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THE 34th Association for Educational Assessment in Africa (AEAA) annual conference kicked off here yesterday amid calls to embrace modern ways of learning and assessing academic progress.
The five-day conference brings together experts and professionals from Africa and beyond.
Officially opening the conference, Primary and Secondary Education Minister Dr Lazarus Dokora said there is need for a paradigm shift to teaching.
“We are also embracing a new paradigm of assessment as learning, which is an assessment process, which occurs when learners get involved in tasks and activities, reflecting and monitoring their progress to inform their ongoing learning goals,” said Dr Dokora.
He said it was imperative that assessment approaches are tailored to produce learners who are equipped with knowledge and skills which are relevant for socio-economic development and necessary for survival in the 21st century.
AEAA seeks to enhance the quality of education on the continent through the use of best assessment practices in line with its strategic plan running from this year to 2020.
He said the education system should be used as a platform for effectively educating the country’s citizens to become part of the human resources capital needed by commerce, industry and society at large. Continuous assessment is a fairly holistic form of assessment in which learners take an active role in the learning process and are assessed on all their abilities, skills and behaviours, in other words, all their competencies.
Dr Dokora said the conference was an opportunity for Zimbabwe to fine-tune its new curriculum, currently being finalised.
Online Reporter