Developing Student Agency to Support Learning-Trajectory-Based Formative Assessment

2020 ◽  
pp. 151-164
Author(s):  
Alison Castro Superfine ◽  
Kathleen Pitvorec ◽  
Timothy Stoelinga
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Collaborative Inquiry ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Learning Trajectory ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Student Agency ◽  
Mathematics Classrooms ◽  
Inquiry Approach

High-quality formative assessment practices depend on teachers having a clear sense of learning goals, an understanding of the learning trajectories students progress along toward these goals, criteria for assessing students' progress, and ways of using this information to inform instructional decisions. In this chapter, the authors describe efforts to support teachers' practice with a focus on learning trajectory-based formative assessment. These professional development efforts moved away from delivering professional development to teachers and evolved into professional learning with teachers as co-researchers and co-designers. The authors discuss this collaborative inquiry approach to supporting elementary teachers' understanding and use of learning trajectory-based formative assessment in mathematics classrooms, and share examples of the various forms of inquiry developed, and ways in which teachers engaged in these activities as part of the collaborative inquiry.

Enhancing Teachers' Formative Assessment Practices Through Learning Trajectory-Based Professional Development

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Panorkou ◽  
Jennifer L. Kobrin
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Student Thinking ◽  
Learning Trajectory ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Assessment Practices ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Geometric Measurement ◽  
Assessment Results

This research study was designed to evaluate the extent to which professional development (PD) designed around a learning trajectory (LT) on geometric measurement of area was successful in helping teachers use the LT to conduct formative assessment. Six 3rd-grade teachers from the Midwest participated in 20 hours of PD centered on the LT. Data to evaluate the PD were obtained from a set of questionnaire prompts administered before and after teachers' participation in the PD. The results suggest that teachers increased their ability to elicit and interpret student thinking and use assessment results to make instructional decisions. We consider the design and evaluation of this PD to be valuable for future efforts aiming to use LTs to support teachers in their formative assessment practices.

scholarly journals Critical Friendship and Inter-Faculty Collaborative Inquiry: Teacher Education and Nursing Education

in education ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-87
Author(s):  
Karen Ragoonaden ◽  
Lisa Morajelo ◽  
Lindsay Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Education ◽  
Nursing Education ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Community Of Inquiry ◽  
Collaborative Inquiry ◽  
Nursing Educators ◽  
Roles Of Teacher

This paper explores how three researchers utilize critical friendship to systematically examine the nuanced roles of Teacher Education and Nursing Education practices in a community of inquiry. An ancillary theme investigates sustainable structures for supporting the professional learning of teacher and nursing educators. Respectively from two faculties on one campus, university educators came together in September 2015 to form the Critical Friendship in Nursing and Education (CFiNe) community of inquiry. Data collection includes research notes, teaching notes, journaling, and monthly meetings. This community of inquiry has the potential to provide the foundations of critically infused professional development paradigms promoting interdisciplinary and collaborative stances in higher education.

Learning Communities as Continuing Professional Development for Sport Coaches

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 40-61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachael Bertram ◽  
Wade Gilbert
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Continuing Professional Development ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Learning Goals ◽  
Coach Learning ◽  
Sport Coaches

Continuing professional development (CPD) for sport coaches has been defined as all kinds of professional learning that occurs after initial certification (Nelson et al., 2006), and includes both non-formal and informal learning situations. Despite the fact that within the past decade there has been an increasing number of studies on these learning situations, learning communities as a type of CPD have received little attention. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to share initial observations and lessons learned from creating and implementing sport coach learning communities. In addition, this paper extends the dialogue on learning community implementation and assessment. Our learning community efforts were formulated around five key guidelines: (1) Stable settings dedicated to improving instruction and learning, (2) Job-alike teams, (3) Published protocols that guide but do not prescribe, (4) Trained peer facilitators, and (5) Working on student learning goals until there are tangible gains in student learning.

Using the AMC Anywhere Web-Based Assessment System to Examine Primary Students' Understanding of Number Sense

2015 ◽  
pp. 365-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christie Sullivan Martin ◽  
Drew Polly
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Lesson Planning ◽  
Assessment System ◽  
Primary Students ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Mathematics Classrooms ◽  
Cyclical Process ◽  
Kindergarten Classroom

This chapter discusses how technology can be used to support formative assessment in primary grades mathematics classrooms. There is a specific focus on how technology can assist teachers in conducting formative assessment, how technology may be used to better understand the data produced from regularly engaging in this type of assessment, and how teachers use the data to individualize lesson planning to increase student learning. The chapter specifically examines the Assessing Mathematics Concepts (AMC) Anywhere Web-based assessment tool. This chapter describes a composite kindergarten classroom. This example is intended to illustrate the entire cyclical process of assessing students, analyzing data, and planning and implementing instruction based on the data. The chapter concludes with a discussion and implications for professional development and future instruction.

Embedding Formative Assessment in the Mathematics Classroom Through Writing, Discourse, and the Use of Digital Tools

2020 ◽  
pp. 194-205
Author(s):  
Christie Sullivan Martin ◽  
Drew Polly
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Formative Assessment ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Mathematics Classroom ◽  
Classroom Teacher ◽  
Development Project ◽  
Instructional Materials ◽  
Assessment Process ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Ongoing Support

Formative assessment in mathematics involves a multi-faceted process of determining what data to collect, collecting data, analyzing data, and interpreting data to make and implement future instructional decisions. In this chapter we describe two separate efforts; one where the first author served a classroom teacher and used various writing activities in the process of formative assessment, and one where hundreds of teachers in North Carolina completed a year-long professional development project focused on the use of the digital formative assessment tool, AMC Anywhere, and related instructional materials. Implications for these projects include a need to provide ongoing support in all aspects of the formative assessment process so that teachers see each aspect as part of a larger picture.

Professional development that improves STEM outcomes

2020 ◽  
Vol 101 (5) ◽  
pp. 50-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather C. Hill ◽  
Kathleen Lynch ◽  
Kathryn E. Gonzalez ◽  
Cynthia Pollard
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Instructional Improvement ◽  
Learning Opportunities ◽  
Instructional Decisions ◽  
Learning Time ◽  
Improvement Programs ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Supporting Teachers ◽  
Stem Outcomes

How should teachers spend their STEM-focused professional learning time? To answer this question, Heather Hill, Kathleen Lynch, Kathryn Gonzalez, and Cynthia Pollard analyzed a recent wave of rigorous new studies of STEM instructional improvement programs. They found that programs work best when focused on building knowledge teachers can use during instruction. This includes knowledge of the curriculum materials they will use, knowledge of content, and knowledge of how students learn that content. They argue that such learning opportunities improve teachers’ professional knowledge and skill, potentially by supporting teachers in making more informed in-the-moment instructional decisions.

Collaborative inquiry and the shared workspace of professional learning communities

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1069-1091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Collaborative Inquiry ◽  
Shared Workspace ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inquiry Process

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore educator collaborative inquiry in the shared workspace in professional learning communities (PLCs). Specifically, this investigation was part of an ongoing investigation of well-established PLC collaborative interactions and self-directed learning of educators as part of the shared workspace as a component of school improvement. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative design was used for this investigation. Participants were purposefully selected to provide qualitative data on existent, well-established PLCs and their practice as educators in the shared workspace. Qualitative data were collected about participant perception. Data were collected from each participant by conducting semi-structured interviews, observations, and the collection of document and artifacts. Findings Findings from this ongoing investigation point to positive collaborative physical interactions and intellectual discourse that lead to educator learning through the collaborative inquiry process. Originality/value Theories on PLCs and educator job-embedded professional learning are unique in this paper. The concepts of PLCs and the collaborative inquiry process have been well developed but not in the context of the shared workspace. Recent literature on effective collaborative inquiry educators undergo in PLCs as a continuing professional development model provides a foundation for the work done in this ongoing case study. Sustained collaboration and continued professional development of teaching innovations as a product of the collaborative inquiry process in the shared workspace are underdeveloped as yet but further developed in this paper.

scholarly journals Online Professional Learning in Response to COVID-19—Towards Robust Evaluation

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 56
Author(s):  
Alireza Ahadi ◽  
Matt Bower ◽  
Abhay Singh ◽  
Michael Garrett
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Teacher Perceptions ◽  
Teacher Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Evaluation Approach ◽  
Online Mode ◽  
Evaluation Models ◽  
Teacher Professional ◽  
Workshop Evaluation

As COVID-19 continues to impact upon education worldwide, systems and organizations are rapidly transiting their professional learning to online mode. This raises concerns, not simply about whether online professional learning can result in equivalent outcomes to face-to-face learning, but more importantly about how to best evaluate online professional learning so we can iteratively improve our approaches. This case study analyses the evaluation of an online teacher professional development workshop for the purpose of critically reflecting upon the efficacy of workshop evaluation techniques. The evaluation approach was theoretically based in a synthesis of six seminal workshop evaluation models, and structured around eight critical dimensions of educational technology evaluation. The approach involving collection of pre-workshop participant background information, pre-/post-teacher perceptions data, and post-workshop focus group perceptions, enabled the changes in teacher knowledge, skills, and beliefs to be objectively evaluated, at the same time as providing qualitative information to effectively improve future iterations of the workshops along a broad range of dimensions. The evaluation approach demonstrated that the professional learning that was shifted into online mode in response to COVID-19 could unequivocally result in significant improvements to professional learning outcomes. More importantly, the evaluation approach is critically contrasted with previous evaluation models, and a series of recommendations for the evaluation of technology-enhanced teacher professional development workshops are proposed.

scholarly journals Reframing Professional Development Through Understanding Authentic Professional Learning

2009 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 702-739 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Webster-Wright
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Educational Research ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Development Programs ◽  
The Past ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Alternative Conceptualization ◽  
Professional Development Programs ◽  
Evaluating Professional Development

Continuing to learn is universally accepted and expected by professionals and other stakeholders across all professions. However, despite changes in response to research findings about how professionals learn, many professional development practices still focus on delivering content rather than enhancing learning. In exploring reasons for the continuation of didactic practices in professional development, this article critiques the usual conceptualization of professional development through a review of recent literature across professions. An alternative conceptualization is proposed, based on philosophical assumptions congruent with evidence about professional learning from seminal educational research of the past two decades. An argument is presented for a shift in discourse and focus from delivering and evaluating professional development programs to understanding and supporting authentic professional learning.

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