Assessing Teacher Learning in Science Session Goals Discuss the - - PDF document

Assessing Teacher Learning in Science

Session Goals

• Discuss the various dimensions of

teacher knowledge.

• Be aware of some issues related to

assessing teacher learning.

• Become familiar with the development

work of ATLAST.

Session Overview

• ATLAST project overview.
• Dimensions of teacher knowledge.
• Issues related to developing/ using

items and instruments.

• Wrap up.

Assumptions

• Primary interest is for evaluation

purposes.

• MSPs are constrained to approaches

that are not labor-intensive.

What dimensions of knowledge does an item tap?

ATLAST Overview

Implicit Theory of Action

Professional Development Increased Teacher Knowledge for Teaching Science Improved Classroom Practice in Science Increased K-12 Student Achievement in Science Science Curriculum Materials

Goals of ATLAST

• Create and validate instruments to

measure each component of the theory

• Codify procedures for creating

instruments

• Provide T.A. to MSPs on using the

instruments

• Disseminate instruments, procedures,

and lessons learned

Content Areas

• Force and motion
• Processes that shape Earth
• Flow of matter and energy in living

systems

Force and Motion Benchmark

An unbalanced force acting on an object changes its speed or direction of motion,

• r both. If the force acts toward a single

center, the object's path may curve into an orbit around the center.

Instruments

• Student science content knowledge

assessment

• Student opportunity to learn (SOTL)

instruments

– Curriculum materials analysis – Classroom observation protocol – Teacher interview protocols – Teacher instructional log

• Teacher knowledge for teaching science

assessment

• Teacher opportunity to learn (TOTL)

instruments

Development of Teacher Assessments

• 1. Clarify the benchmark.
• 2. Identify student and teacher thinking

about the benchmark.

• 3. Write open-ended items for teachers.
• 4. Write multiple choice items for

teachers.

• 5. Pilot and field test items.
• 6. Create scales.

Sample open-ended item

You decide to take your 8th grade class to the bowling alley for some “hands-on” experience with force and motion. You ask Jill to take a

• turn. After she releases the ball, you ask her to

describe the horizontal force(s) that are acting

• n the ball as it rolls down the lane. Jill

describes two forces: 1) the force of the ball moving forward down the lane, and 2) the force

• f friction that slows the ball down. What

aspects of her response, if any, are correct? What aspects of her response, if any, are incorrect?

Dimensions of Teacher Knowledge for Teaching Science

• 1. disciplinary content
• 2. alternative frameworks for thinking about the

content

• 3. relationships between big ideas and the supporting

ideas

• 4. student thinking about the content
• 5. strategies to diagnose the thinking of a particular

group of students

• 6. how to sequence ideas for students
• 7. content-specific strategies that move students’

thinking forward

Revised Dimensions

• 1. disciplinary content
• 2. alternative frameworks for thinking about the

content

• 3. relationships between big ideas and the supporting

ideas

• 4. student thinking about the content
• 5. strategies to diagnose the thinking of a particular

group of students

• 6. how to sequence ideas for students
• 7. content-specific strategies that move students’

thinking forward

7. content-specific strategies that move students’ thinking forward 6. how to sequence ideas for students 5. strategies to diagnose the thinking of a particular group

• f students

4. student thinking about the content 3. relationships between big ideas and the supporting ideas 2. alternative frameworks for thinking about the content 1. disciplinary content

Resources Dimension

Instrument Availability

• Force and Motion—Spring 2005
• Forces that shape Earth—Spring 2006
• Flow of matter and energy in living

systems—Spring 2006

ATLAST

Assessing Teacher Learning About Science Teaching

Sean Smith, PI Horizon Research, Inc. 326 Cloister Court Chapel Hill, NC 27514 ssmith@horizon-research.com 919-489-1725