A typical practice of assessment in engineering studies, especially on large Bachelor level courses, is a final exam at the end of the course. This practice is problematic both in terms of learning and teaching, as it does not provide feedback on learning experience or student progress before the course is completed. This study examines the…

This case study examined teachers' on-the-fly formative assessment conversations, that is, how teachers collect information from students' thinking and use that information to support their learning during teacher-student interactions. Previous studies have typically analysed whole-class discussions on the level of speaking turns, and have…

This research focussed on the use of formative assessment in Finnish initial teacher education. Pre-service teachers' perceptions of using formative assessment to promote learning were explored. A convenience sample (N = 60) was taken from two pre-service teacher cohorts in which two methods of formative assessment were used during a period of…

Educational policies and curriculum documents largely emphasise the idea that assessment should be "diverse": that teachers should use versatile assessment practices such as tests, self- and peer-assessment and portfolios instead of mainly drawing on uniform practices, such as examinations. In this study, we examined the diversity of…

Assessment is critical in postsecondary education, as it is at all levels. Assessments are classified into four types: diagnostic, summative, evaluative, and formative. Recent trends in assessment have migrated away from summative to formative evaluations. Formative evaluations help students develop expertise and concentrate their schedules, ease…

Purpose: In 2022 generative AI took the Internet world by storm. Free access to tools that can generate text and images that pass for human creations triggered fiery debates about the potential uses and misuses of generative AI in education. There has risen a need to check the popular utopian and dystopian narratives about AI against the diversity…

The two key purposes of assessment, formative and summative, are often in a contradictory position if they are used concurrently. The summative assessment of learning will often prevent the formative assessment for learning to be realised (Butler, J Educ Psychol 79(4):474, 1987), meaning that the learning potential of the assessment will often be…

This study aims to develop asynchronous formative audio feedback practices for mobile learning in higher education settings. The development was conducted in keeping with the principles of design-based research. The research activities focused on an inter-university online course, within which the use of instructor audio feedback was tested,…

Peer-to-peer learning is gaining increasing attention in nonformal community-based environmental education. This article evaluates a novel modification of a concept for peer-to-peer learning about residential energy solutions (Open Homes). We organized collective "Energy Walks" visiting several homes with novel energy solutions and…

This article provides an outline and critical review of assessment, an evaluation of learning outcomes, in vocational education and training (VET) in Finland. Assessment of VET is formative, development-orientated and criteria-based. There are no national tests and information from vocational skills demonstrations is used instead. Assessment…

This study examined how U.S., Finnish, and Irish educators identified and supported struggling readers. Using Johnston's (2011) framework for evaluating reading interventions and activity theory (Engeström, 1999), we interviewed educators in four U.S., three Irish, and three Finnish schools. In the United States, the adoption of three…

This edited volume presents innovative current research in the field of Science Education. The chapter's deal with a wide variety of topics and research approaches, conducted in a range of contexts and settings. Together they make a strong contribution to knowledge on science teaching and learning. The book consists of selected presentations from…

The main aim of this research was to analyse teachers' views of pupil assessment. The theoretical framework was based on existing literature on advances and challenges of pupil assessment in regard to support for learning, fairness, educational partnership, feedback, and favourable methods. The data were gathered by means of a questionnaire…

This study looks at the fairness of assessing learning journals both as the fairness in creating a valid and robust marking process as well as how different student groups may have unfair disadvantages in performing well in reflective assessment tasks. The fairness of a marking process is discussed through reflecting on the practical process and…