They appreciated our implementation strategies of the cross-curricular attainment targets and they stimulated us to also assess the effects of the cross-curricular activities we organize for the pupils on the development of their transversal skills.

These comments of the inspection team really are in line with the European vision on implementing the key competences.

It is important to adjust the form of assessment, as teachers are able to adjust their methods of assessment, based on information gathered and observation of students.

On the other hand students should and can evaluate their own work on this training approach, or those of their peers, and re-adjust their strategies.

Evaluation is always a difficult task and evaluate skills is even more difficult.

It is up to us teachers to make evaluation not something definitive, but a path to the goal which is acquisition of skills by students.

Assessment is a very important aspect in the learning process, not only to teachers but also to learners. After all, these should be aware of their own development process.

However, as mentioned in the video, the big shadow of high stake examination limits the competence based teaching approach, especially in a country like Portugal where content and knowledge continue to have a high rate in the curriculum.

Once again, changing mentalities is mandatory to help learners achieve their personal growth and be prepared for the world that is waiting for them very shortly.

“The matriculation and university entrance examinations are not yet necessarly well allinged with the new key competence approaches”

“A few studies have found that students learning in courses that emphasise the kind of higher-order skills featured in key- competence curricula may outperform students who are learning in courses that emphasise content knowledge”

“Assessment OF learning”, “Assessment FOR learning”, “be important for each student to track his or her development”

“Adjust teaching and learning and better meet student need”

“very clear learning goals”

 

I approve of Italian Government’s decision of control if secondary schools are used to monitor the results of the students who have finished their five-year course, in a Lifelong Learning perspective. Each school had to declare if it was organized to gather these information among the ex-students, in the areas of jobs and university. In the context of the long-term transformation of the Italian reformed school system, Government provided for the school the complete data of the their ex-students  comparing its information (Ministery of Labour, University, etc.), but at the same time stimulated and led the school to activate a tool to control the stories of each student after the secondary school, in order to acquire a feedback to improve the strategies. This have perplexed me: I wonder (and I asked a specific question during a meeting) if a not institutional system can be reliable: calling by phone the ex-students? By mail or letter? By a survey? By a declaration? Obviously not. And by what way a school is able to know the stories of each ex student as for his job? The only solution is to continue to gather the information in that institutional channel. 

I mean, if a school is not able to effectively know the different, individual course (that is also the realization of the plan of life started during the high school and a self personal ful-filment), through the following years, it cannot use a lot of precious feedback for its self-assessment as a system.

In addition to this, the university entrance examinations are often not well allinged with the new key competence approaches, so sometimes there is a real separation between secondary school and university. IN the field of professionale and vocational area I think the situation is better, because since several years Italian school is used to bring nearer the world of school and the work one, by stages and specific activities during thenormnal courses. In the recent reform of the Italian educational system, the “Alternation” School/Job is a compulsory and tangible reality. In my school this process started last year involving the third classes: students have “worked” out of the school, in museum (for example as guides for tourists), public utilities, business and similar for a period.

As the new ways of teaching and learning focus on skills development, that is to say, knowledge, skills and attitudes in interactive learning environments, and through collaborative and multi-disciplinary learning, then it is obvious that assessment of key competences have to involve new approaches. 

 Used almost exclusively in schools where the focus is on learning specific content, summative and formative assessment does not pose major problems to teachers, since it focuses on well-defined learning objectives and on clear learning “standards”.

 

Classroom-based formative assessment is also often used, even in the more traditional approaches, when there are debates, discussions around a topic, presentation of papers (individual or group). Students have the opportunity to assess their progress and that of their peers. 

 

Student self-assessement is also used in portugueses schools, but still not consistently in terms of student learning progress. I suppose... This type of assessement, more focused on progress toward the transversal competences (which are of atmost importance for personal development, and for learning-to-learn) needs further consideration (and training) by teachers. Because these skills are not a learning "standard" , assessing learners's development in this area becomes more difficult.

 

Recalling the categorization of competences in 4 broad categories presented by ATC21S, it may be said that if 21st Century schools ought to focus their attention on “ways of thinking”, “ways of working”,” tools for working” and “ways of living in the world”, then new tools in each category should be discussed, built and implemented. 

 

Certainly, portfolios and e-assessments will be very useful for teachers. So new tools in each category should be discussed, built and implemented and assessed. At the same time, the use of these assessment tools will be an excellent strategy for the development of literacy skills and ICT.  

 

As a secondary school teacher, there is a passage from the video talk 3, that caught my attention:

 

 “Secondary school teachers may face additional challenges in introducing key competences because the matriculation and university entrance examinations are not yet necessarily well aligned with new key competence approaches.”

 

I think this is the synthesis of the arguments that are often presented by those who argue that the implementation of competence-based education is inconsistent (and even contradictory) with thefocus on examination content and focus on helping students to pass tests.

Good video, assessing key competences is very difficult because it needs the collaboration of all the teachers involved in the class, they should use the same strategies, methodologies but isn’t so easy.

Furthermore creating  a good shared  assessment system of the key competence isn’t so easy.

I hope to receive more information in the module 3

learning. It may be useful to think of formative assessment as an integrated part of

the learning process.

 I agree with Gina. I think that in the 21st Century SchooI  is very important  that teachers need to develop new approaches to assessment to adapt teaching and  to better meet learner needs. In addition teachers should consider new assessment:
1)summative assessment;

2)formative assessment;
3)student self

assessment of progress toward the transversal 

competences.

,,I think that a personal portfolio , to focus on transversal competences of learners and teachers is something every school should promote''