Abstract
This paper presents research that examined teacher talk about moderation of English, mathematics and science assessment across Years 4, 6 and 8 as part of a broader inquiry into the use of scaled exemplars to support consistency of teacher judgement. The paper draws on Dorothy E Smith’s sociological work, including the process of mapping textual connections to research everyday practices. We illustrate how moderation activities were shaped by systemic policy and related documents. We further illustrate how teachers used artefacts that they were created as part of the research project to leverage the value of moderation discussions. In the project, teachers generated artefacts that were written commentaries or texts explicating their judgement decisions (cognitive commentaries). Our analysis demonstrates how teachers then took these cognitive commentaries and independently embedded them into their everyday work. Teachers described how they used the artefacts in their moderation discussions as a means of improving their own practice, as well as their students’ learning. We argue that when teachers are provided with the time and space to share their assessment and pedagogic knowledge and practice with school colleagues, including via cognitive commentaries, they are able to expand their field of professional impact and build their professional knowledge and practice.
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Data availability
Data are available on request from the corresponding author. Materials may be accessed at https://onlinemoderation.com.au/.
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Acknowledgements
Our sincere gratitude goes to the teachers in Queensland who contributed work samples, their time and expertise in this research project. We also acknowledge the contribution to the outcomes of this research by project team members including Stephen Humphry, David Andrich and Terry Gallagher.
Funding
This research was partially funded by an Australian Research Council Linkage Project (ARC LP180100046). We acknowledge the funding received for this project from the Australian Research Council, Australian Catholic University, University of Western Australia and Partner Organisations: the Queensland Department of Education, Western Australian School Curriculum and Standards Authority, and Catholic Education Western Australia Limited.
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LA, CW-S and CD contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by LA and JG. The first draft of the manuscript was written by LA and JG and all authors commented on the previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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The authors have no relevant personal, financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
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This study was approved by the Human Research Ethics committee of the Australian Catholic University (Ethics Approval Number: 2019-11H), the University of Western Australia (Ethics Approval Number: 2020/ET000346) and partner organisation, Queensland Department of Education (Ethics Approval Number: 550/27/2169).
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Adie, L., Gallagher, J., Wyatt-Smith, C. et al. Mediating teachers’ assessment work. Aust. Educ. Res. 51, 1979–1999 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00675-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-023-00675-z