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Craft, design and technology foundation courses : their assessment and its effect on pupils, their parents and teachers : an action research project in five Nottinghamshire schools
thesis
posted on 2012-09-28, 12:58 authored by Frederick WebbThis study is directed towards developing a feasible working model of assessment in Craft, Design and Technology
(CDT) for years one to three in secondary school, flexible
enough, to operate in five Nottinghamshire schools with
different experiences, expertise and philosophy. Initially
the views of CDT teachers, parents and pupils were sought
to establish the will, desire and need for some form of
positive, formative assessment. The need for contact
between school and parents was quickly established and
directed developments towards assessments that could be
easily sent home. This feature meant that the use of
computers had to be considered as an important management
aid. Though the schools were engaged in industrial action
each department involved in the project worked out areas
which they wanted to assess along with grade descriptors
for each one. From this work a game simulation was
developed to assist other schools (in CDT and other subject
areas), to develop an assessment scheme to suit their needs
(Appendix VII),
For each school an assessment package was developed to
include a teacher based assessment (using computer and
paper systems), and a paper based pupil self' assessment. As
the work was developmental rather than prescriptive,
ohanges, modifications and further developments were made
throughout the study (including a computer based pupil self
assessment package), in response to the needs or
requirements of the individual department. These packages
were used and then evaluated by the teachers, pupils and
parents through a combination of interviews and
questionnaires and also through observations by the author
of the various systems in operation within the school
context. The findings of the study suggest that there is an
important role for assessment in CDT, not only for
diagnostic purposes on the part of the teacher but also
acting as an important liaison instrument between the
school and home. This in certain circumstances gave parents
the opportunity to become actively involved in their
child's education. Pupils who received the assessment
sheets regularly appeared to have a clearer idea of their
progress in CDT than their counterparts who indicated that
they had not received any information on their progress.
The use of the computer for assessment purposes was found
to be a useful instrument in the teacher based assessment,
whereas the use of it for the pupil self asse.ssment work
was far from satisfactory and serious reservations in terms
of the time involved, have to be made from observations
within the participating schools.
The study concludes that formative assessment in CDT has
beneficial effects on teachers, pupils and their parents.
It has been a useful exercise for the five schools involved
(the CDT departments in particular), forcing them to
address the fundamental issues and problems of assessment.
History
School
- Design
Publisher
© F. WebbPublication date
1998Notes
Closed access. A Master’s Thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Philosophy of Loughborough University.Language
- en