Faculty training in learning assessment

Experiences and critical reflections

Abstract

In Italy, due also to the actions of the National Agency for the Evaluation of the University System (ANVUR), faculty development programs have been developed in several universities; they frequently include teachers’ training in learning assessment. Often, this training seeks to foster new assessment tools more aligned with the learning outcomes stated in university course programs (Syllabi).

This contribution aims to critically analyze Italian universities’ most common evaluation models, which significantly affect future schoolteachers’ evaluation practices and, generally, other professionals’ practices. Concurrently, we seek to critically analyze a few experiences of university training in assessment, as documented in the Italian literature. We aim to understand whether faculty development tends to confirm the old models of evaluation, even when proposing new assessment tools, or whether faculty development is pushing teachers toward new ways of thinking about evaluation, aimed at supporting and promoting learning and participation.