Teachers’ cognitive beliefs about their assessment and use of tools when evaluating students’ learning of technological systems: a questionnaire study

Abstract

In technology education, assessment is challenging and underdeveloped as it is a nascent practice and teachers do not have a well-defined subject tradition to lean on when assessing students. The aim of this study is to explore Swedish secondary technology teachers’ cognitive beliefs about assessing students’ learning of technological systems, in relation to the assessment tools they use. Data for the study were collected through a questionnaire which was completed by 511 Swedish technology teachers in lower secondary education (grades 7–9). The data were analysed statistically in three main steps. Exploratory factor analysis revealed underlying dimensions in teachers’ cognitive beliefs, which was followed by correlation analysis to discern associations between dimensions of cognitive beliefs. Finally, comparisons were made between groups of teachers to discern how teachers’ cognitive beliefs are influenced by their experience and educational background. The results show that additional education in the technology and engineering fields relates to more positive cognitive beliefs concerning teachers’ ability to assess students’ learning of technological systems. Teachers’ cognitive beliefs about assessment therefore did not primarily relate to the content of technological systems per se but to increased engineering and technology competence more broadly, which may indicate the importance of a comprehensive technological knowledge base in order to be confident in assessment. Furthermore, strong cognitive beliefs about assessment were connected specifically to local, regional and national technological systems, which are generally well-known and visible types of systems, and to the human, socio-technical dimensions of the systems. Cognitive beliefs about knowledge for assessment were also associated with positive attitudes to assessment tools that followed the formative tradition, which may be explained by the prevalence of procedural epistemic practices and modelling in the design and understanding of technological systems. Technology teachers would need additional in-service courses in engineering to broaden their knowledge and increase their cognitive beliefs about assessment. Formative assessment should also be preferred, and it might be appropriate to begin teaching and assessment with well-known local and regional infrastructural systems with a clear socio-technical dimension.

Lärares transformering av teknikämnet : Om lärares attityder till ämnet och syn på teknisk kunskap i teknikundervisningen

“…Där visas att erfarenhet, relevant utbildning och att ha deltagit i fortbildning hade positiv effekt på attityder generellt. En aspekt av betydelsen av lärares egen kunskap framkommer i en studie om lärares bedömning av området tekniska system (Schooner et al, 2022). Resultatet visar att lärare med särskild utbildning inom teknik eller ingenjörsområdet, utöver lärarutbildningen, själva anser sig mer säkra i att kunna bedöma sina elever i teknikämnet.…”

“…Tidigare studier visar att både fortbildning och utbildning påverkar lärares teknikundervisning och attityder på ett positivt sätt (t.ex. Bjurulf, 2008;Jones & Carr, 1992;Schooner et al, 2022).…”

“…Norström (2014a) beskriver att både lärares attityder och förståelse av teknisk kunskap kan påverka lärares tolkningar av styrdokument och i längden också deras bedömning och betygssättning i teknik. Utbildade tekniklärare anser att kursplanen är lätt att förstå och tolka i högre utsträckning än lärare utan lärarutbildning i teknik (jämför med Schooner et al, 2022). I mina studier är inte bedömning i fokus, men tolkning av kursplanens kunskapskrav är också något som blir en del av lärarens transformering av ämnet.…”

Türki̇ye Ve Almanya'daki̇ İlkokul Öğreti̇m Programlarinin Teknoloji̇ Bağlaminda Karşilaştirilmasi

“…Bu çalışmanın da konusu olan teknoloji eğitimi Thomas'a (2016) göre öğrenme deneyimlerini tüm öğrencilerin ihtiyaçlarını karşılayacak şekilde uyarlamaya yardımcı olabilmektedir. Teknoloji eğitiminin temeli problem çözme ve eleştirel düşünme becerileri üzerine kuruludur (Schooner, Nordlöf, Klasander & Hallström, 2017). Öğrencilerde bu becerilerin geliştirilebilmesi için sürecin uygulayıcıları olan öğretmenlere, teknolojik içerikler tasarlamak için gerekli olan mesleki becerilerin ve yeterliklerin oluşmasını destekleyici (Orishev & Burkhonov, 2021;Seferoğlu, 2015) Almanya'da ise 6-10 yaş öğrencilerini kapsayan Hayat Bilgisi Dersi Öğretim Programında (LehrplanPLUS Grundschule, 2014) rastlanmaktadır.…”