Gedamu, Abate Demissie

2 Publications in AERD

Author Publications

Secondary school teachers' management and assessment strategies of free-riders in group work: implication for engaging the disengaged

By Gedamu, Abate Demissie

This study aimed to explore teachers' management and assessment strategies of free-riders, and the challenges they faced in the process at selected secondary schools in Ethiopia. To address these objectives, a concurrent mixed-methods design was adopted. 146 teachers were selected for the questionnaire survey while four teachers were selected for follow-up interviews. To decide teachers' management and assessment levels of free-riders, a one-sample t-test was used at (alpha=0.05) while the qualitative data were described based on their themes. The results showed teachers infrequently used some assessment strategies even if they offered the same marks for an unequal contribution. As well, teachers attempted to apply various management strategies although they fall short of sharing the tasks with individual members. Also, workload, class size, lack of sufficient skills, and failure to report free riders were some of the challenges teachers faced in the management and assessment of free riders.

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Assessment for learning strategies: Amharic Language Teachers' Practice and Challenges in Ethiopia

By Gebremariam, Hailay Tesfay

Assessment for learning, which is one of the assessment genres, is a means of gathering information during teaching and learning and it is helpful to determine students' success in learning. The article aims at examining the understanding of Amharic language teachers on the strategies and challenges of assessment for learning practices. To meet this objective, participants were selected through the cluster random sampling technique for a questionnaire survey (n=180) from all levels of general education (i.e., grades one to twelve). Twelve (12) teachers for an in-depth interview and four (4) teachers for an informal conversation were also selected through cluster random sampling and ,. The data acquired through the closed-ended items of the questionnaire was analyzed by a one-sample t-test while the data obtained through an open-ended items of the questionnaire; interviews, and informal conversation were analyzed qualitatively through verbal descriptions. The results from a closed-ended questionnaire show that teachers practice of assessment for learning strategies in the classrooms. Conversely, the data from the open-ended questionnaire shows that most of the teachers' relied on the assessment of learning. Besides, their awareness of assessment for learning strategies was found limited. Moreover, lack of transparency, lack of knowledge and experience, school administrative problems, lack of training, and reliance on assessment preference are the challenges that teachers faced while attempting to implement assessment for learning strategies. Based on the findings, recommendations were also forwarded.

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