Assessment Strategies to be Emphasised in Physics Teacher Education for Acquisition of Pedagogic Skills requisite for Effective Secondary School Instruction

Abstract

For effective classroom instruction, assessment of learning outcomes is of absolute priority, in light of this, teacher education in public universities ought to offer a variety of assessment strategies to be used in secondary school instruction. However, there are concerns that physics teachers lack skills necessary for effective assessment of their students’ learning. This has been blamed for the poor performance of 38.27% recorded in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) physics examinations in the years 2007 to 2016. The aim of this study was to establish assessment strategies to be emphasised in physics teacher education for acquisition of pedagogic skills, and the target population was 420 physics student teachers, 277 heads of physics subjects and 130 physics teacher trainers. Data was collected using questionnaires and through analysis of documentary evidence. Findings reveal that assessment strategies to be emphasised in physics teacher education are questioning, assessment of project work, assessment of laboratory reports, portfolio analysis and use of information technology in assessment. The findings may be useful to public universities in Kenya to enhance the use of assessment strategies that should be emphasised for acquisition of pedagogic skills.