Formative assessment as a cultural practice: The use of written formative assessment in Samoan science classrooms

Abstract

In this chapter, we locate formative assessment within the sociocultural theorising of teaching and, in particular, teaching as a cultural practice. We discuss the use of culturally appropriate formative assessment in some Samoan secondary science classrooms. In Samoa, silence is a cultural practice which is often practised by students in response to being questioned by the teacher. It is not just a matter of the students being shy or lacking confidence in voicing their ideas for fear of being embarrassed if they are wrong. The silence is a cultural practice for communication. The silence needs to be addressed if the Western practice of verbal formative assessment is wanted to be done by the teacher in the classroom. This chapter reports on research done on the use of written worksheets to give feedback and feedforward in the Samoan context.