Learner characteristics : a framework for evaluation that is coherent, sustainable, and valid
Date
1992
Authors
Smith, Susan Anne
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Abstract
This study explores issues related to student assessment and evaluation; in doing so three criteria for a rational process of evaluation are identified and described: coherency, sustainability, and validity. This study also identifies and describes a frame of reference for evaluation called the Learner Characteristics
Framework. The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent the Learner Characteristics Framework could successfully uphold the three criteria if applied within an elementary classroom. The Learner Characteristics Framework consists of the following eight characteristics which were derived upon the basis of
what teachers and the broader educational community value as attributes of a successful learner:
Knowledge
Self-esteem
Thoughtful
Industrious
Generative
Empathy
Risk-taking
Strategic
During one reporting period, the Learner Characteristics Framework was implemented in two elementary classrooms which involved two teachers who team taught a grade 3/4 class, and one teacher who taught a grade 4/5 class. At the end of this reporting period, three sources of data were collected: anecdotal student reports, parent surveys, and teacher questionnaires. The data were analyzed in order to determine the extent to which coherency, sustainability, and validity were satisfied.
The findings revealed that the Learner Characteristics Framework was able to satisfy each of the criteria. Implications relating to the content of student reports and the process of writing student reports emerged in the analysis of validity and sustainability. In addition, the teachers reported that the Learner Characteristics Framework had a positive effect upon instruction and student learning.
Description
Keywords
UN SDG 4: Quality Education