Learning assessment views and perceptions of finnish teachers and international students in postgraduate physics studies

Abstract

The way teachers view assessment has a considerable impact on their practice of assessment. Student perceptions of assessment, in turn, affect the ways in which they take advantage of its potential to direct their learning processes and to develop metacognitive skills. In this research, physics teachers and international postgraduate students at a Finnish university were surveyed for their views of assessment. The teachers were found to use assessment in a restricted fashion, which indicates that their conceptions of assessment are also limited in scope. The international students appeared to have a loose grasp of the concepts pertaining to assessment. Furthermore, clear differences were found in the purposes ascribed to assessment by the teachers and students. The implications of the findings are discussed and suggestions are made for the development of assessment practices to ensure a better use of its potential as a tool for achieving learning objectives.