Employing learning-oriented assessment to develop early childhood preservice teachers’ interaction skills

ABSTRACT

This case study intended to investigate how early childhood preservice teachers' interaction skills were improved throughout teaching practice within the framework of learning-oriented assessment. The data of the study were collected from 17 preservice teachers in early childhood education. Observation notes and reflective journals were used as data collection tools. The vertical analysis procedure was used in the qualitative data analysis process. It was found that more child-centered practices, small group implementations, interaction during free play, and effective feedback and questioning were among the effective strategies used by the preservice teachers to support in-class interaction. In this study, the learning-oriented assessment was discussed by emphasizing its contributions to professional learning during teacher education.

KEYWORDS:

• learning-oriented assessment
• interaction
• teaching practice
• professional learning
• early childhood teacher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.