Culture of learning: a self-study

The purpose of this self-study was for the researcher to discover how beliefs about learning impact how assessment for learning practices are implemented in a classroom. In seeking to inform the study and her practice, the researcher examined the literature in the areas of assessment for learning, growth mindset and language through the lens of her research question: As a classroom teacher, how do my conversations about assessment and the assessment tools that I use reflect my beliefs about assessment for learning and growth mindset? The researcher’s sources of data were her researcher journal reflections, self-designed assessment tools and audio recordings of classroom talk. The analysis of this data resulted in three themes: accountability of students, mistake making and the student-teacher learning relationship. The researcher concluded there were three insights into these themes: the spirit of assessment for learning requires belief and practice to be aligned, classroom decisions around assessment need to be based on student best interests and teachers need to be intentional and explicit about their actions and classroom practices.