Learning About Assessment, Learning Through Assessment (1998) / Chapter Skim
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III. Planning and Organizing Professional Development
III. Planning and Organizing Professional Development
Pages 23-32
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From page 23... ...
As mentioned in the previous section, the assessment process represents a simple message about teaching and learning: that a teacher's classroom actions should be based on a thoughtful analysis of student understanding. There is an analogue for teachers' professional development: that the design and implementation of teachers' learning experiences should reflect a thoughtful analysis of their understanding of the subject matter at hand.
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From page 24... ...
Gather evidence before, during, and after the event-about teacher learning, through observation, discussion, and written evaluation. The more that staff development allows teachers to experiment actively with assessment, the more accurate will be the appraisal of their learning and their concerns about assessment.
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From page 25... ...
is a particularly helpful resource for facilitators: The document outlines six standards for assessment that can support a facilitator in determining what is important to advocate for in mathematics assessment. Below we list the assessment standards and with each, provide examples of related advocacy statements we have made as facilitators.
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From page 26... ...
In order for students to succeed in assessment that asks them to construct their own solutions, they need instruction that encourages them to explore and construct their own mathematical meaning for concepts. Many of the educators we interviewed recommended that facilitators make an early case for the value and importance of teachers becoming more actively involved in improving assessment, in particular, as a way of aligning classroom experience with external assessments.
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From page 27... ...
You need to help teachers picture that much of what is 'alternative' builds on what they are already doing. In other words, you need to give credence to informed judgment." Leader in rural statewide systemic initiative The facilitator's sustained inquiry into the perspectives and concerns of participating teachers creates a public discussion that can shed light both on what is being learned and how the concerns of the group are evolving.
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From page 28... ...
What these design features have in common is that they are consistent with good learning practices and emphasize the importance of the learners' construction of meaning and knowledge: Professional development experiences should be consistent with the kinds of classroom experiences we want for students. Applying the principles of effective learning implies that teachers are provided active-learning opportunities for constructing and testing meaning and for exercising judgment, in particular, in the area of mathematics assessment.
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From page 29... ...
Learning experiences should create opportunities, through interaction and discussion among teachers, for addressing the challenges and developing judgment in the areas described earlier in this publication: judgment about the quality of mathematics in tasks, judgment about the appropriateness of tasks, judgment about the quality of student responses, and judgment about consequent actions. Activities such as working on tasks together and discussing the mathematics required by the task, analyzing student work, scoring student work on a rubric, developing rubrics, creating or adapting tasks, and planning diagnostic interventions are examples of such opportunities.
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From page 30... ...
Professional development experiences should reflect good organizational and logistical practices. For example, materials such as handouts and overhead transparencies should be clear and readable, and should provide adequate information; the room set-up should be conducive to the experience (for example, teachers sitting in groups around tables rather than theater style)
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From page 31... ...
For example, if the group discussion leans toward strictest urtcterstartdi71g, the group can plan to engage in a variety of activities, such as: engaging in case discussions based on instructional dilemmas (e.g., Barnett et al., 1994~; using performance standards to sort student work for instructional needs; and designing or adapting schemes for classroom observation of problem solving. Learning About Assessment, Learning Through Assessment 31
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From page 32... ...
Not that they're not useful, just not the best thing for newcomers. They may be more exciting and juicy, but they won't be used as frequently." Nighschool mathematics teacher 32 Driscoll and Bryant
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