Abstract
Teacher education programs have been continuously explored on various aspects; many challenges remain when it comes to the effective preparation of pre-service teachers in meeting the needs of Generation Z students, primarily in terms of teaching and assessment. With a new generation of students entering our educational institutions, one that has grown up with information and communication technology (ICT) as an everyday aspect of their lives and is tech-savvy, we need a robust teacher education system to ensure that the Generation Zers' needs in terms of teaching and assessment are met. This chapter focuses on the importance of teacher education programs in preparing competent pre-service teachers who are assessment literate and can confidently administer digital-based assessments.
TopIntroduction
The digital era is presently perceived as a second revolution in the field of education (Collins & Halverson, 2010). Current educators are mindful that today's children make extensive use of cutting-edge technology developments and are being referred to as ‘Digital Natives’, Generation Z or the ‘Net Generation’ (An & Reigeluth, 2011). With a new generation of students infiltrating our educational institutions, one that has grown up with information and communication technology (ICT) as an everyday aspect of their lives and are tech-savvy, we need a robust teacher education system to ensure that the needs of the Generation Zers are met in terms of teaching and assessment. Apparently, these young children's usage of ICTs distinguishes them from the prior eras of students and educators, who were ‘digital immigrants’, and that the differences are so profound that the structure of education and teacher education itself must fundamentally change to suit these 'digital natives' talents and interests (Prensky, 2001). With this rapid invasion of Generation Zers in our schools, teacher education institutions must re-evaluate their education methodologies, and targeted teaching-learning design techniques and approaches must be implemented. Teacher educators should use active teaching-learning design methodologies, incorporate engaging technologies into class, and provide students with a concise, rapid response, experiential learning, and frequent interactions. With assessment as an essential pillar of the learning process, assessing, recording, and tracking Generations Zers educational growth and development via their digital footprints has become one of the most daunting tasks for teachers. According to Chilliers (2017), Generation Z students believe they understand technology better than their teachers. This unusual viewpoint that children are more knowledgeable than their elders has never been observed before. A paradigm transition of this extent, in which students are more knowledgeable than their parents and grandparents, is something that community and educational leaders must comprehend immediately as they plan for future learning contexts.
This chapter opts to discuss the need for teacher education programs to prepare competent pre-service teachers who are assessment literate and can confidently carry out digital based assessments, which may also be referred to as ‘e-assessment’, ‘on-screen assessment’, ‘computer-based testing’, ‘computer-assisted or aided assessment’, ‘technology-enhanced’ and ‘technology-enabled assessment for the Generation Zers. Teacher education institutions need to produce quality teachers and quality can only be portrayed by the competency of the teachers who are produced by these institutions. The competency of such teachers would be reflected in their content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK).
One of the major impediments of traditional teaching and learning activities is assessment, which takes a long time and provides feedback to students when they no longer have the opportunity to develop in the course. Assessment typically necessitates a thorough examination of the entire learning process; however, with the advancement of technology, learning analytics are now highly beneficial in the digital learning environment, as they collect data automatically, evaluate it, and provide a vital report to teachers and learners for improvement (Rossano, Pesare., & Roselli, 2017). Hence, pre-service teachers need to be prepared so that they can keep abreast with these developments, and it is critical to integrate teaching and learning experiences with the needs of students (Horst et. al., 2008). These developments require educators to make judgments about instructional approaches in tandem with the use of technology to have the most influence on deeper learning environments (Fullan & Donnelly, 2013). Teacher education program need to inculcate the TPACK framework to instruct, guide and assess students toward a better, more robust understanding of the subject matter.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Pre-Service Teachers: Also known as teacher candidates, this term is used to describe student teachers who are enrolled in a teacher education program and working toward teacher certification. They complete supervised field-based teaching experiences with the support and mentorship of university faculty and K-12 cooperating teachers. These are students trained from higher education institutions to become professional teachers. who have little to no experience teaching in the classroom.
Technological Pedagogical Content and Knowledge (TPACK): Is an understanding that emerges from interactions among content, pedagogy, and technology knowledge. It is the basis of effective teaching with technology, requiring an understanding of the representation of concepts using technologies, pedagogical techniques that use technologies in constructive ways to teach content; knowledge of what makes concepts difficult or easy to learn and how technology can assist redress some of the problems students face; knowledge of students’ prior knowledge and theories of epistemology; and knowledge of how technologies can be used to build on existing knowledge to develop new epistemologies or strengthen old ones.
Generation Z: Refers to the generation that was born from 1996 and this generation has been raised on the internet and social media, with some the oldest finishing college by 2020 and entering the workforce.
Assessment: Activities used for identifying students' learning difficulties, holding them accountable for their learning, improving teaching, holding schools and educators accountable, and improving students' learning.
Assessment Literacy: The knowledge and skills associated with designing, selecting, interpreting, and using high-quality assessments to improve student learning and to serve other important educational and policy purposes.
Teacher Education: Teacher education is an important training program in any educational setup. It deals with procedures, provisions, and policies, to make candidates learn and gain knowledge about various concepts. They get trained to equip themselves with the best teaching skills, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors which are required to perform effectively in any learning environment like a classroom or school. A program of education, research, and training of persons to teach from pre-primary to higher education level. Teacher education is a program that is related to the development of teacher proficiency and competence that would enable and empower the teacher to meet the requirements of the profession and face the challenges therein.
Digital-Based Assessment: A method used to evaluate students’ cognitive ability and performance primarily by accessing personalized education, examination materials, and feedback anytime and anywhere, all of which are said to make it more efficient than the traditional assessment.