Implementing curriculum-embedded formative assessment in primary school science classrooms

The implementation of formative assessment strategies is challenging for teachers. We evaluated teachers’ implementation fidelity of a curriculum-embedded formative assessment programme for primary school science education, investigating both material-supported, direct application and subsequent transfer. Furthermore, the relationship between implementation fidelity and teacher variables was explored. N = 17 German primary school teachers participated in professional development on formative assessment, N = 11 teachers formed a control group. Teachers’ implementation fidelity was evaluated via classroom observations student ratings and an analysis of students’ workbooks, focusing on the frequency and quality of intended formative assessment elements (assessments, feedback and instructional adaptations). Regarding direct application, treatment group teachers’ implementation fidelity was high, with slight variations in quality. Regarding transfer, implementation fidelity was lower but teachers still implemented more formative assessment elements than the control group. Teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge and their evaluation of the formative assessment intervention were associated with implementation success.     

A complex dynamic systems perspective on teacher learning and identity formation: an instrumental case

ABSTRACT

Scholars have called for new conceptualisations of teachers’ learning that capture the complex, contextualised, and dynamic nature of professional growth. In this article, we describe the Dynamic Systems Model of Role Identity (DSMRI) that portrays teacher learning as inseparable from the complex and dynamic processes by which teachers form their professional identities. The model depicts theoretical and procedural learning about teaching as integrated with other ontological and epistemological beliefs, self-perceptions and self-definitions, purpose and goals in teaching, and perceived action possibilities that constitute the teacher’s professional role identity. After describing the DSMRI, we demonstrate its application with an instrumental case of a science teacher who participated in a professional development (PD) institute designed to foster learning and motivation for implementing student-centred, inquiry-based instruction. DSMRI-guided analysis of pre-, mid-, and post-institute interviews highlighted the role of pre-PD role identities of learner and teacher in the teacher’s PD experiences, which, in turn, fostered both new alignments and new tensions in the teacher’s role identity that promoted an overall change towards a more student-centred teacher role identity. The article demonstrates the utility of the DSMRI for conceptualising teachers’ learning as contextualised and dynamic identity formation processes.     

Addressing contradictions in teachers’ practice through professional learning: an activity theory perspective

ABSTRACT

This case study focuses on the professional learning of 38 K-9 teachers who engaged in a professional development (PD) programme in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) through collaborative action research (CAR). Through the lens of CHAT or Cultural-Historical Activity Theory, the author examined what teachers were learning, the contextual factors that influenced their learning and classroom practice, and the outcomes of this PD initiative. The changing activity system of the teachers is described, as well as how they addressed contradictions in their practice. Addressing these contradictions resulted in an expansion of their object and professional growth. The study contributes to a growing body of research in teacher education which applies CHAT as a conceptual framework to understand teacher professional learning and how interactions among activity system components influence teachers’ development and practice.     

Formative assessment of teachers in the context of an online learning environment

This case study looked at how an assessment strategy designed for an online learning environment can support teachers’ professional development. More specifically, we intended to evaluate how a particular online assessment design can help the participating in-service teachers to recognize the added value of formative assessment, and promote their own use of formative assessment in their professional classroom practices. The presented assessment design consists of a combination of different, non-standard assessment methods in an online environment. We analysed data from 494 questionnaires, the participants’ critical reflections about their learning and the participants’ produced artefacts. The findings illustrate the participants’ recognition of the formative character of the proposed assessment design, reflected not only by the high scores reported in seven of the eight themes explored, but also from the qualitative analysis of the participants’ reflections and artefacts. Suggestions are offered for the improvement of the proposed assessment design, so as to better promote the formative character of assessment. In particular, implications for the development of formative assessment in online professional development are discussed taking into account its potential to promote the participants’ self-regulatory learning processes.     

Improving teacher questioning in science using ICAP theory

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to investigate the efficacy of professional development in changing two middle school science teachers’ questioning to include more questions that require deeper student responses. The professional development was based on ICAP theory which proposes a framework for identifying cognitive engagement based on what is required of students. ICAP hypothesizes that Interactive and Constructive questions, such as those requiring inferential thought and collaboration, lead to deeper thinking and therefore stronger learning gains than questions that are more Active, Passive. Teacher questioning before and after the PD showed a marked improvement in increasing the number of questions that required students to make inferences about the materials. Student gain scores from tests on the lesson’s content suggests a positive relationship between constructive questions and student learning. This paper also details a coding scheme based on ICAP that can be used to provide feedback on teachers’ questioning.     

校本专业评估指标体系的矛盾与重构

校本评估研究起源于1982年国际经济合作和发展组织（OECD）一个名为＂国际学校改进计划＂的跨国研究项目。校本专业评估是学校评估的重要单项之一,其首先要解决的问题就是构建一个具有＂校本＂特色的科学合理的评估指标体系。目前高校专业评估指标体系内容繁杂,在某些方面与＂校本评估＂理念存在着矛盾,如过于强调统一性,忽视院校及专业的多样性;内容的全面性有余,但针对性不足;突出评估的终结性功能,弱化了形成性功能。校本专业评估指标体系构建须符合学校的人才培养定位与发展目标,以多类型指标体系为指导,突显形成性功能,以促进专业发展与改进。     

Working toward integrated practice: Understanding the interaction among formative assessment strategies

The purpose of this study was to directly observe and investigate the factors that support or hinder the implementation of an integrated approach to formative assessment and to understand how the implementation of formative assessment strategies interact. The authors present findings from a collective case study that included the observation of six teachers (three mathematics and three English language arts) who were purposefully sampled from a large, public, suburban high school in the northeast United States. The analysis of the case studies resulted in the identification of different patterns in teachers’ formative assessment practice. These patterns illustrate how the complex interaction between formative assessment practices can either support or hinder the implementation of an integrated approach to formative assessment and suggests classroom observations as a potential mechanism for identifying challenges and informing just-in-time professional development.     

Signature pedagogies in support of teachers’ professional learning

Signature pedagogies [Shulman, L. 2005 Shulman, L. 2005. “Signature Pedagogies in the Professions.” Daedalus 134 (3): 52–59. doi: 10.1162/0011526054622015[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. “Signature pedagogies in the professions.” Daedalus 134 (3): 52–59.] are a focus of teacher educators seeking to improve teaching and teacher education. The purpose of this paper is to present a preliminary common language of signature pedagogies for teacher professional development (PD). In all, 24 papers from the study of physical education PD projects with clearly articulated pedagogical objectives and documentation on achieving those objectives were included in the analysis. In total 479 teachers and 48 facilitators across the US and Europe were interviewed and/or surveyed. Three discrete PD signature pedagogies holding potential to enhance teacher growth and learning within the context of PD were identified: critical dialogue (process of acquiring knowledge through communicative interactions), public sharing of work (testing out practices in classrooms and share ideas with larger audiences), and communities of learners (collective learning around a shared concern or a passion). It is our hope in providing the beginnings of a common vocabulary for pedagogies of teacher professional learning we have encouraged additional steps toward developing signature pedagogies for learning across different PD settings and content areas.     

Effects of professional support in school improvement

At a time when much attention is being paid to teachers’ effectiveness, there is little regard for the effectiveness of their professional support. Although professional development facilitators are frequently involved in school improvement projects, little is known about the interventions they should carry out and the effectiveness of these interventions. In this study, five facilitators’ interventions are operationalised. Multilevel regression analyses show, that the intervention “guiding the process” explains a significant part of variance in teachers’ knowledge, attitude and concerns with respect to an innovation and the degree of implementation. The interventions “team training and coaching”, “creating conditions for innovation at school level” and “individual coaching” explain a significant part of variance in teachers’ knowledge with respect to an innovation. In general, it appears that professional development facilitators have considerable influence on teachers’ knowledge and concerns and reasonable influence on teachers’ attitude and the degree of implementation.     

Professional learning as a predictor for instructional quality: a secondary analysis of TALIS

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of teachers’ professional learning opportunities on instructional quality, which represents a combined approach of behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist principles in teaching. We incorporated professional learning communities (PLCs), professional development (PD) days, as well as 3 PD types (traditional, reform-based, and informal) to provide a comprehensive account of teachers’ professional learning opportunities. Using the extant large-scale data, the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), from 3,213 middle-school teachers in Turkey, we found that PLCs and reform-based PD activities produced statistically significant effects on instructional quality, ranging from high to moderate effects, all other PD variables held constant. Discussion on the results was centered on the schools for being a venue for professional learning and the potential of collaborative structures to promote teachers’ development.     

How do teacher mentors perceive their role,does it matter?

Mentoring student-teachers and novice teachers constitutes a critical factor in teacher-education programmes and yet, little emphasis has been placed on the mentors themselves, particularly in relation to their own professional development (PD) and the construction of their identities. Does it really matter? This study investigates two groups of mentors: one group who received professional training and one group who received no professional training. The research questions address how mentors perceive their role, what preparation they receive to serve as effective mentors, and what are their professional needs. The study illuminates essential aspects of the mentors’ role perception and the impact of mentoring education on the professional identity of mentors. The implications are that low involvement in PD workshops could be linked to the uncertainty in mentors’ own self-perception as mentors. How mentors perceive their roles does matter if they wish to gain recognition by significant others within their institutions. Likewise, schools need to provide a supportive culture which is fundamental to identity construction.     

Effective Professional Development in Science and Mathematics Education: Teachers' and Facilitators' Views

This study compares the views of teachers and professional development facilitators about effective professional development (PD). We analyzed interviews with 72 teacher participants and 23 PD facilitators involved in nine science and mathematics PD projects. The teachers' themes for characterizing effective PD included classroom application, teacher as learner, and teacher networking. Similarly, the PD facilitators discussed effective PD as having classroom application and experiences for teachers as learners. In addition, PD facilitators shared the need to develop collegial relationships with teachers and improve teacher knowledge. These views correspond to some of the standards and recommendations described in policy and research documents on effective PD. Criteria of effective PD in these documents that the participants did not mention included: (1) challenging teachers' content and pedagogical content knowledge with transformative learning experiences, (2) encouraging teacher leadership for sustained support, and (3) focusing on student learning by instructing teachers on how to use student data to inform their teaching practice. Our findings have implications for designing PD that reflects the criteria of standards-based reform.     

The impact of an alternative professional development model on teacher practices in formative assessment and student learning

Among contemporary means of enhancing student learning, formative assessment is perhaps one of the most important and effective. While formative assessment ideas and practices have been shown to have a proven record enhancing student learning, these practices are slow to be fully integrated into teachers’ day-to-day classroom practices. This study describes a collaborative effort among university faculty and public school partners to train teachers in the skills and practices of formative assessment. Regarding teachers’ involvement in the formative assessment professional development, findings highlight that 1) teachers’ participation in the professional development efforts did strengthen their understanding of both general knowledge of formative assessment and the use of formative assessment practices, 2) teachers’ plans to use the strategies in the future were related to their understanding of these strategies, and 3) in-depth and comprehensive understanding of formative assessment practices were critical to concrete applications of such practices in their classrooms. With respect to the impact on student learning, an overall effect size of .41 was found for teachers who utilized a formative assessment strategy compared with district averages for similar learning objectives when the practices were not used.     

Profiles of change in motivation for teaching in higher education at an American research university

The current study employed an emergent theoretical model of teaching role identity and motivation to investigate the change in conception of and motivation for teaching in higher education of research graduate students who teach in the United States. Fifteen participants took a graduate-level seminar as part of a two-course teaching professional development (PD) program. Qualitative content analysis of the participants’ pre-seminar and post-seminar reflective essays focused on change in the theoretical model’s components – participants’ goals, self-perceptions, epistemological beliefs, and action possibilities – and their alignment. The findings suggested four kinds of change in each component, ranging from dramatic change to reversed change, as well as three general profiles of change labeled ‘Transformation,’ ‘Elaboration’, and ‘Stagnation’. The model proved useful in conceptualizing the change in participants’ teaching-related conceptions and motivation and could provide a guide for future research on teaching motivation and for designing and evaluating teaching PD in higher education.     

A trajectory of teacher development in early and mid-career

Scholars in recent years have studied the professional development of teachers, identifying stages or phases that teachers characteristically experience during their careers. Little research, however, has focused specifically on the professional development of teachers during early and mid-career (years 1–10), which is the aim of the present study. An understanding of such development is important for school administrators and teacher educators if they are to respond effectively to teachers’ professional needs and help them achieve their full potential as practitioners. Our study is based on interviews we conducted with 53 teachers who had graduated from a particular 5-year teacher education programme in western United States over a 10-year period. They taught students ages 5 through 13. Through analysis of the interviews, we identified six themes that, we argue, reveal a trajectory of professional development teachers experience as they become increasingly able practitioners. We explain how the themes are related to the concepts of teacher identity and teacher agency, and we suggest ways that administrators, inservice teacher educators, and policymakers can better support teachers during their early and mid-careers. The study adds a new dimension—that of a multifaceted trajectory—to current theory on teacher development.     

Teacher educators’ personal practical knowledge of language

This paper describes teacher educators’ understanding of language for classroom communication in higher education. We argue that teacher educators who are aware of their personal practical knowledge of language have a better understanding of their students’ language use and provide better support for knowledge construction. Personal practical knowledge originates from teachers’ professional practice and is based on their past experience, current awareness and future expectation. Data from focus group interviews with teacher educators (N = 35) were used for content analysis. Findings demonstrate an emerging conceptualization resulting in two language modalities of personal practical knowledge, specified as: ‘language-sensitive and interpersonally oriented’ and ‘language-focused and pedagogically oriented.’ The insights contribute to building a professional practical knowledge base of language and communication-oriented teaching.     

(Re)beginning and becoming: antiracism and professional development with white practicing teachers

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on an educational foundations-based professional development (PD) curriculum of antiracist conscientization we as two teacher educators designed and implemented with eight white practicing teachers in the Midwestern United States. We first articulate our conception of educational foundations and curriculum theory as a framework for our PD. We briefly review literature on other PD on race in the United States, outline our data sources, and describe the pedagogy and curriculum of RaceWork’s Tripartite Model of race-visible and antiracist praxis. We then highlight, through interview data, the significance of group (relational) accountability and collaborative relationships that supported these teachers’ self-designed antiracist interventions in their own unique school contexts during the 2-year PD experience. An ongoing, relationship-based PD model leading to material antiracist changes and practices points to a need for a broader, more holistic, and contextualized conception of antiracist interventions in U.S. public P12 school contexts, but also one grounded in the notion that in a white supremacist society, we (as race-visible white educators) are always becoming antiracist.     

Collaborative teacher professional development in schools in England (UK) and Shanghai (China): cultures,contexts and tensions

ABSTRACT

This mixed method research explores the contexts, purposes, forms, practices, and effects of school provided collaborative professional development (PD) as experienced by teachers working in primary and secondary schools in England and Shanghai. The research is part of a larger partnership pilot study by the University of Nottingham and Shanghai Normal University, which focused on opportunities for and experiences of participation in formally organized professional development, using as a point of departure the findings of the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) 2013 report of teachers’ perceptions of their professional development. Given the differences between the two jurisdictions in their PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) rankings, and between national cultures, teacher expectations and conditions of work, professional development purposes, forms and practices in schools might be expected to differ. The research found that there was a similar emphasis in both jurisdictions upon ‘functional’ rather than ‘attitudinal’ oriented professional development, but that teachers in Shanghai schools experienced more of the latter than those in the English schools studied. Such differences in the relative emphasis between the two jurisdictions upon the ‘attitudinal’, challenge the benefits of focusing collaborative professional development primarily upon the ‘functional’ in English schools.