The relationship between self‐assessment and performance in learning TPACK: Are self‐assessments a good way to support preservice teachers' learning?

Abstract

Background To purposefully integrate information and communication technologies (ICT) into contemporary teaching, teachers must have complex technological, pedagogical and content‐related knowledge (TPACK). TPACK could be fostered through diverse learning environments such as working in a makerspace as part of university teacher training. The development of TPACK in (preservice) teachers depends on how effectively they can assess their own knowledge and adapt their own learning process. Self‐assessment tools can be used to identify and assess their individual TPACK. Objectives The study presents data on TPACK development through project work in a makerspace. It examines the consistency of self‐assessment and performance tests in relation to TPACK and discusses the applicability of self‐assessment scales to self‐regulated learning. Methods TPACK self‐assessment takes place among preservice teacher students (N = 327) in a pre‐post design. This is complemented and contrasted with an external assessment in form of a self‐developed performance test (teaching vignettes). Results Self‐assessment and performance test show a TPACK‐increase resulting in the project work in the makerspace, with higher performing students benefiting more from the intervention than lower performing students. All students tend to overestimate their TPACK before and after the intervention, with low‐performing students overestimating themselves more than high‐performing students. Existing TPACK scales can serve as readily available self‐assessment tools, but should be complemented by other knowledge assessment measures. Furthermore, depending on the results of the self‐assessment, different learning opportunities should be made available so that preservice teachers with a lower TPACK still benefit from the project work in the makerspace. Take Away Self‐assessments accompanying the work in the makerspace could provide feedback information about TPACK‐related knowledge, learning processes and learning outcomes and thus support students in structuring their work. For this purpose, it seems necessary to improve the quality of self‐assessment to enable reliable reflection on preservice teachers' own learning process.

The pedagogical makerspace: Learning opportunity and challenge for prospective teachers' growth of TPACK

“…The second block covers the media project work in the makerspace. The task of the project is to design and implement a teaching‐learning material to be used in biology or psychology lessons in school (Lukas et al, 2020; Max, Lukas et al, 2020; Max et al, 2022), in the sense of STEAM‐related artefacts (Jones et al, 2020) (Example 1 to 3 in Appendix A). The development of the materials takes place in the university's pedagogical makerspace (Appendix B, picture of makerspace).…”

Teaching Biology Lessons Using Digital Technology: A Contextualized Mixed-Methods Study on Pre-Service Biology Teachers’ Enacted TPACK

“…However, self-reports do not necessarily correspond to the results of more objective assessment methods, such as knowledge tests [32] or enacted TPACK measures [23,33,34]. There are indications that the pre-service teachers' ability for self-assessment decreases with increasing task complexity (e.g., with increasing reference to teaching practice) [35]. Additionally, there remains a gap between TPACK acquired at the university and enacted TPACK in practice [15].…”

Analysing students' self‐assessment practice in a distance education environment: Student behaviour, accuracy, and task‐related characteristics

“…To appropriately serve its function, students' self-assessments need to be accurate (Ernst et al, 2023). Regarding RQ2, numerous students often exhibit a tendency to inaccurately evaluate their own abilities (Max et al, 2022). Ernst et al (2023) conducted a comprehensive literature review, revealing that students' relative accuracy remained notably low and exhibited a negative correlation with students' overconfidence.…”

“…often attained above-average scores. Furthermore, it was established that students in the early stages of their academic journey (Zhang & Zhang, 2022) or those with poorer academic outcomes tend to overestimate their own performance and level of knowledge (Carroll, 2020;Max et al, 2022). Additionally, Lew et al (2010) found that students' self-assessment ability does not improve over the course of a semester, and that more academically competent students have more accurate self-assessments of their knowledge than less competent students.…”

“…A parallel observation emerged from the study conducted by Chen and Zhang (2023), wherein participants who self‐reported as ‘highly accurate’ in surveys predominantly achieved scores below the mean, while conversely, those who reported being ‘not very accurate’ often attained above‐average scores. Furthermore, it was established that students in the early stages of their academic journey (Zhang & Zhang, 2022) or those with poorer academic outcomes tend to overestimate their own performance and level of knowledge (Carroll, 2020; Max et al, 2022). Additionally, Lew et al (2010) found that students' self‐assessment ability does not improve over the course of a semester, and that more academically competent students have more accurate self‐assessments of their knowledge than less competent students.…”