Therefore, more time required for formal assessing (of any competency) less for teaching – crowded curriculum means less time for both
This means exams/tests still a big part of school cultures as they’re the ‘easiest’ to produce and mark to give the students a ‘”value” that represents them for reporting purposes
University entrance based majority on exam skills/results also puts massive emphasis on exam results
Pressure on teachers to justify final assessment – professionalism brought into judgment
Difficult to find a wide range of excellent resources quickly and easily
Excitement factor lacking in some forms of assessment (e.g. standard tests, lab reporting)
Language barriers to students in assessing science communication and understanding of new concepts/science words
Mathematical skills lacking – issue for some areas of science (chemistry and physics) with students unable to logically link concepts and a mathematical rule (pertains mainly to upper secondary)
Solutions:
Access to a massive range of assessment suggestions and examples supplied by a variety of people
Since government dictates what to teach and how to report, they should be responsible for giving more guidance
Collection of excellent ideas from great teachers
Scientific organizations/researchers
Should span all year levels and topics, not just randomly selected areas and topics
problem solving
Greater emphasis on continued teacher training extending well into careers
Greater professional development access for sharing of excellent ideas (such as SoS) that are innovative and exciting for students
Teacher self confidence to trust own professional judgment in assessment
Innovative teachers, rather than “experienced” teachers acting as mentors to beginning teachers
Extension of mentoring program to 2 years
IF NO MENTORING SYSTEM EXISTS
1st year teachers given 0.9 work load (no penalty for pay)
This must be a government directive that is built-in
Mentor assigned to 1st year teachers who are also given time to visit regularly to discuss teaching, assessment, etc.
Mentor to visit classroom to assist and observe to give constructive advice
Universities to use different methods to determine entrance – not purely exam/mark based
Universities to diversify their assessment techniques also
Making sure math is present in early science so students are aware of the pertinence of mathematics in science, BUT not so that there is a heavy mathematics element
