Preliminary communication
Application of Traditional and Alternative Assessment in Science and Social Studies Teaching
Alena Letina
; Faculty of Teacher Education, University of Zagreb
Abstract
Assessment of student achievement is one of the key components of teaching. Beside traditional forms of assessment, which are most common in teaching practice, recently alternative assessment is becoming more popular and frequent in educational discourse. Alternative assessment provides more comprehensive insight into students' achievements and gives authentic information about their knowledge, abilities, skills, attitudes, and competences which are developed during the teaching process. In the school subject Science and Social Studies this kind of assessment is applicable in various situations and different contexts. This paper discusses the application of different types of assessment methods in teaching. For this purpose, the results of the empirical research are presented. The main research objective was determining the application of traditional and alternative assessments during Science and Social Studies classes. The survey was conducted among primary school teachers in Zagreb and Zagreb County to detect assessment methods which are frequently or very rarely used in Science and Social Studies teaching. The results obtained allow for an analytical review of the current situation in the teaching practice of respondents. Based on the results of this study, we recommend an improvement of the assessment process in teaching practice, its reconceptualization and usage directed towards the evaluation of students' competences. The conclusions also provide recommendations for effective implementation of different types of assessment in teaching Science and Social Studies.
Keywords
alternative assessment; school subject Science and Social studies; students; teachers; traditional assessment
Hrčak ID:
137684
URI
Publication date:
25.2.2015.
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