, from the , of the , presented a paper at the 24th Annual Conference of the Association for Educational Assessment (AEA) Europe, that was held on Wednesday 1 November to Friday 3 November November 2023.
The paper was titled: ‘Assessment and Learning during Covid-19 times: Perspectives and Experiences of University Students in Initial Teacher Education in Malta’. Other members of the (ECPE) Research Group, , , and were also involved in the study.
The study drew on a larger study the ECPE Research Group had carried out with university students in Initial Techer Education. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education worldwide and Higher Education was no exception. The paper explored how early childhood and primary education student teachers in Malta experienced learning and assessment during the pandemic through an online survey. The study explored the modes of teaching and learning student teachers prefer, whether they felt engaged in their learning, and how they were assessed on their course work. Participants were asked whether they experienced a teaching practice placement, how this was assessed and whether they felt supported in their learning. They were also asked whether they would prefer to retain a blended mode in a post-pandemic era.
Results indicate that student teachers experienced various modes of teaching, learning and assessment for their course work and field-practice. Over one third of respondents indicated that they were not given the opportunity to carry out field placement observations. Most of the respondents (67%) prefer retaining a blended approach to teaching and learning, as opposed to exclusively online (33%) or exclusively face-to-face provision (22%) of learning and assessment. Thus, online and blended learning and assessment modes have garnered a positive response, and most participants would like some elements retained in post-pandemic times.
