Validity in teachers’ summative assessments

This paper describes some of the findings of a project which set out to explore and develop teachers’ understanding and practices in their summative assessments. The focus was on those summative assessments that are used on a regular basis within schools for guiding the progress of pupils and for internal accountability. The project combined both intervention and research elements. The intervention aimed both to explore how teachers might improve those practices in the light of their re‐examination of their validity, and to engage them in moderation exercises within and between schools to audit examples of students’ work and to discuss their appraisals of these examples. This paper reports findings, arising from this work, of the research that aimed to study how teachers understand validity, and how they formulate their classroom assessment practices in the light of that understanding. The paper also considers how that understanding might be challenged and developed. It was found that teachers’ attention to validity issues had been undermined by the external test regimes, but that teachers could re‐address these issues by reflection on their values and by engagement in a shared development of portfolio assessments.     

Early Childhood Teachers Reconstruct Beliefs and Practices Through Reflexive Action

Professional development, which results in sustained transformative change, requires that teachers engage in critical reflection regarding teaching practices. In this study, a group of five bilingual and generalist early childhood teachers engaged in a journey in which they elected to try to reconstruct their beliefs and practices about teaching and learning. In response to a school district's needs, these teachers were enrolled as a cohort in an early childhood graduate program that served as part of their professional development endeavor. The teachers used reflection and ongoing dialogue that bridged theory and practice as they raised questions about their daily practices in relation to theoretical perspectives. We provide a glimpse of these teachers' ongoing transformative journeys and provide suggestions for early childhood teachers to engage in sustained professional development.     

The Application of Student Portfolios in Primary-Intermediate and Self- Contained-Multiage Team Classroom Environments: Implications for Instruction,Learning, and Assessment

Portfolios have gained wide acceptance as a learning and assessment tool. Yet, little research has been reported on the practices of teachers who are actually using portfolios within their classrooms and how those practices are moderated by contextual variables. This research examined the instructional, learning, and assessment roles of student portfolios and explored, from the perspective of the classroom teacher, variations in portfolio applications associated with teaching level (primary vs. intermediate) and classroom environment (self-contained vs. multiage-teaming).

Kindergarten through Grade 5 teachers in 13 elementary schools completed a survey questionnaire regarding the instructional and assessment uses to which portfolios are put within their classrooms. To further examine for patterns of portfolio use, a subset of teachers was interviewed to explore the perceptions that teachers hold about the impact of student portfolios on themselves and on their students. The results suggest that Kindergarten through Grade 5 teachers make deliberate decisions regarding uses of their students' portfolios, decisions that appear heavily impacted by the maturity or skill level of the child, the purposes of the application, and the classroom environment within which the application occurs. They also depend on whether the portfolio product is in a formative state (working portfolio) or final state (performance portfolio).     

以合作科研推进高中青年教师专业发展

科研是教师专业能力发展的内在要素与催生动力,课题研究是教师科研的重要载体与实践形态,依托课题研究开展合作科研是推进普通高中青年教师专业能力发展重要支撑。为此,必须注重课题研究小组的培育、课题研究的体制建构、青年教师队伍的培训发展与课题研究成果的推广实践,在科研与教学实践能力的"双重变奏"中促进青年教师专业能力的整体性发展。     

Integrated science teaching as a challenge for teachers to develop new conceptual structures

Integrated science teaching is a task which requires that teachers develop new conceptual structures for the science topics they teach. It is often assumed that changes in teaching can be facilitated through reflective practices such as teacher self-assessment. Does self-assessment in fact help teachers develop new conceptual structures in the context of integrated science? We examine this assumption in the research reported in this paper. In the German PING project—an integrated science project for middle schools—teacher in-service education was based on collaborative workshops in which a group of 22 teachers from different types of schools used teaching materials for eight integrated topics for their lesson planning and conducting units over a period of 30 months. During this time concept maps, interviews and questionnaires were used as means to promote teacher self-assessment. We find that this kind of self-assessment in a collaborative framework was a useful basis for helping science teachers develop integrated conceptual structures and we suggest that in-service courses might use self-assessment for reflection on conceptual content knowledge as a basis for supporting integrated science teaching.     

Multigrade teaching: towards an international research and policy agenda

Despite its prevalence in many educational systems, multigrade teaching remains invisible. In the global effort to achieve education for all in the post-Dakar decade the needs of multigrade teachers, classes and schools must be addressed. The paper (i) explores the meaning of the term multigrade teaching in developing and industrialised countries and identifies a range of conditions under which it arises; (ii) synthesises knowledge of the practice of and research on multigrade teaching; and (iii) proposes an international agenda for future research on and dissemination of policy and practice. The agenda underlines the need for context-specific questions and comparisons, more awareness of the prevalence and challenges of multigrade teaching, more research on the practices and training needs of multigrade teaching and the exploration of synergies between teachers, curriculum, assessment and classroom organisation. It is suggested that knowledge of multigrade teaching strategies is needed by all teachers and not simply those in classes designated as ‘multigrade’.     

Action research in science education – an analytical review of the literature

Action research is suggested as a way to engage teachers in curriculum development and the betterment of teaching practices in schools based on educational research activities. As in other educational domains, action research in science education is employed with both aims to better understand and develop teaching practices and to contribute to teacher continuous professional development. A variety of methodological approaches using action research in science education exists, from more technical toward more emancipatory interpretations. The range of educational settings and goals for which action research is performed is also quite broad. The purpose of this analytical review of the international available literature is to provide an overview of the main aspects in applying action research in science education.     

Solidarity with the People: Organizing to Disrupt Teacher Alienation

Although research on teacher alienation and isolation has demonstrated the importance of developing collegial relationships, mentoring, and induction programs, there is limited research examining the ways to support critical educators with combatting their feelings of alienation and isolation as it relates to the larger sociopolitical dynamics they must endure. Within teacher education and teacher in-service development we must engage in research and approaches to learning that acknowledge the possibilities and potential of teachers to lead their development toward becoming critical and culturally relevant practitioners. Using an internal colonial framework where schooling is articulated as an extension of the colonial project, this article explores the reflections of ten educators, from the elementary to high school level, as they worked to create spaces for learning within a teacher-led, community based organization. Drawing from participant observations and interviews with organization members, this article explores the ways participation in a community based organization supported teachers with enduring the social and psychological consequences of the alienation they experienced in their schools. The data explore the ways in which participants worked to develop teaching practices drawing from anti-colonial perspectives and through their process developed a sense of solidarity with other teachers, which is discussed as three subthemes: shared beliefs, community, and commitment.     

Patterns of resistance in managing assessment change

Achieving change in assessment practices in higher education is difficult. One of the reasons for this is resistance among those responsible for teaching and assessing. This paper seeks to explore this resistance through an analysis of staff dialogue during a major attempt to change the assessment practices at one institution. An institution-wide intervention to pilot new assessment practices was initiated, involving 35 academics across 12 departments. This paper reports on patterns emerging in dialogue about this among academics, and between academics and educational development personnel. Findings suggest that resistance is not a unitary concept, but that different stakeholders under varied circumstances express it differently; and that resistance to assessment change is particularly resilient. Implications are discussed in terms of relevance to current theories of higher education assessment and learning change management, as well as the practical considerations of attempts by institutions to engage in assessment change.     

Teacher Research,Action Research: the Logo Action Research Collaborative

Action research is a form of professional inquiry in which the teacher's role is seen as key to educational improvement. This paper describes methodologies developed by the Logo Action Research Collaborative – a national network linking 100 teachers at nine sites – that facilitate and support collaborative inquiry by teachers into their own teaching practices, in order to understand, improve, develop, and incorporate new forms of student assessment, teaching methods, and curriculum. The project focused on the Logo computer language, a powerful learning environment for problem‐solving and mathematical inquiry. The authors provide background information on action research as an evolving discipline. They identify three phases of a year‐long action research cycle, and describe key strategies developed by the project to support teachers in taking on a research frame of mind, identifying areas of concern, and undertaking and completing action research projects. The paper includes several illustrative examples of action research investigations undertaken by teachers, and demonstrates the benefits to the students and teachers involved. It closes by making a case for the potential contribution of action research to current educational reform initiatives and school restructuring.     

Teaching comprehension and critical literacy: investigating guided reading in three primary classrooms

With the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy, England's primary school teachers were asked to replace “listening to children read”–a practice deeply embedded in UK pedagogy–with guided reading, a practice focused on interpretive and critical comprehension rather than accuracy and fluency. This small‐scale research project addresses the perceptions of the author's Primary B.Ed. student teachers that what goes on under the name of guided reading in the classrooms in which they undertake teaching practice does not do justice to the term. In particular, it examines the claim that fluent readers are still engaged in reading aloud, rather than being taught how to develop analytical strategies for comprehension and engage in collaborative dialogue to develop cognition and promote interpretive critical literacy. Using interpretive methodology, this small‐scale study examines episodes of guided reading in three case study classrooms. In each episode examined, although some form of group reading was conducted, there was no opportunity for children to read silently or engage in collaborative discussion, little teaching of inferential comprehension and none of evaluative strategies. The study reaches tentative rather than conclusive answers. These suggest that the effective teaching of guided reading depends both upon the understanding of its psychological underpinning, and also on the teacher's ability, through sharing responsibility for problem solving with the children, to build bridges between what is known and what is new.     

Portfolios for learning,assessment and professional development in higher education

This article focuses on the use of portfolios for learning and professional development in Higher Education (HE). Recent research findings related to learning and assessment help to contextualize the study. The use of portfolios for summative assessment and development of teaching and reflective practice dominates the literature. What is lacking is research that provides insights into how a portfolio for learning can be used in HE to develop understanding into one’s own learning, assessment and professional practices. The action research findings related to portfolio use for learning purposes identified in the three case studies include: the importance of establishing the purpose of the portfolio; the impact of portfolio use on the approach to learning, to teaching and to professional development; the changes to professional practice brought about as a result of the learning; and the need to consider issues related to ethics and confidentiality.     

Unpacking foreshadowing in mathematics teachers’ planned practices

This paper provides an empirical exploration of mathematics teachers’ planned practices. Specifically, it explores the practice of foreshadowing, which was one of Wasserman’s (2015) four mathematical teaching practices. The study analyzed n?=?16 lessons that were planned by pairs of highly qualified and experienced secondary mathematics teachers, as well as the dialogue that transpired, to identify the considerations the teachers made during this planning process. The paper provides empirical evidence that teachers engage in foreshadowing as they plan lessons, and it exemplifies four ways teachers engaged in this practice: foreshadowing concepts, foreshadowing techniques, foregrounding concepts, and foregrounding techniques. Implications for mathematics teacher education are discussed.

     

建构数学学习发展性评价体系的实践与思考

发展性评价体系中一个重要的工作就是开发多样化的评价工具和方法。在课题研究中我们重点开展了如下七个方面的评价工具的开发与实践:日常观察,等级和分项测试,成长记录袋,表现性任务,通过浓缩孩子成长特点的评价,二次评价,通过家长、学校合作,取得了较好的效果。     

“思想道德修养与法律基础”课对话教学论

对话教学是指师生双方平等交流自己探究问题、激发群体智慧的过程。基础课采用对话教学法,吻合学生修身过程,促使学生"崇其师而信其道",实现其教育目标。基础课对话教学可以分为观点辨析、材料理解、案例分析三种类型。教师要概述本章理论,为专题对话铺垫;灵活调控对话,促进学生自主交流;总结对话过程,提升对话效果。要注意创设良好的对话环境,选择一个合适话题,建立科学的对话成绩考评制度。     

Changing educational practice in the early years through practitioner-led action research: an Adult-Child Interaction Project

This article reports the development of the first two years of a three-year project that examines the effectiveness of adult–child interactions in the early years, and tracks the development of teachers’ thinking and practice as they engage in practitioner-led action research. The Adult-Child Interaction Project involves practitioners who work with children from six months to six years in one local authority in England as they aim to develop their practice. On the basis of action research cycle, the methods include systematic video observation and stimulated recall; individual, paired and collaborative reflective dialogue; project logs and critical engagement with research. A distinctive feature is continuous engagement with an early years expert as a co-researcher and reflective partner in the processes of change and development. This article focuses on the impact and effectiveness of the project methodology, specifically the strategies that support critical reflection, dialogue and change processes.