Abstract
Although research shows that the integration of information and communication technologies (ICT) into education (ICTE) can help to renew teachers' teaching practices, they do not necessarily do so automatically and spontaneously. The process of development and implementation of ICT in education should include a fundamental reflection on pedagogical approaches in order to understand their place in teaching and learning practice. The ICT should be used for the service of the pedagogy. In this optic, the idea developed in this chapter is to present the micro-macro assessment (MMA) approach based on a reflection on the main pedagogical approaches which influenced pedagogical practices at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century objectives-based approach and competencies-based approach. The MMA approach for assessment is adopted in a diagnosis e-learning system and experimented with learners of middle school education. The experience has given positive and promising results in the improvement of teaching and learning practices.
TopIntroduction
Nowadays, assessment is omnipresent in teaching practices. Educational actors often talk about a teaching-assessment-learning process, meaning that it is almost impossible to teach effectively and to allow learners to learn if the assessment does not accompany the process (Gérard, 2011, 2013).
Nevertheless, assessment should be placed in its proper place, and it is a precious tool to help and support learning. Assessment is an essential lever for the teaching-learning process. It has several functions and it comes in several forms (Hrich et al., 2020).
Despite this determining role of assessment, it should be noted that:
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In the majority of learning systems, the functionalities associated with the assessment of learning are too limited: teachers, in classrooms, are restricted by a curriculum and a large number of learners, so they cannot determine and respond to the specific needs of each learner. Thus, the assessment process will not yield the expected results, and it may even hurt the teaching-learning process.
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Currently, several kinds of research on the e-learning domain trend toward the personalization and the adaptation of the learning according to different approaches that make learners in the center of the learning process by taking into account its preferences, objectives, learning styles, knowledge level, etc. Among the inherent importance of these works, in this chapter, we want to emphasize the assessment activity within the e-learning process. We want to focus on this action and see how it can help to improve the learning process for all the participants: learners, teachers, content designers, etc.
To provide an assessment that improves the learning process by offering an effective diagnosis, identifying learning difficulties, we present in this chapter:
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An overview of pedagogical approaches that influenced practices at the end of the twentieth and the beginning of the twenty-first century.
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Needs and requirements for assessment in the e-learning domain.
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The Micro-Macro Assessment (MMA) approach based on the integration of different pedagogical approaches and which best specify the cognitive state of the learners. And aims to effectively diagnose learners’ needs and to use this information to offer them an appropriate adaptation.
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The Multiagent Pedagogical Support System (MaPSS) an intelligent architecture based on the MMA approach, its perspectives, and its uses.
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Experimentation of MaPSS with learners of middle school.
Pedagogical Practices
Several kinds of research show that Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) can contribute to the renewal of teachers' pedagogical practices, they do not necessarily do it automatically and spontaneously. The process of developing and implementing ICT in education should include a fundamental reflection on pedagogical approaches to understanding their place in teaching and learning practice. In this perspective, this section presents briefly the main pedagogical approaches that influenced pedagogical practices at the end of the twentieth and beginning of the twenty-first century.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Competency-Based Approach: An approach that allows learners to advance based on their ability to master a skill or competency at their own pace regardless of environment. This approach is tailored to meet different learning abilities and can lead to more efficient learner outcomes.
Zone of Proximal Development: Introduced by the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky, refers to the difference between what a child can achieve on their own and what they can achieve with help.
Objective-Based Approach: It consists of defining a task to be learned and breaking it down into sub-tasks and capacities to be implemented or acquired in order to master it well.
ICT: Stands for information and communication technologies. ICT is the technology used to process and transmit information.
Cognitive Level: Learner’s level of knowledge.
Pedagogy of Integration: Is a pedagogy that tries to operationalize the competence-based approach.
Adaptation: Could be defined as the activity which consists, for teachers, of providing learners with educational content that meets their needs.
Assessment Process: Is the process of gathering a set of relevant, valid, and reliable information, and then examining the degree of adequacy between those information and a set of suitably selected criteria for decision-making.