Theorising Mathematics Education

**127**

**Chapter 9**

**Abstract**

*Benard Chigonga*

Formative Assessment in

Twenty-First Century

connections between concepts explicitly.

concept mapping, instructional tool

**1. Introduction**

Mathematics Education in the

**Keywords:** assessment, formative assessment, summative assessment,

Assessment does not always have to involve paper and pencil but can instead be a project, an observation, or a task that shows a student has acquired the concept and can make sound connections and linkages with other related concepts. Learning is meaningful when the student comprehends the relationship of what is being learned to other knowledge. Furthermore, concept map measures aspects of learning, which conventional tests cannot measure such as students' misconceptions. As such, the chapter shall focus on formative assessment in mathematics classroom mediated by a method of teaching (concept mapping) that promotes critical thinking, which assists teachers to teach and assess students' understanding and make

In mathematics education, focus is on the interactions among the three components of an instructional unit, the teacher, material, and students. In other words, the capacity to deliver quality instruction depends not only on the individual teacher's intellectual and personal resources but also on his or her interaction with specific groups of students and materials. According to [1], all curricula exist to provide the basis for effective instruction, that is, instruction that maximizes learning. Effective instruction is a result of proper and extensive planning. Planning starts with organizing material from the mathematics content. After deciding what material will be used, the next step is sequencing that material in the way students will experience it [1]. If instruction requires all three components (the teacher, students, and materials), then the capacity to produce worthwhile learning must also be a function of the interactions among these three components. Students bring experience, prior knowledge, and habit of mind, and these influence how they apprehend, interpret, and respond to materials and teachers. Teacher's awareness of students' "capabilities, needs, and past experiences" and the ability to use this information to "create a learning situation in which students can meet their needs or solve a problem in an autonomous and independent way" is therefore important. Assessment is the process of gathering information so as to monitor students' prior knowledge and progress and make sound instructional decisions.
