| Summary: | Assessment for learning
(Afl) has become an integral part of current educational philosophy
-
both
teachers and schools are judged on their ability to implement it effectively. Nearly two decades since
Afl's appearance, opinions differ on exactly what it constitutes. General co
nsensus agrees that Afl has
as its base a strong commitment to high quality formative assessment, but influential academics argue
that Afl has deeper implications involving student voice and student ownership of their learning.
The study proposes that as
Afl requires students to think more critically about their learning, an
important consequence of Afl should be a gradual shift towards more democratic classrooms and
more peer oriented teacher
–
student relationships.
Research was conducted at two inter
national schools in a large metropolitan city in China through semi
–
structured interviews with five students and questionnaires with 20 teachers. Reflecting wider
research, results show that students value closer, peer
–
oriented relationships with their
teachers and
believe this to have a positive effect on their learning. While the majority of teachers are comfortable
with the formative assessment elements of Afl, a minority disagree with elements pertaining to
evolving student
–
teacher relationships a
nd a move towards a more democratic learning environment.
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