‍Astrid Tolo, a SLATE affiliated researcher and Head of the Department of Education at the University of Bergen, together with two colleagues from Oxford University, Jessica Chan and SLATE Associate Professor II, Therese N. Hopfenbeck, presented the preliminary results of their systematic review at the American Educational Research Association’s (AERA’s) Annual Conference, held in New York, April 2018.

According to the abstract the authors submitted to AERA, the paper “addresses the understanding of technological tools’ influences on formative assessment in classrooms.” The authors explained that they undertook an extensive literature review yielding 1 377 articles. They then conducted a systematic exclusion and inclusion process, which narrowed their focus to 10 articles that formed the basis for their in-depth analysis. 

The review will outline what research shows to be known about the role technology plays in assisting teachers’ assessment practice. It will provide examples of how this is being undertaken in primary and secondary school settings.

Preliminary results are showing that formative assessments supported by technology might actually not be leading to more data-based instructional planning and feedback to students. The research is showing that factors relating to the teachers themselves, such as pedagogic preferences and orientations, are also important in addition to professional skills such as digital competence and didactic skills.

Learn more about this SLATE project

American Educational Research Association (AERA)

Founded in 1916, AERA is a national research society that, according to its website, strives to advance knowledge about education, to encourage scholarly inquiry related to education, and to promote the use of research to improve education and serve the public good. It pursues projects, initiatives, and activities to advance the field of education research, promote cutting-edge lines of study, and deepen knowledge about education research as a discipline, profession, and field.

Streamed sessions from the conference will be available early in May: http://www.aera.net/