Examining the Experiences of Visual Arts Teacher Candidates in Developing Digital Assessment Tools

Abstract

The integration of digital assessment tools into the educational process emphasized the significance of assessing the knowledge and skills of teachers and teacher candidates in designing, utilizing, and benefiting from these tools. Therefore, it is very important to analyze the competencies of final-year teacher candidates who will serve as teachers in visual arts education, an essential area within education. This study aims to reveal the experiences of senior visual arts teacher candidates in designing digital assessment tools. Designed as a case study, which is one of the qualitative research methods, the present study employs a single-case design. Participants were selected through criterion sampling, a purposive sampling method. The criteria for participation included being a senior undergraduate student, volunteering to participate, and having completed the courses “Visual Arts Education Programs”, “Material Design in Visual Arts Teaching”, and “Assessment and Evaluation in Education” within their degree program. This study was carried out with 26 visual arts teacher candidates (21 female and 5 male) studying in the Department of Art Education at a state university in Türkiye. Data collection was performed using digital assessment tools designed by the participants, besides the structured interview forms. Before the application, participants received an introductory briefing on the identified digital assessment tools and their integration into visual arts education, based on a review of the literature. Participants were given the freedom to choose the digital platform they would use and were tasked with designing a digital assessment tool. After a three-week preparation period, the visual arts teacher candidates who had designed digital assessment tools were asked, “Would you use digital assessment tools in Visual Arts lessons when you become a teacher? Why?” The collected data were categorized under specific themes and subcodes, with participants coded as K1, K2, K3, …. Data analysis was conducted using the qualitative data analysis software MAXQDA, resulting in tabular, visual, and descriptive interpretations. It was observed that participants designed digital assessment tools aligned with the learning areas and achievements of the Visual Arts Course Curriculum. It was found that participants predominantly preferred 5th-grade middle school level in their digital assessment tool designs. Among the learning areas in the Visual Arts Course Curriculum, the most frequently addressed achievements were related to “Cultural Heritage”, and the Wordwall digital platform was the most commonly utilized tool. Grouping was the preferred question type for the assessment tools. All participating visual arts teacher candidates expressed their intention to use digital assessment tools as teachers but noted facing challenges due to a lack of technical knowledge during the preparation process. This research highlights the need for similar studies involving larger groups and deeper investigations. Accordingly, the present study recommends conducting long-term studies to monitor the development of a higher number of participants, investigating the challenges visual arts teacher candidates face in technology usage, and exploring additional digital application examples for use in visual arts education.