The Role of the Teacher as Assessor: Developing Student Teachers’ Assessment Identity - Article 4 - 2022

Oct 15, 2026

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The closure of schools worldwide during the Covid-19 pandemic threatened a core pillar of initial teacher education: school placement. The paper maps a new “site” of professional practice, the Teacher Online Programme (TOP), using Xu and Brown’s (2016) framework on teacher assessment literacy. It integrates assessment baseline knowledge across seven elements through a case study approach with data from TOP Year 3, questionnaires, and focus groups. Findings emphasize building teacher assessment identity and support collaborative, emergent assessment knowledge in communities of practice.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages18

Reading Time45 min

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Introduction

Teacher Identity

Australian Journal of Teacher Education Volume 46 Issue 12 Article 4 2022 The Role of the Teacher as Assessor: Developing Student Teacher’s Assessment Identity. Audrey Doyle Dublin City University Marie Conroy Johnson Dublin City University Enda Donlon Dublin City University Elaine McDonald Dublin City University PJ Sexton Dublin City University Follow this and additional works at: [https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte) Part of the Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Higher Education and Teaching Commons, Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons, and the Secondary Education and Teaching Commons Recommended Citation Doyle, A., Conroy Johnson, M., Donlon, E., McDonald, E., & Sexton, P. (2021) . The Role of the Teacher as Assessor: Developing Student Teacher’s Assessment Identity.. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 46(12) . [http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2021v46n12.4](http://dx.doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2021v46n12.4) This Journal Article is posted at Research Online. [https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol46/iss12/4](https://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol46/iss12/4) The Role of the Teacher as Assessor: Developing Student Teachers’ Assessment Identity. Audrey Doyle Marie Conroy Johnson Enda Donlon Elaine McDonald, PJ Sexton Dublin City University, Ireland Abstract: The closure of schools across the globe due to the Covid-19 pandemic had the potential to have a catastrophic impact on a fundamental pillar of initial teacher education: school placement. This paper maps a new “site” ofprofessional practice for “school placement” called “Teacher Online Programme”(TOP) using Xu and Brown’s (2016) conceptual framework of teacher assessment literacy in practice. Its main focus lies in the integration of the assessment baseline knowledge into the programme under the seven elements proposed by the framework. A case study methodology informed the approach taken. Data was collected and analysed in three phases: the Teaching Online Programme Year 3 (TOP3) initiative; Student teacher and Tutor Questionnaires and Student-teacher and Tutor focus group interviews. The findings highlight the complex and multifaceted process of building teacher assessment identity which nests in the larger purposes for education. They encourage an emergentist and collaborative approach to assessment knowledge and view working in communities of practice as a threshold for creativity and innovation. Introduction In March 2020 the world ground to a “screeching halt”(Latour, 2020) in response to a global pandemic. For many universities who engage in the work of Initial Teacher Education (ITE), the closure of schools presented them with a momentous task and challenged all to reimagine many of the long established practices (Donlon, McDonald, Fitzsimons, & Sexton, 2020) . Over the course of their four year programme, student-teachers on the Bachelor of Religious Education and English/History/Music (BREHM) degree in Dublin City University, Ireland, must complete a minimum of 30 weeks’ onsite placement in a number of partner post-primary schools (Teaching Council, 2020) . Schools tightened up on the number of“visitors”, which meant that the student-teacher placements were limited and tutor assessment visits to schools were not possible. A radically new placement experience would have to be designed so that student-teachers could meet the professional requirements of the Teaching Council (2020) and the University (Mohan, McCoy, Carroll, Mihut, Lyons & McDomhaill, 2020) . This was a catalyst to reimagine Teacher Assessment Identity (TAI) through the lens of Xu and Brown’s (2016) conceptual framework of teacher assessment literacy in practice. The question that challenged the team was: “How can we assist emerging student-teacher assessment identity through a new site of professional practice call

FAQs

What problem does the paper address for initial teacher education during Covid-19?

It addresses how school closures disrupted onsite school placement and tutor assessment visits, requiring a reimagined placement experience that still meets professional requirements.

What is the main innovation introduced in the study?

The study introduces the Teacher Online Programme (TOP) as a new site of professional practice for “school placement,” integrating assessment baseline knowledge into the programme.

How was the research conducted and what data sources were used?

A case study methodology was used, with data collected and analyzed in three phases, including the TOP Year 3 initiative plus questionnaires and focus group interviews with student teachers and tutors.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Franzy