Pedagogical training of professors and assessment of learning at university: contributions of action research

Abstract

This paper aims to discuss pedagogical training at the university, mediated by action research, and its repercussions on the constitution of knowledge about evaluative practices of formative conception. The absence of pedagogical training to overcome the traditional empiricism that marks the teaching practice in higher education is problematized, especially in the dimension of learning assessment. Action research is advocated in the university teachers' training process, considering its methodological potential for problematizing and collective action, consciously and critically committed to improving pedagogical practice and student learning. Qualitative data from the action research developed with professors from the Universidade Tuiuti do Paraná and its reflexes in the learning evaluation practices are presented. This formative process reflected contributions to the professional development of teachers, to reflect and transform their evaluative practices, recognizing their formative and democratizing role, that is, it supported theoretical-methodological and investigative decisions on how to evaluate to qualify the teaching practice and the students' learning.