Methodologies and tools for the video analysis of formative assessment practices in the classroom (with students aged from 11 to 16)

The paper presents a systematic observational research on the assessment of teachers’ practices in classroom. The research is a specific phase of an international project (FAMT&L - Comenius Multilateral Project) and it is aimed to promote the use of formative assessment in teaching mathematics to students aged from 11 to 16. The observational study is carried out by a plan of systematic observations of teachers' behaviour in classroom with the help of video recording. Through a specific tool of video analysis (a structured grid), developed starting from international debate and many experiences of in-service teacher training in the five Partner countries involved (Italy, France, Holland, Switzerland and Cyprus), we gathered many different indicators on good and bad practices for the formative assessment of mathematics teachers. The analysis conducted on the videos will get useful to design the in-service teacher training courses in order to promote a correct use of formative assessment in classroom and to improve students’ achievements in learning mathematics.