Articles written by

Michael A. Buhagiar

Volume 1-Issue 1: February 2003

The Setting Up of the University of Malta Junior College: Origins, Motives and Polemics

The Junior College of the University of Malta is the foremost sixth form institution on the Island. Specifically set up in 1995 to initiate students upon completion of their secondary schooling in methods of study appropriate to tertiary education, the College was born out of a generally recognised need to reform the local pre-university sector. However, although most people agreed on the existence of a general malaise suffocating this sector, not everyone concurred that a sixth form college administered by the University would provide the necessary cure. The present paper, which focuses primarily on the setting up of the College, sets out to trace its short yet colourful story. Right from its inception to the present days, the College’s existence has been shrouded in much bickering and polemics. Now is probably the time to take a less emotive look at these past and present events, and to plan ahead.
53 min read
Volume 4-Issue 2: December 2006

The classroom assessment cycle within the alternative assessment paradigm: exploring the role of the teacher

This review paper explores the role of the teacher in classroom assessment within the parameters set by the demands and expectations of the new, alternative assessment paradigm. After briefly outlining the underlying philosophy of this new paradigm, classroom assessment is presented as a cycle of four interrelated phases – namely, ‘planning the activity’, ‘gathering the evidence’, ‘interpreting the evidence’ and ‘using the evidence’. Within each phase, teachers’ classroom assessment practices are discussed in relation to how these compare with what is needed in order to bring assessment at the service of learning, which lies at the heart of our new understanding of assessment. The realisation that, generally speaking, teachers’ assessment practices remain firmly anchored to the traditional assessment theories and policies sends a clear signal that something needs to be done unless we want to risk reversing, with grave consequences for learning, the whole assessment reform process.
46 min read
Volume 12-Issue 1: June 2018

The Mathematics Teacher who became a Promoter of Inquiry-Based Learning: A Story of Teacher Change

This paper presents the story of John, a mathematics teacher, who embraced ‘change’ at a rather advanced stage of his teaching career. As part of this development, he managed to transform his largely traditional practices to practices that advance inquiry-based learning, a pedagogical approach that is aligned to the reform visions for mathematics teaching and learning. Moreover, John is now also committed to promote this ‘new’ approach among other mathematics teachers. Drawing on narrative research, his case was studied to shed insights on what facilitates or hinders teacher learning and change. The narrative was co-constructed between John and the author in the form of a ‘conversation’ that originated from a number of Messenger chats on Facebook. The thematic analysis of the data revealed four distinct phases, so far, in John’s journey towards becoming a teacher. The journey through these phases is of particular interest to anyone concerned about the impact that different teacher education initiatives have on teacher learning and change. Overall, John’s story suggests that teacher change, while possibly not linear and enduring, can happen and appears to be facilitated by certain factors. These include willingness and capacity on teacher’s part to change, the availability of opportunity to change, the development of a professional learning community, and the presence of someone at school who is capable and willing to lead and support teacher learning among colleagues.