Preparing Teachers to Formatively Assess: Connecting the Initial Capabilities of Preservice Teachers With Visions of Teaching Practice

Timothy A. Boerst, Meghan Shaughnessy, Rosalie DeFino, Merrie Blunk, Susanna Owens Farmer, Erin Pfaff, D'Anna Pynes

Source Title: Handbook of Research on Formative Assessment in Pre-K Through Elementary Classrooms

ISBN13: 9781799803232|ISBN10: 1799803236|EISBN13: 9781799803249

DOI: 10.4018/978-1-7998-0323-2.ch005

MLA

Boerst, Timothy A., et al. "Preparing Teachers to Formatively Assess: Connecting the Initial Capabilities of Preservice Teachers With Visions of Teaching Practice." Handbook of Research on Formative Assessment in Pre-K Through Elementary Classrooms, edited by Christie Martin, et al., IGI Global, 2020, pp. 1-28. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-0323-2.ch005

APA

Boerst, T. A., Shaughnessy, M., DeFino, R., Blunk, M., Farmer, S. O., Pfaff, E., & Pynes, D. (2020). Preparing Teachers to Formatively Assess: Connecting the Initial Capabilities of Preservice Teachers With Visions of Teaching Practice. In C. Martin, D. Polly, & R. Lambert (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Formative Assessment in Pre-K Through Elementary Classrooms (pp. 1-28). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-0323-2.ch005

Chicago

Boerst, Timothy A., et al. "Preparing Teachers to Formatively Assess: Connecting the Initial Capabilities of Preservice Teachers With Visions of Teaching Practice." In Handbook of Research on Formative Assessment in Pre-K Through Elementary Classrooms, edited by Christie Martin, Drew Polly, and Richard Lambert, 1-28. Hershey, PA: IGI Global, 2020. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-0323-2.ch005

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Abstract

To engage in formative assessment, preservice teachers (PSTs) need to develop skill with the practice of interpretation. The initial preparation of teachers would benefit from having a sense of the interpretation skills brought by PSTs to teacher preparation. We articulate the nature of interpreting as a teaching practice including: articulating inferences, sampling evidence, developing and applying guiding criteria, and monitoring and redressing bias and distortion. We use a teaching simulation to identify the assets of PSTs' initial interpretive skills and areas in which PSTs might need to reconsider and change. An investigation with a group of PSTs from one teacher education program suggests that many PSTs bring skills with making evidence-based interpretations about a student's process for solving a mathematics problem. However, their skills are much more limited for making interpretations about a student's understanding and have potential for bias and distortion. Implications for teacher education are discussed.