From digital tools to digital assessment literacy: Exploring pre-service EFL teachers’ experiences with technology-mediated self-assessment

Abstract

Digital quiz platforms are now widely used in English classrooms. However, their effectiveness depends on the design and the use by teachers. Little is known about how trainee teachers cope with this aspect in their practicum. The study explored the use of online resources for student self-assessment by pre-service English as a foreign language teachers, their perceptions of the practice, and the implications of their narratives and lesson plans for their ability to design digital assessments that are valid, reliable and aligned with educational objectives. We used a qualitative case study method to interview six pre-service educators from one teacher-training program in Indonesia and analyzed their lesson plans. Our analysis drew on a recent review of technology-enhanced self-assessment. The immediate feedback and enthusiasm were perceived as benefits but depended on students’ accessibility, capability and educator assistance. Self-assessment was largely automated binary evaluations or quizzes led by instructors, with no clear criteria for students to grade their own performance, and the formats were unsuitable for assessing oral or written skills. Participants described ways to deal with cheating and connectivity issues, though these were rarely noted in their lesson plans and some of the tools and activities that they mentioned were missing from the plans. These results indicate that the participants’ abilities were more present in the self-reported classroom management than in the recorded design. However, the data cannot show what actually happened within classrooms or what kind of knowledge the students gained. The research differentiates automated verification from self-evaluation, and emphasizes the need to compare the practices that are documented with the materials used for planning. We propose teacher training that includes exercises in matching tasks to language competencies, planning for accessibility and contingencies, managing artificial intelligence in assessments, communicating criteria to students and performing reflective debriefing.