Members from the Faculty of Education, MATSEC, and the Access Disability Support Unit (ADSU) attended the 25th annual conference of the Association for Educational Assessment – Europe, held between 6 and 9 November 2024 in Paphos, Cyprus.
This year, the conference theme focused on advances in educational assessment practices with a special emphasis on alternative assessment strategies that utilise technology, Artificial Intelligence and process data. The Maltese participants made significant contributions by chairing sessions and discussion groups and presenting recent research from the Maltese context.
Participants from the Faculty of Education focused on the assessment of the Teaching Practicum (TP).
In their presentation Prof. Deborah Chetcuti and Prof. Michael Buhagiar explored the reactions of student teachers to the introduction of grades and marks in the TP assessment and how this shaped the assessment identify of TP assessors, while Prof. Josephine Milton and Dr Josephine Deguara presented their research on the insights of TP examiners as they negotiated the transition from in-person assessment practices to remote evaluation methods during the COVID-19 pandemic.
MATSEC, led by Mr Dario Pirotta, together with Mr Francois Zammit, Mr Malcolm Micallef, Ms Analise Grixti and Mr John Muscat discussed the role of technology adoption in the production and delivery of national assessments in the context of the current syllabi. This presentation was based on research they conducted on attitudes, opportunities and threats on the use of a diversity of technologies for assessment purposes.
The use of technology in the Maltese National Examination systems was further explored in a second paper by Dr Edward Mazzacano D’Amato and Ms Ramona Vella Vidal from the ADSU and Mr Dario Pirotta. This presentation focused on the different challenges that need to be addressed for Assistive Technology to be a relevant and effective tool for access. Mr Gilbert John Zahra presented a final paper on the use of ChatGPT for help with crunching and analysing large data.
The conference brought together the local presenters together with many international academics, policy makers and practitioners all working together to improve assessment practices by linking theoretical research with the practical application of new assessment strategies. The Maltese participants were able to attend insightful presentations, engage in dynamic discussions and network with both experienced as well as early assessment researchers and educators, providing collaborative opportunities that hopefully will extend beyond the conference itself.
