Impact of COVID-19 on Teachers' Assessment Practices With Learners in Inclusive Foundation Phase Classrooms: Wider Changes and Continuities

2. Literature On The Impact Of Covid-19 On Foundation Phase Formative Assessment

This section provides a bird’s-eye view of the literature on the impact of COVID-19 on foundation phase formative assessment as it relates to South Africa. The discussion will begin with a general discussion of formative assessment and then move to discussing formative assessment for the foundation phase specifically. Rosenshine (2012) recounts within his principles of instruction, that checking and assessing learner understanding is a key element of the learning process. As a result, learners absorb and understand new learning and subsequently transfer it into their long-term memory. Menéndez, Napa, Moreira and Zambrano (2019) report that in addition to forming an essential part of the learning process, the evaluation of learners should be conducted at regular points within the classroom so that teachers can enhance and better the quality of education being delivered to learners. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2005) further supports this with the idea that for this evaluation to be worthwhile, there should be regular collaborative assessments of learners’ knowledge and comprehension to enable teachers to adapt lessons to the learning requirements of learners. This is in line with Wiliam’s (2006) theory of formative assessment where information from classroom assessments is utilised to inform and plan for future learning.