Professional Development Assessment Research Articles

Vocational teachers` professional development in assessment for learning

ABSTRACT Formative assessment, including vocational education and training (VET), has been included in the assessment regulations in Norway since 2006. This study examines how a continuing education course entitled Assessment for learning in vocational education (15 credits) might contribute to vocational teachers’ professional development related to assessment for learning. Qualitative data was collected in two stages from vocational teachers participating on the course. The findings reveal that perceptions of assessment for learning and vocational formative assessment practice are developed through the lens of the general study programmes and are dominated by academic subjects in upper secondary schools. However, assessment for learning is embedded in vocational learning and teaching and needs to be voiced in the educational discourse in schools related to formative assessment. Vocational teachers’ professional development in assessment for learning should be based on the characteristics and attributes of vocational learning.

Examining the Willingness of Turkish Teachers for Vocational Development in Educational Assessment in Terms of Different Variables

The aim of this study is to reveal how many different groups Turkish teachers constitute according to their vocational development needs in educational assessment, willingness for development in this area, gender, age, experiences, and subject areas. In addition, it is aimed to examine how teachers’ willingness for vocational development vary for different teacher profiles that were defined based on their gender, age, experience, and subject areas. The subject pool included 1407 teachers teaching different subjects. The data was obtained from the answers given by the teachers to the Teacher Questionnaire of Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS). The latent class analysis was performed with the Mplus 7.4 program to reveal how many groups teachers constitute according to their professional development need, willingness for the development, gender, age, experience, and subject areas. Results of the latent class analysis showed that teachers constitute two different classes. The probability of belonging to the first latent class is high for the male teachers older than 40 years old, having experience more than 20 years, not needing professional development, and not willing to attend in-service training in this area. Female teachers, younger than 40 years old, having experience less than 11 years need professional development in assessment, and they are also willing to attend more training in this area. Based on the results of the study, it was recommended to increase the number of in-service trainings especially for this teacher profile. The study revealed that Turkish teachers are not motivated and willing to develop their assessment skills. Researcher suggested examining possible reasons of low motivations among teachers to develop their assessment skills.

Concept Mapping as a Mechanism for Assessing Science Teachers’ Cross-Disciplinary Field-Based Learning

ABSTRACTTwo common goals of science teacher professional development (PD) are increased content knowledge (CK) and improved readiness to teach through inquiry. However, PD assessment challenges arise when the context is structured around inquiry-based, participant-driven learning, and when the content crosses scientific disciplines. This study extended the use of concept mapping as an assessment tool for examining changes in the content knowledge of 21 high school science teachers who participated in a field-based environmental science summer institute. The scoring rubric focused on documenting concepts, links, and map organization and scope in an attempt to capture development of cross-disciplinary knowledge in ways that correspond with theories of expertise development. The analysis revealed significant gains from pre-PD to post PD maps in the sophistication of links between concepts and in the number of additional, participant-generated scientifically valid concepts. Relative to the initial maps, post PD maps also manifested more complete clustering of concepts. Findings are discussed in reference to previous studies on teachers’ learning and implications for future research using concept mapping as a means of assessing teacher PD.

Exploring assessment for learning practices in the EMI classroom in the context of Taiwanese higher education

The EMI Classroom Assessment Practices questionnaire was developed and administered to 40 EMI (English as a Medium of Instruction) university teachers in Taiwan with the aim of meeting EMI teachers’ needs to conduct learning-oriented classroom assessment. The questionnaire surveyed the teachers in terms of their assessment practices in EMI and their self-perceived skills in these practices. The effects of the medium of instruction (English vs. Chinese) and teacher- and course-related variables related to assessment practices were also examined. The results revealed a high correlation between techniques that were less commonly practiced and those in which the teachers felt less skilled, signaling the possibility that assessment practices in the EMI classroom were dominated by the teachers’ familiarity with techniques rather than by instructional objectives. In addition, the teachers perceived themselves to be less skilled in certain learning-oriented assessment practices, such as self-assessment and designing test items that assess higher-level cognitive abilities. Compared with courses taught in Chinese, EMI courses showed a tendency to involve fewer classroom interactions and to assess students’ higher-order abilities less often, elements which are critical to the emergence of learning. Although the EMI teachers were aware of students’ difficulties with English, these difficulties were not commonly taken into consideration, and accommodations were seldom made. Finally, the teachers’ assessment practices were found to be mediated by variables such as discipline, course size, and the teachers’ focus of assessment. The findings of this investigation have implications for the development and implementation of useful training programs in support of EMI teachers’ professional development in assessment.

Designing Meaningful, Accessible Professional Development in Assessment

Assessment UpdateVolume 29, Issue 3 p. 6-15 Articles Designing Meaningful, Accessible Professional Development in Assessment Catherine M. Barrette, Catherine M. BarretteSearch for more papers by this author Catherine M. Barrette, Catherine M. BarretteSearch for more papers by this author First published: 08 June 2017 https://doi.org/10.1002/au.30094Citations: 1Read the full textAboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume29, Issue3May/June 2017Pages 6-15 RelatedInformation

Impact of materials on rural middle school students' understanding of science concepts

Newton's Universe (NU) is a professional development (PD) program utilizing hands‐on inquiry based distance learning to improve science content knowledge of rural middle school science teachers. This study examined the impact of NU PD and kits containing laboratory materials and inquiry based activities on student understanding of temperature and heat concepts. Experimental teachers (n=34) received PD and a kit, while control teachers (n=17) received neither PD nor a kit. To account for the impact of laboratory materials independent of PD, kit teachers (n=19) received a kit but no PD. Experimental teachers scored significantly higher than control or kit teachers on a 25 multiple choice question post PD assessment (16.97 + 3.66 vs. 12.71 + 2.71 and 13.00 + 3.72 correct responses, respectively). On 39 multiple choice questions, pre and post instruction assessments, experimental teachers' students' scores significantly increased from pre to post (14.41 + 4.07 vs. 17.95 + 5.67; n = 1091) while control teachers' students' scores did not change (14.26 + 4.10 vs. 14.54 + 0.71; n = 310). Pre and post instruction scores of kit teachers' students (n = 1714) are being evaluated. These data show that NU PD improves student performance in physical science. Thus, using distance learning to increase rural teacher access to effective PD will improve student achievement in middle school science. (Supported by NSF Grant #0437768).

The Assessment Skills and Knowledge Standards

A new set of standards to guide professional development in assessment among student affairs professionals and faculty members is poised to revolutionize how educators learn to conduct this essential work.

Towards an agenda for professional development in assessment

Assessment as integral to good teaching and learning has come to be accepted as a core principle underlying curricula in many educational systems around the world. Indeed, the evidence that high qu...