Kari Smith

Student perceptions of classroom feedback

Feedback to students has been identified as a key strategy in learning and teaching, but we know less about how feedback is understood by students. The purpose of this study is to gain more insight into lower secondary students’ perceptions of when and how they find classroom feedback useful. This article draws on data generated through individual interviews with 11 students representing four lower secondary schools (grades 8–10, aged 13–15) in Norway. Feedback types are identified from students’ perceptions, coded and indexed. A feedback typology is designed to provide a framework which can be used to reflect on useful classroom feedback based on lower secondary school students’ perceptions.

Dual roles – conflicting purposes: a comparative study on perceptions on assessment in mentoring relations during practicum

Despite considerable attention given to mentoring in initial teacher education little is known about mutual perspectives in perceptions of students and mentors regarding assessment and how this affects the quality of the students teaching. Perceptions of assessment during practicum might impede the learning dialogue during mentoring and affect the students achievements. A comparative qualitative study was conducted in Norway, Israel and The Netherlands to examine how student teachers (74) and mentors (52) perceive good mentoring regarding assessment of practice teaching and the interplay between the two processes. A semi‐structured questionnaire was used to analyse the perceptions on assessment during the practicum appraisal. Findings indicate that mentors and students differ slightly on key aspects of assessment, but agree more in the way it is being applied. From an assessment point of view, the differences between mentor and students may lead to a different approach in advice or recommendation to improve teaching action across the three national borders.

The multi-faceted teacher educator: a Norwegian perspective

Within the broad theme of this special issue, the current article describes a turbulent Norwegian teacher education context in which two new teacher educators start work in a university. Like other nations, Norway is affected by international educational trends, some of which have a reductive impact on the teaching profession and on teacher education. The article discusses the many roles teacher educators have to hold and presents what the local context, a university’s teacher education department, does to support new colleagues in developing individual roles and identities as teacher educators which enable them to fit into the local culture and requirements. The article examines some of the many frustrations that teacher educators often feel are rooted in local, national and international movements, before it concludes with a quest for developing programme identity that builds on the strength of having a diverse staff of teacher educators.

What characterises a good practicum in teacher education

Practice teaching is regarded as a key component of teacher education and often highly valued by student teachers, even if the aims of field experiences vary from context to context. This article takes a closer look at the practicum in a one-year postgraduate teacher education programme (PGCE) in Norway by listening to the voices of student teachers, school-based mentors and university-based supervisors. The study aims to obtain a deeper understanding of how the practicum is understood and whether the various stakeholders in the same context share a common view of the practicum.

Learning to Teach in Norway: A Shared Responsibility

It is internationally acknowledged that teachers play a major role as regards student learning, and the question of how to ensure that all teachers are good teachers draws the attention of education stakeholders also in Norway. New developments are increasingly suggesting that teacher education is a shared responsibility among policy-makers, higher education institutions and the practice field; however, how to translate such a perspective into coherent practice seems to be a challenge. This chapter proposes that teacher education forms part of career-long and lifelong learning, which starts at the point of entry to the education system and continues until the end of a teacher’s professional life. While the responsibility for teacher education programmes is shared by various stakeholders, the weight of the responsibility shifts as the teacher moves from pre- to in-service education. The connecting link of this shared responsibility is mentoring. It forms a key strategy in teachers’ workplace learning—during pre-service induction, and continuing professional learning. Whilst the focus in the mentoring literature has mainly been on the mentee, less attention has been given to the role of mentors. We discuss mentoring in the Norwegian context in light of recent teacher education reforms, and argue that mentoring is a ‘profession within a profession’, which requires unique professional knowledge and skills acquired through an academic professional education. Finally, we present an induction model which illustrates a shared responsibility for assisting newly qualified teacher in their professional learning.

Developing an assessment for learning (AfL) culture in school: the voice of the principals

This study reflects the voice of school leaders (principals) in a Norwegian school development project focusing on assessment for learning (AfL). The central role of the principal in school improvement is well documented, however, less is written about how the principals themselves see their roles. The voices presented belong to two experienced principals from two elementary schools in Norway. The schools participated in a three-year-action-oriented development project aimed at establishing an AfL culture. Towards the end of the project, the principals shared their experiences in a semi-structured group interview. The findings support the central role principals play in successful implementation of change. However, their role is not sufficiently appreciated and taken into account.

Formative Assessment of Teacher Learning: Issues about Quality, Design Characteristics and Impact on Teacher Learning.

Introduction In the introductory part of the final discussion, I would like to start by thanking the editors for the invitation to act as a discussant for this special issue. Moreover, I complement the contributors for authoring useful, interesting and challenging papers. This special issue is a timely initiative in developing more knowledge and deeper understanding of assessment of, as, and for teaching. The alert reader might have noticed that the title of my contribution is not Formative assessment of teachers, but Formative assessment of teacher learning. In my opinion it is the act of teacher learning which is object to assessment in the papers, and not the teacher as a person. Assessment research has to a large extent focused on understanding assessment of and for student learning, providing the faulty impressions that assessment of learning mainly relates to pupils or students, and not to teachers. Teacher learning has in itself been widely researched, but it has, to a large extent, ignored the assessment of teacher learning. So, the current special issue is a welcome contribution to all educators with an interest in assessment.But, first, there is a legend to be told.