Developing the Novice Teacher Evaluation Competence: The Challenge of Online Training

This study aims at describing how the provision of teaching in the evaluation area was adapted online during the emergency period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, at two universities – University of Bergamo (Italy) and Federal University of Kazan (Russia). The questions of investigation are: 1. what evaluation concepts and key principles do student teachers possess? 2. Have student teachers been able to design assessment tools? 3. Did the online adaptation of the courses have a relation with knowledge and skills of student teachers? The triangulation of methods in adult distance learning has been the methodological basis of the study. Referring to the Kirkpatrick model, adapted to the e-learning criteria, attention was focused on level of student’s learnings – knowledge (1) and ability (2) - with reference to two courses involved. The analysis highlighted that the adaptation of university training courses for future teachers, in the area of evaluation, had in general a considerable impact. The instructional articulation and the offer of multiple online resources by the university courses involved had mainly a relation on the student teacher’s skills (2): the high average to the assessment tools infers the preparation and commitment of students by the means of online resources. The effect on knowledge (1), on the other hand, was diversified: greater on operational and didactic aspects, less on conceptual and personal aspects - where personal beliefs and sometimes misconceptions prevail. Further in-depth analysis will detect the impact of each resource on the skills trained.