Teachers' knowledge and practice in assessing students' 21st century skills in mathematics

• Main Author: Aguinaldo, Clemente M., Jr.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: Mathematics—Study and teaching (Secondary) > Evaluation; Science and Mathematics Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdd_scied/5
• Institution: De La Salle University

Assessment has evolved over the years. From an overreliance on written tests, teachers are now engaging learners in assessment tasks that would demonstrate what they know and what they can do. This is a case study of four secondary mathematics teachers who exhibited multiple classroom assessment knowledge and practices in the context of the 21st century. It sought to determine their assessment knowledge on the policy guidelines, assessment tools, and grading system in gauging learners’ 21st century skills (21CS). Their assessment practices were observed and analyzed together with the assessment tasks they provided to their students. Moreover, a model in assessing the 21CS of students in mathematics was proposed. The four participants were purposively selected from a public junior high school situated at the heart of a component city in the province of Isabela. Using class observations, semi-structured interviews, field notes, and document analysis, this study revealed that teachers were aware of and implemented the policy guidelines necessitating the assessment of students’ 21CS. They prepared, adopted, and utilized various tools to assess these skills. They also have technical knowledge in giving ratings aided by an e-class record as well as experiential knowledge in communicating assessment feedback to students on their 21CS. Further, the results of the study revealed that teachers assessed students’ 21CS using multimodal techniques, engaged them in learning conversations, observed them purposefully on learning tasks, designed and used challenging and authentic activities, and assigned ICT-based homework. Specifically, critical thinking was assessed by using higher-order thinking or analytical questions during recitations, interpreting computed values, giving situation analysis during discussions, and engaging learners to analyze and solve problems. Collaboration was gauged through observations during group activities and judging terminal outputs in assigned tasks. To assess communication skills, teachers used rubrics and gave due recognition during group presentations, provided verbal feedbacks and additional points during recitations, and examined the structure and correctness of written outcomes. To assess creativity and innovation skills, teachers used analytic scoring rubrics for a capstone project, personal judgment on classroom tangible outputs or construction activities, and points based on novel ideas. Assessing the ICT skills of students entailed looking at how they used technology properly to design a slide presentation, give a correct answer from apps, and finish homework. As an offshoot of the study, a Classroom Assessment of 21CS (CA21CS) Model in Mathematics was proposed, which mirrored the actual classroom practices and insights from participants’ personal experiences and perceptions of what assessment in the 21st century is all about. Recommendations for mathematics teachers and future researchers were provided and finally, limitations of the study in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic were discussed. Keywords: classroom assessment, 21CS, 21st century learning, assessment tools, assessment model