Roundtable: Assessing student learning: Using interdisciplinary synergies to develop good teaching and assessment practice

Sydney Masonic Centre

Tuesday September 4, 2007

Title: Supporting Assessment in the Professional Experience Context

---

Author: Natalie Brown

Centre for Teaching & Learning, University of Tasmania

In a pre-service teaching program, Professional Experience brings together the different disciplines of Education into a real-world setting. Helping pre-service teachers see theory in practice and begin to put theory into practice requires a close and explicit linkage between the coursework and practicum. A shared discourse accessible to pre-service teachers, field-based colleague teachers and university lecturers is an essential element in this process.

This project involved the development and evaluation of a rubric providing indicators that articulate the sequential development expected of pre-service teachers from orientation through to Internship. This was to assist colleague teachers with both formative and summative assessment of pre-service teachers undertaking Professional Experience. Concurrently, it clarified the expectations for each practicum for the pre-service teachers and allowed greater opportunity for self assessment. The rubric was also designed to make explicit the goals for sophisticated practice.

An evaluation of the rubric was conducted during 2007. The data indicated that the rubric has been positively received by all stakeholder groups. It was particularly successful in clarifying expectations of student performance and ascribing appropriate field based learning experiences for each successive practicum. A number of colleague teachers commented on the use of the rubric as a starting point for supportive and focused feedback. Both colleague teachers and university supervisors found the rubric very useful in highlighting specific areas for further development for students at risk. A further expansion of its role for this purpose was suggested.

Keywords: pre-service teaching program, teaching theory and practice, assessment rubric