Improving teachers’ assessment literacy through professional development

This study examined the effects of professional development on teachers’ assessment literacy between two groups of teachers: (1) teachers who were involved in ongoing and sustained professional development in designing authentic classroom assessment and rubrics; and (2) teachers who were given only short-term, one-shot professional development workshops in authentic assessment. The participating teachers taught Year 4 and 5 English, science, and mathematics. The findings showed that the assessment literacy of teachers who were involved in ongoing, sustained professional development had increased significantly during the second year of study. These teachers had also gained a better understanding of authentic assessment.     

真实性评价与教师专业发展

真实性评价是一种要求学生应用所学的知识和技能完成真实世界的任务的评价方式,既有助于学生的成长,也有助于教师专业发展。真实性评价对教师提出了新的素质要求而推动教师专业发展,又以直接向教师反馈教学信息而帮助教师有目的、有针对性地进行专业发展。     

What influences teachers’ commitment to a lifelong professional development programme? Reflections on teachers’ perceptions

This article reflects on the implementation of lifelong professional development for teachers in Taiwan based on our analysis and understanding of the participation of elementary and secondary school teachers in the Teacher Professional Development and Evaluation (TPDE) programme. This qualitative account is established based on 34 in-depth teacher reports, which provided insight into the dynamics of teacher involvement in the programme and aided our investigation of whether this programme supports or inhibits continuous, lifelong professional development. Analysis of the data revealed two main factors influencing teachers’ commitment to the programme: self-direction and resource supportability. Based on the findings, we propose and argue that the teacher lifeworld-based approach, which raises awareness of and considers teachers’ own specific situations and purposes, be used as an alternative or supplement to the knowledge- and practice-based professional development approaches advocated in the literature to ensure the attainment of authentic outcomes. Finally, we identify the implications of this policy for teachers’ lifelong and authentic professional growth by suggesting how these programmes might best be put into practice.     

教师专业发展——一种合作的视角

许多西方学者都认为教师合作是一种非常重要的教师专业发展策略,是一个参与各方在平等基础上相互支持、资源共享、旨在促进问题解决的过程。教师合作的顺利实施,需要了解教师需求,推动教师积极参与,优化教师合作方式,培育专业文化氛围。     

Leveraging learning technologies for collaborative writing in an online pharmacotherapy course

The purpose of this project was to evaluate the development and delivery of a hypertext case scenario document to be used as the capstone assessment tool for doctoral-level physical therapy students. The integration of Web-based collaborative tools (PBworks? and Google Sites?) allowed students in this all-online course to apply their pharmacotherapy knowledge in a physical therapy patient scenario, while working with colleagues to determine the best route of patient care. Students developed digital writing skills imperative to a patient-centered, collaborative health-care field, and practiced evidence-based patient care. The findings demonstrate that the implementation of collaborative digital writing with a hypertext document case scenario assessment as the primary assessment tool in this online pharmacotherapy course delivered to doctoral-level physical therapy students is a feasible and effective educational strategy.     

服务与协作:地方院校在农村教师专业发展中的实践——以肇庆学院为例

农村教师专业发展存在实然的困境,地方院校作为培养地方基础教育师资的主干力量,在其专业发展中承担着不可推卸的责任。地方院校通过服务地方,输出师资,院校协作,引领教师走向幸福来实现其对责任的担当。     

Assessment for learning and Teacher Learning Communities: UK teachers’ experiences

In this paper, I explore the experiences of secondary teachers in four London schools [UK] who participated in Teacher Learning Communities, defined as meetings in which professional learning was supported as they learned about Assessment for Learning (AfL). The claim for these communities is that they lead to sustained improvements in teaching and learning, where the following design principles are adhered to: where leaders respect and value a need that has been identified by participants as of importance to themselves; they are school-based and integral to school operations; there is teacher collaboration; and there is input from within and beyond the school to support teachers’ theoretical as well as practical learning. The findings from this research project suggest that Teacher Learning Communities’ benefits were compromised specifically: where they were imposed on teachers; where they were not accommodated sufficiently within other school commitments; where leaders were too directive; where meeting formats were adhered to inflexibly; and where practice was emphasized at the expense of theories. My conclusion is that both AfL and Teacher Learning Communities rely for their success on sustained critical reflection among their participants, which can be inhibited where the above limitations apply.     

Collaborative approaches in initial teacher education: lessons from approaches to developing student teachers’ use of the Internet in science teaching

In many countries, governments are keen to persuade teachers at all levels to seek to enhance the learning of their students by incorporating information and communication technologies within their classrooms. This paper reports on the development of collaborative approaches to supporting use of the Internet by Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) science students on initial teacher education (ITE) courses in England, drawing on data from five higher education institution (HEI)–school partnerships across four years. A mixed-method approach was used, involving questionnaires, structured interviews, lesson observations and case studies. The outcomes of the first three years identified barriers to practice and suggested the need to develop more collaborative approaches to development. The focus of this paper is on examining ways in which university faculty tutors and mentors or cooperating teachers can work together with students on PGCE courses in developing practice. The lessons from this focus on the Internet, no longer a new technology, have enabled us to identify implications for HEI partnerships in ITE and suggest a need for further collaborative structures in order to support and develop practices, including those involving the innovative use of new technologies in the post-industrial society.     

Teachers’ experiences with co-teaching as a model for inclusive education

Co-teaching is an instructional strategy that can be implemented by educators in several different ways. This paper considers how frequently co-teachers implement different approaches to co-teaching and what factors are associated with the implementation of these approaches. This study found that teachers most frequently reported implementing an approach to co-teaching in which one teacher designs and delivers a lesson and the other teacher provides individualised support to specific students with disabilities. The approach to co-teaching in which educators co-plan and co-instruct different components of the curricular content occurred the least frequently. The results of logistic regression analyses indicated that structural aspects of co-teaching (multiple years with co-teacher, time spent daily with co-teacher, number of current co-teachers), teacher attitudes, and professional development opportunities (pre-service and in-service) were associated with the use of different approaches to co-teaching.     

《课程与教学论》学业评价体系建构的思考——基于真实性评价理论视野

《课程与教学论》是高师院校教育专业的主干课程。长期以来,对该课程教学评价主要以考试分数作为考量的唯一标准,这种注重结果性评价的方式未能反映当代课程与教学论人文价值取向的发展趋势,不利于未来教师所需的专业知识、专业能力和专业精神的综合培养。本文主要以真实性评价理论为指导,从该课程学业评价目标、评价内容、评价方法、评价反馈等方面来建构其学业评价体系。     

The Biology Hot Line: Use of a Telephone Answering Device in Large Classes

Beyond Traditional Tenure By Richard P. Chait and Andrew T. Ford San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1982, 291 pages, index, $16.95. Reviewed by Robert L. Spaeth