Paradigm Change

With the changing notion of learner’s preparedness to live and act in a rapidly changing world, the 21st century has created prerequisites for shifting from teaching, i.e. an active position of a teacher and passive position of a learner, to learning which implies an active position of a learner. The teaching and learning paradigms have significant differences. Shifting from the paradigm of teaching to the paradigm of learning means a fundamental change in educational activities. One of the key changes is shift in assessment. Recently many debates occur on student assessment. Within the educational process, assessment of student’s knowledge is one the most difficult issues. The process of assessment is important both for the student and evaluator. Therefore, problem identification and search for problem solving tools is an important task. Student learning assessment should be based not on an accidental but a valid model of assessment. The article discusses assessment in three education paradigms: teaching, interaction and learning. The theoretical discussion concerns the shift in conceptualising assessment and its change within the context of educational paradigms, acknowledgement of assessment, topicality of assessment and value concepts with reference to paradigm change