The doctoral viva voce examination has existed in Britain since the PhD (or DPhil) was introduced at Oxford University almost a hundred years ago. However, despite some recent research studies, it seems that the viva remains somewhat under-researched and that viva voce examinations continue to take place according to largely unchanged and…

This manuscript examines value added measures used in teacher evaluations. The evaluations are often based on limited observations and use student growth as measured by standardized tests. These measures typically do not use multiple measures or consider other factors in the teaching and learning process. This manuscript identifies some of the…

Chemistry taught in high schools typically has group interaction components designed to provide opportunities for groups of two or more students to collaborate. Such opportunities, however, can lead to diminished learning among some students, as domination, group dissonance, and/or non-participation among group members can derail the collaborative…

Effective intervention delivery requires ongoing assessment to determine whether students are learning at the desired rate. Intervention programs with embedded assessment procedures (i.e., assessment that occurs naturally "during" the process of delivering intervention) can potentially enhance instructional decisions. However, there is…

Current accountability trends suggest an increasing role in state mandates regarding teacher evaluation. With various evaluation models and components serving as the basis for quality teaching, teacher education programs need to recognize the role teacher evaluation plays and incorporate aspects where appropriate. This article makes that case and…

Over the past two decades, mathematics education reformers have increasingly called for new approaches to assessment. This call urges mathematics teachers to merge their assessment with pedagogy, to employ assessments that engage students in the process of "doing mathematics," and to exploit assessment to support learning. This paper…

Academies are now a part of the English school landscape. Future policy should focus on learning the lessons from the growth of academy schools. In this "NFER Thinks," the author presents the case that any future expansion in the number of academies should be motivated by a clear vision of the long-term outcomes for learners that…

National policy and standards documents, including the National Assessment of Educational Progress frameworks, the "Common Core State Standards" and the "Next Generation Science Standards," assert the need to assess critical-analytic thinking (CAT) across subject areas. However, assessment of CAT poses several challenges for…

The current study examined efficient modes for providing standardized feedback to improve performance on an assignment for a second year college class involving writing a brief research proposal. Two forms of standardized feedback (detailed rubric and proposal exemplars) were utilized is an experimental design with undergraduate students (N = 100)…

The increase in the use of technology-enhanced learning in higher education has included a growing interest in new approaches to enhance the quality of feedback given to students. Audio feedback is one method that has become more popular, yet evaluating its role in feedback delivery is still an emerging area for research. This paper is based on a…

A recent discussion involves the elaboration on possible design principles for sequences of tasks. This paper builds on three principles, as described by Bokhove and Drijvers (2012a). A model with ingredients of crises, feedback and fading of sequences with near-similar tasks can be used to address both procedural fluency and conceptual…

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…

This paper explores assessment and learning in a way that blurs their boundaries. The notion of assessment "as" learning (AaL) is offered as an aspect of formative assessment (assessment for learning). It considers how pupils self-regulate their own learning, and in so doing make complex decisions about how they use feedback and engage…

For years, anchor charts have been commonly used in literacy instruction. They also can be a powerful tool for learning mathematics. Anchor charts help create excitement for learning, establish real-world connections, and furnish a reference during work time as well as a solid foundation for later lessons. In this article, the author explores…

Faculty members traditionally develop a teaching philosophy statement (TPS) as part of the job application process, for tenure reviews, or to encourage reflection. In this paper, we propose an alternative approach--to develop the TPS with students as the primary target audience, distribute it to students at the beginning of a course, and collect…