Assessment for learning in small class teacher development programme: The process from course design to classroom practice

Class size reduction fosters a positive development of classroom process. The potential benefits of Small Class Teaching (SCT) will only be realized if there is a corresponding change in teaching strategy (Education Bureau, 2008). In particular, effective assessment techniques were identified as an important classroom strategy for small class setting (Panozzo and Finn, 2002). Frequent use of assessment for learning is one of the key principles in enhancing the effectiveness of pupil's learning in SCT (Galton, 2009). This paper examines how the professional staff members of Centre for Development and Research in Small Class Teaching (CSCT) of the Hong Kong Institute of Education make use of the learning circle to facilitate the curriculum design of assessment for learning for in-service SCT teacher development programme. Participants will be required to design their own assessment for learning activities and apply them into SCT classroom setting. In this connection, the researchers investigate how the participants internalize what they have learnt in the programme regarding assessment for learning and put recommended practices into the SCT classroom context. It is anticipated that they are likely to apply what they learnt to actual practice through internal and external learning circles.