Australian Journal of Teacher Education - Volume 44 - Issue 2 - Article 7 - Professional Learning Intervention in Mathematics: A Case of Developing Portfolio Assessment

Oct 15, 2026

This paper reports findings from a Fijian study engaging secondary mathematics teachers in a two-day professional development workshop focused on using portfolios as an alternative way to assess student learning in mathematics. Using an action research approach, teachers were positioned as key stakeholders to design assessments reflecting higher-order thinking beyond written tests. Workshop outcomes showed most participants generated suitable portfolio assessment ideas, though some struggled with linking real-world experiences and creating higher-order tasks. Interviews with 10 of 12 teachers indicated the workshop was useful, rewarding, and could influence teaching practices.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Introduction

Formative assessment and its classroom purpose

Portfolio assessment as an assessment strategy

Challenges in implementing formative assessment

Australian Journal of Teacher Education | Volume 44 | Issue 2 | Article 7 | | --- | --- | | 2019
Professional Learning Interventionn in Mathematics: A Case of Developing Portfolio Assessment
Hem Chand Dayal
The University of the South Pacific, dayal_h@usp.ac.fj
Bronwen Cowie The University of Waikato | | Recommended Citation Dayal, H. C., & Cowie, B. (2019). Professional Learning Interventionn in Mathematics: A Case of Developing Portfolio Assessment. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 44 (2). Retrieved from [https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol44/iss2/7](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol44/iss2/7) This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol44/iss2/7](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol44/iss2/7) Australian Journal of Teacher Education Professional Learning Intervention in Mathematics: A Case of Developing Portfolio Assessment Hem Chand Dayal The University of the South Pacific Bronwen Cowie The University of Waikato Abstract: This paper reports findings from a Fijian study that engaged secondary mathematics teachers in a two-day professional development workshop on the use of portfolios as an alternative means of assessing student learning in mathematics. Utilising an action research approach with a view to involve teachers as key stakeholders in mathematics education, the professional development prompted a small group of secondary mathematics teachers to think about the mathematics content and processes which could not be assessed using written tests, and to develop assessments that would reflect higher-order thinking in mathematics. While the majority of the teachers came up with ideas that were well suited for portfolio assessment, some participants faced minor difficulties in relating to real-world experiences and developing higher-order tasks. Teachers were able to come up with teaching and learning activities that could be used for portfolio assessment. At the end of the workshop ten of the 12 teachers were interviewed to gain an insight into their experiences. All of them stated explicitly that they had found the workshop very useful and rewarding because portfolios could provide an alternative way to assess student learning, and could possibly influence the way they taught mathematics. Introduction Although the field of assessment, and especially formative assessment, has received a lot of attention in the last decade, there are still questions about: what the term means to teachers (Dunn & Mulvenon, 2009), how teachers view the purposes of assessing student learning (Brown, 2003), and how to design and implement effective formative assessment practices at the classroom level (Black & Wiliam, 1998: Black, Harrison, Lee, Marshall & Wiliam, 2003; Cowie, 2005; Cowie & Bell 1999) . Seminal works such as that of Black and Wiliam (1998) provide evidence that formative assessments, when well implemented, result in improved learning and motivation. Such findings have led to increased attention being given to formative assessment, or assessment for learning. Assessment for learning can be differentiated from other types of assessment by its purpose, where the “priority is on enhancing rather than measuring learning.”(Cowie, 2005, p.137) . Assessment becomes formative when, according to Sadler (1989) judgments about the quality of pupil responses are used to improve pupil learning. Vol 44, 2, February 2019 99 Australian Journal of Teacher Education According to Sadler, this means closing the gap between a pupil’s actual level of competence and some desired level of competence. Seen this way, formative assessment consists of “all those activities undertaken by teachers, and/or by their students, which provide information to be used as feedback to modify the teaching and learning activities in which they are engaged”(Black & Wiliam, 1998, p.7) . In other words, provision of effective feedback that has the pot

FAQs

What was the professional development workshop designed to do?

The workshop engaged secondary mathematics teachers in learning to use portfolios as an alternative method for assessing student learning in mathematics.

What research approach guided the study?

The study used an action research approach to involve teachers as key stakeholders in mathematics education and assessment design.

What difficulties did some participants face?

Some participants experienced minor difficulties connecting real-world experiences and developing higher-order tasks for portfolio assessment.

Oct 15, 2026

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