Browsing by Subject "Assessment"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Open Access
Assessment of strategy formulation: how to ensure quality in process and outcome
(Emerald Publishing, 2006) Acur, N.; Englyst, L.
Purpose - Today, industrial firms need to cope with competitive challenges related to innovation, dynamic responses, knowledge sharing, etc. by means of effective and dynamic strategy formulation. In light of these challenges, the purpose of the paper is to present and evaluate an assessment tool for strategy formulation processes that ensures high quality in process and outcome. Design/methodology/approach - A literature review was conducted to identify success criteria for strategy formulation processes. Then, a simple questionnaire and assessment tool was developed and used to test the validity of the success criteria through face-to-face interviews with 46 managers, workshops involving 40 managers, and two in-depth case studies. The success criteria have been slightly modified due to the empirical results, to yield the assessment tool. Findings - The resulting assessment tool integrates three generic approaches to strategy assessment, namely the goal-centred, comparative and improvement approaches, as found in the literature. Furthermore, it encompasses three phases of strategy formulation processes: strategic thinking, strategic planning and embedding of strategy. The tool reflects that the different approaches to assessment are relevant in all phases of strategy formulation, but weighted differently. Managerial perceptions expressed in particular that learning from experience should be accommodated in strategic thinking. The strategic planning stage is mainly assessed based on the goal-centred approach, but cases and managerial perceptions indicate that the need for accurate and detailed plans might be overrated in the literature, as implementation relies heavily on continuous improvement and empowerment. Concerning embedding, key aspects relate both to the goal-centred and improvement approaches, while the comparative approach appears to play a more modest role, related to monitoring external changes and enabling the organization to respond adaptively. Research limitations/implications - The proposed assessment tool is general in the sense that it does not take into account relationships between the strategic context and the assessment of strategy formulation processes. The investigated cases indicate that contingencies matter, and call for further investigation of particular applications. The present research maintained a focus on formal and relatively top-down-oriented strategy formulation processes. Practical implications - The integration of three different strategy assessment approaches has been made to obtain a holistic, multi-perspective reflection on strategy formulation. Such reflection is assumed to enable managers to proactively evaluate the potential outcome and performance of their chosen strategy. Originality/value - The originality of the paper lies in the combination and compilation of multiple approaches to strategy assessment, which draws on a wide range of literature, and in the proactive perspective on strategy assessment. Furthermore, the validity of the proposed assessment tool or checklist is based on multiple sources of empirical evidence.
Open Access
The effectiveness of predict-observe-explain technique in probing students' understanding about acid-base chemistry: a case for the concepts of pH, pOH and strength
(Springer Netherlands, 2013-06) Kala, N.; Yaman, F.; Ayas, A.
The present study describes high school students’ conceptions about acids and bases in terms of pH, pOH, microscopic level, strength, and concentration. A total of 27 high school students participated in the study. The data was collected using 3 POE tasks and a semi-structured interview. The data analysis demonstrated that most of the students had poor understanding related to a drawing of weak and strong acids. In addition, the findings revealed that the POE’s were effective in terms of gathering students’ predictions and reasons for the prediction of outcomes in an open-ended format. The POE tasks also revealed that some of the students had misconceptions regarding pH and pOH. The students believed that pH was a measurement of the acidity, while pOH was a measurement of the basicity. The findings obtained have certain implications for the secondary chemistry program.
Open Access
Formative assessment practices and perceptions of English language preparatory school instructors at tertiary level
(2024-01) Ercazip, Damla Sena
This mixed-method explanatory case study investigated the formative assessment practices and perceptions of in-service English language preparatory school instructors in relation to student monitoring and student scaffolding at the tertiary level. The study also explored how these practices vary depending on instructors’ years of experience, degree, and additional assessment training. To this end, 30 in-service instructors completed a questionnaire to obtain the quantitative data in this study. The follow-up semi-structured interviews provided the qualitative data with eight voluntary instructors. The results of the study showed that formative assessment practices are being implemented by English language instructors mainly to monitor student progress, help students internalize the learning process, and encourage student involvement with the help of feedback while creating an interactive classroom culture by using various approaches and methods in teaching. It was also found that instructors’ years of experience, degree, and assessment practices did not create any significant difference in monitoring students; however, in terms of scaffolding, instructors without additional assessment training chose to implement scaffolding practices more than instructors who have training.
Open Access
Framing the work: A coparenting model for guiding infant mental health engagement with families
(Wiley, 2023-08-22) McHale, James; Tissot, Herve; Mazzoni, Silvia; Hedenbro, Monica; Salman-Engin, Selin; Philipp, Diane A.; Darwiche, Joëlle; Keren, Miri; Collins, Russia; Coates, Erica; Mensi, Martina; Corboz-Warnery, Antoinette; Fivaz-Depeursinge, Elisabeth
When working with families of infants and toddlers, intentionally looking beyond dyadic child-parent relationship functioning to conceptualize the child's socioemotional adaptation within their broader family collective can enhance the likelihood that clinical gains will be supported and sustained. However, there has been little expert guidance regarding how best to frame infant-family mental health therapeutic encounters for the adults responsible for the child's care and upbringing in a manner that elevates their mindfulness about and their resolve to strengthen the impact of their coparenting collective. This article describes a new collaborative initiative organized by family-oriented infant mental health professionals across several different countries, all of whom bring expansive expertise assessing and working with coparenting and triangular family dynamics. The Collaborative's aims are to identify a means for framing initial infant mental health encounters and intakes with families with the goal of assessing and raising family consciousness about the relevance of coparenting. Initial points of convergence and growing points identified by the Collaborative for subsequent field study are addressed.
Open Access
Portfolio implementation at Turkish university preparatory schools, and teachers' perceptions of portfolios and problems experienced with portfolio use
(2009) Kılıç, Emine
This study seeks to investigate portfolio implementation at Turkish university preparatory schools and the reported aims of portfolio use as targeted by these schools. The study further examines teachers‟ perceptions of portfolio use, specifically, the problems they experience with portfolio use, possible sources of these problems and their suggestions on how portfolio use can be improved. The study was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, data on portfolio use and aims of its use were collected through a questionnaire administered at seven university preparatory schools. In the second phase, data on teachers‟ perceptions were gathered through a second questionnaire administered to 126 teachers at five of the seven preparatory schools. The results reached in the first phase of the study revealed that portfolios are mainly used for the writing component of the preparatory programs. The analyses of the data also revealed that certain key features of portfolios, such as student participation in the selection of portfolio content, self assessment, and student reflection, are not generally included in portfolios at preparatory programs. Regarding the aims of portfolio use targeted by schools, the results indicate that in order to achieve the intended aims, the missing key elements of portfolios should be included. The results reached in the second phase of the study indicate that teachers perceive portfolios as an appropriate tool for assessment purposes. When the results regarding teachers‟ experiences with portfolio use are examined, the outcomes indicate that the problems experienced with portfolio use are in large part felt to be related to students‟ attitudes towards portfolios, which are themselves caused by students‟ study habits and previous educational backgrounds. It was also revealed that problems related to portfolio entries and institutional practices create some challenges in portfolio implementation at schools.
Open Access
Predicting middle school students’ mathematics achievement using decision trees
(2023-09) Yeter, Buse
In today's world, it is crucial to raise individuals who can think critically and flexibly, see things from a variety of perspectives, and develop creative solutions to common challenges in many countries including Türkiye. One of the ways to attain this purpose is to provide qualified mathematics education. During this qualified education determining the extent to which students meet the program goals is an important and fundamental part of the process of educating the individuals. Education should be provided in accordance with the requirements of the age using a curriculum with qualified measurement, assessment, and evaluation practices. This study aims to predict middle school students’ achievement at four grade levels in mathematics at the end of the semester utilized as a predictor measurement and assessment approach. Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detection (CHAID), a decision tree analysis, was used to examine the importance of exams, quizzes, homework, and teacher observation in predicting the end-of-semester achievements. As a result of the study, when the first semester is examined in general, quizzes are mostly determined as the best predictor of student success, while exams are generally for the second semester. Implications for teachers and students are stated.