Faculty of Education - Theses
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ItemThe alignment of valued performance types in assessment practices and curriculum in year 5 mathematics and science classrooms( 2014)Curricular alignment can be defined as the degree to which the performance types valued in curriculum statements (intended curriculum), instruction (enacted curriculum) and assessment (assessed curriculum) at all levels form a coherent system. This thesis reports on six key performance type categories that were used to examine the alignment of assessment practices with the intended and enacted curriculum. The six categories are knowing, performing, communicating, reasoning, non-routine problem solving and making connections. The research was undertaken as a comparative case study of two science and two mathematics primary classrooms. The methods employed were video-recorded lessons and interviews, questionnaires, document analysis and classroom observations. This study sought to determine the scope of practice (variety of performance types) evident in mathematics and science classrooms by examining the vertical and horizontal alignment of performance types. The vertical alignment analysis determined the correspondence among valued performance types in assessments at different levels of the schooling system (national, state and school levels). The horizontal alignment analysis consisted of making comparisons of performance types between classrooms at the same level and across two domains; mathematics and science. Ultimately, the classroom implementation of assessment of the curriculum is the responsibility of the teacher, so it can be argued that those performance types valued in the classroom are determined by the teacher. However, the teacher will inevitably be influenced by factors beyond the classroom, such as the state mandated curriculum, school curriculum requirements and high stakes testing. The major assertion of this study is that if performance types are not evident in classroom practice, then they are not available for formative assessment purposes and should not be summatively assessed. The findings show that in mathematics, ‘knowing’ and ‘performing procedures’ are consistently privileged in the national assessment program and through school-‐based assessment practices. These performance types were dominant in the enacted and assessed curriculum at the classroom level. The science data analysis showed that the scope of practice in the science classrooms consisted of all six performance type categories; knowing, performing, communicating, reasoning, non-routine problem solving and making connections. The relative diversity of science performance types could reflect the nature of the science curriculum at the school level and the fact that it is not subjected to the same testing, monitoring and auditing process as the mathematics curriculum. This provides teachers with the autonomy to select activities more frequently on the basis of their investigative appeal. Mathematics and English are the two domains that are assessed through the national standardised testing program and tend to dominate the primary school curriculum. Another key finding is that different school structures influence who has authoring responsibilities for the intended curriculum. The responsibility given to authorship of internal and external curriculum documents and assessment has significant implications for classroom practice and assessment. It is a recommendation of this study that monitoring programs, such as the national assessment program, are carefully aligned with the performance types valued in curriculum standards. The authority afforded to the intended curriculum and assessment documents, such as standardised testing, can be a restricting factor in the performance types that are evident in classroom practice.
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ItemExamining the alignment of the intended curriculum and performed curriculum in primary school mathematics and integrated curriculum( 2010)Curriculum alignment can be defined as the degree to which the intended curriculum (standards and teaching plans) and the performed curriculum (instruction and assessment) are in agreement with one another. Curriculum alignment research indicates that a coherent, or a well-aligned system has a positive effect on student achievement (English, 2000; Squires, 2009; Webb, 1997). This research focuses on Webb’s (1997) criteria for alignment of expectations and assessment, which provides a comprehensive framework that could be adapted for use with the current Victorian Essential Learning Standards curriculum. Webb’s (1997) criteria focus on alignment between curriculum and assessment. This research builds on Webb’s (1997) model by highlighting the importance of the inclusion of ‘instruction’ or the ‘performed curriculum’ in studies determining curricular alignment. The data for this comparative case study was collected from two Grade 3 classrooms. Data collection methods that were used were direct observation, interviews (pre and post observation), audio recording of lessons and document analysis. The data was analysed using an adaptation of six criteria for alignment focusing on ‘Content’ and ‘Pedagogical Implications’. The criteria focusing on ‘Content’ are Categorical Concurrence, Depth of Knowledge Consistency, Range of Knowledge Correspondence and Dispositional Consonance. The criteria focusing on ‘Pedagogical Implications’ are Effective Classroom Practices and Use of Technology, Materials and Tools. The findings of the study indicate that qualitative methods can be applied successfully in a study of curriculum alignment. This study found that data is readily available in the primary school setting which can be used with an adaptation of Webb’s (1997) criteria to determine the level of curriculum alignment. A key finding demonstrated that the process of planning occurs through a series of interpretations of the curriculum performed at various levels within the school, year level team or by the individual teacher. Throughout the process of planning and implementation of curriculum, the results showed that the teachers themselves customised the prescribed curriculum in response to their own priorities and the content that they felt reflected the needs of their students. It is a recommendation of this study that further research needs to be concerned with planning, pedagogical and assessment practices that effectively strengthen curriculum alignment. The benefits of further research would enable the identification of practices that improve alignment and could inform targeted, appropriate and effective professional development for practicing teachers.