Learning to learn and assessment: Complementary concepts or different worlds?

Abstract

Background: 'Learning to Learn' (L2L) is considered a key skill for the twenty-first century. It is understood here as a hyper-competence, which mobilises resources of the individual and/or groups in a sensemaking effort to improve or update one's own learning. By means of classroom assessment during the teaching-learning cycle, teachers can promote this competence in their daily practice. This paper focuses on the L2L-assessment relationship, presenting data from an international qualitative research project conducted in Brazil, Ecuador, Italy, Mexico, Spain and Uruguay from a comparative perspective. Purpose: The study sought to explore the relationship between teachers' L2L conceptualisations and their assessments in a sample of preschool, primary and secondary school teachers. Key questions addressed were: how did interviewed teachers define L2L? What, if any, was the connection between teachers' assessment methods and their own L2L definition? Methods: The analysis drew on data collected from 123 interviews with teachers, deploying a qualitative descriptive approach. L2L definitions were classified as broad or narrow according to Hounsell. A connection was assigned to each interview depending on whether teachers' assessment and L2L responses included aspects related to L2L theory. Findings and conclusion: Around one-third of interviewees provided a definition of L2L consistent with the intended purposes of assessments that contribute to the development of L2L. Approximately onefifth was classified with partial connection and almost half was classified as showing no connection. The L2L-assessment relationship is explored in terms of similarities and differences between countries. Overall, the study draws attention to the need for increasing teacher awareness of the L2L-assessment connection during initial and inservice teacher education, in order for teachers to develop assessment practices conducive to L2L.

Educational poverty, digital and cultural divide: Some reflections from a case study

“…In line with the research objective (Stringher, 2021;Stringher et al, 2020) and following a cultural perspective (Bruner, 1992), a qualitative research design has been defined (Guba & Lincoln, 2005). A semi-structured interview outline has been adapted to and used in all the countries participating in the international research project based on nine common thematic units to be explored consistently with the specific research objective (Brito Rivera, Torti & Ferraz de Carvalho, 2020).…”

“…For the international research project, the research group conducted 123 interviews with teachers from the above-mentioned countries (Stringher et al, 2020). Therefore, this paper discusses the analysis of 40 interviews with Italian teachers of public schools and, in particular, of classes with 5-, 10-, 13-and 15-year-old students.…”

“…Therefore, this paper discusses the analysis of 40 interviews with Italian teachers of public schools and, in particular, of classes with 5-, 10-, 13-and 15-year-old students. In particular, with reference to school levels, the teachers are distributed as follows: Childhood (five teachers), Primary (10 teachers), Lower secondary (13 teachers), Upper secondary (12 teachers) (Patera, 2020;Stringher et al, 2020;Stringher, 2021).…”

“…This study is part of an international research project that INVALSI has been carrying out since 2017, 'Learning to learn in Italy, Europe and Latin America'. The project is coordinated by C. Stringher, and it involves researchers from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana (Mexico), Universidad de Cantabria (Spain), Fundaçao Carlos Chagas (Brazil), INEED (Uruguay), Universidad de la Republica (Uruguay) and Universidad Politécnica Salesiana (Ecuador) (Stringher, 2021, Stringher et al, 2020.…”

Learning to learn as life skills. The representation of Civil Service volunteers in a local context

“…In un ambiente in costante evoluzione, l'apprendere ad apprendere (AaA) rappresenta una parte essenziale per riuscire ad affrontare con successo le sfide della vita quotidiana. Il dibattito pedagogico (Alessandrini, 2019;Pellerey, 2017;Porcarelli, 2021;Stringher, 2021;Vettori, Bigozzi, Miniati, Vezzani, & Pinto, 2019), si è concentrato sugli aspetti teorici, attraverso una ricognizione ed analisi della documentazione esistente in letteratura, e nella costruzione di strumenti di valutazione, per scuole e studenti, nell'intento di supportarli nel percorso formativo verso l'acquisizione di specifiche abilità di studio e motivazione.…”