured the interest of educators and policy makers. There have been numerous efforts to develop LPs aligned to college and career readiness standards, to unpack these standards, and to provide more clarity on the pathways students follow to reach them. There is great variation, however, in the…

Lack of motivation and of real-world relevance have been identified as reasons for low interest in science among children. Game-based learning and storytelling are prominent methods for generating intrinsic motivation in learning. Real-world relevance requires connecting abstract scientific concepts with the real world. This can be done by…

This paper attempts a fundamental analysis of the nature of research into e-learning and the role that theory plays in this. We examine "research" in broad terms, and the nature of phenomena in general. We identify that e-learning is an artificial phenomenon, and that research approaches need to be cognisant of the design elements in e-learning,…