Transcript English Language Learners - University of Connecticut

INCORPORATING A COLLABORATIVE
ASSESSMENT EXCHANGE PROJECT WITH
PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS AND ADMINISTRATORS:
GETTING TO KNOW EDUCATOR PEDAGOGY
FROM TWO PERSPECTIVES
American Educational Research Association Annual Conference
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
April 2012
Mary E. Yakimowski and Michael Alfano
University of Connecticut – Neag School of Education
PRESENTATION DEDICATED TO MARY’S MOM – SHE HAD ALWAYS
WANTED TO BE A GEOGRAPHY TEACHER; SHE ENDED UP AS A GREAT
“EDUCATOR” THOUGH SHE DIDN’T HAVE A TEACHING CERTIFICATION;
SHE PASSED AWAY AT THE AGE OF 93
PURPOSE
To determine how we might use an authentic
assessment project to positively influence the
knowledge, skills, and/or dispositions required of
pre-service teacher and administrator candidates
(e.g., Wise, Ehrenberg, Leibbrand, 2008)
Based on theory of adult learning
Collaborative exchange
UConn Administrator Preparation Program (UCAPP)
Teacher Certification Program for College Graduates (TCPCG)
OBJECTIVES
 Design
and implement an exchange project
with between two programs across 3
departments
 Assess
and study the effects of this project on
such things as teacher pedagogy and teacher
supervision knowledge, skills and dispositions
 Interpret
the findings and present their
implications for both programs
Review of Literature
Methodology
Results
Implications of Results
Learning's / Future Avenues
REVIEW OF LITERATURE:
A SAMPLING
Teacher preparation programs
Kagan, 1992; Tang, 2004; Darling-Hammond, Hammerness,
Grossman, Rust, & Shulman, 2005; Zeichner, 2005)
Early clinical experiences
Varrati, Lavine, & Turner, 2009
Integrating administrators
Blasé & Blasé, 2004; Brock & Grady, 1998; Vann, 1986; Varrati,
Lavine, & Turner, 2009; Cawelti & Protheroe, 2001; Schmoeker,
2001; Sergiovanni, 2001; Varrati, Lavine, & Turner, 2009;
Wenger, McDermott & Snyder, 2002
Authentic
Moore, 2003
Assessment
McTighe & O’Connor, 2005; Wiggins & McTighe, 2008).
Stiggins, 2009
Adult learning theory
Mindful practice includes developing an awareness of one’s
mental processing, engaging in active listening, exercising
flexibility, identifying bias and judgments, and acting
compassionately (Epstein, 1999; McGarvey, 2010).
METHODOLOGY: SUBJECTS
TCPCG – 78 candidates
UCAPP – 48 candidates
Both affiliated with the Neag School
of Education at the University of
Connecticut
METHODOLOGY: RESEARCH DESIGN
Action research -
Mixed methods
Overall research question
Does this activity enhance candidates’ knowledge, skills,
and/or dispositions?
Multi-angulation of data; Qual/Quant
components
Including observations, document analysis, Likert-scale
responses,
METHODOLOGY: RESEARCH DESIGN
Action research -
Mixed methods
Overall research question
Does this activity enhance candidates’ knowledge, skills,
and/or dispositions?
Multi-angulation of data; Qual/Quant
components
Including observations, document analysis, Likert-scale
responses,
DATA SOURCES/ANALYSIS
Lesson Plan (TCPCG)
Strategic School Profiles, Lesson Plan, Video of Lesson, Reflections,
Exchange Form – Part A
Document analysis
Assessment of Lesson Plan (UCAPP)
Exchange Form – Part B
e.g., Quantitative analyses of rubric
Exchange Project Meeting (TCPCG/UCAPP)
Observations
Immediate Assessment of Project (TCPCG/UCAPP)
Exchange Form – Parts C & D
Quantitative descriptive stats; paired t-tests
Follow-up Assessment of Project (TCPCG only)
Semi-structured focus group
RESULTS - LESSON PLANS
Document Analysis
We found that while some candidates listed
content as themes or topics, such as
“motion’s laws,” others offered a more
thorough description, placing the lesson in
the context of previous learning and
providing a rationale for the timing of the
lesson with associated activities.
Prompt: “The content that came earlier in
the unit was:”
“At this point, students have been working on the
Personal Narrative unit. We are specifically focusing on
Memoirs. Students read a variety of short memoirs to
understand exactly what the genre is and is not. They
have engaged in the prewriting and writing processes,
and they have presented in class with their rough draft.
Students were asked to have the entire content of their
memoirs in class this day.”
Prompt: “Set the stage” for viewing the
lesson. Responses often exhibit
thoughtfulness.
“Force is a difficult concept and as you can see from the
many definitions, the students have an idea of what
they think force is, however it has a very specific
meaning in physics and the student’s initial definitions
do not completely line up.”
RESULTS – ASSESSING LESSON PLANS
Assessing Appropriate
& Effective Instruction
Assessing
Differentiated
Instruction
Assessing Classroom
Management
Assessing Student
Progress
Unacceptable
Acceptable
Target
N (%)
N (%)
N (%)
Points Awarded
M
SD
1 (2.0)
18 (36.7) 21 (42.9)
15.18
3.65
7 (14.3)
14 (28.6)
7 (14.3)
13.15
5.10
0 (0)
16 (32.7) 24 (49.0)
16.05
3.39
0 (0)
23 (46.9) 17 (34.7)
14.90
3.66
TOTAL 59.28 13.33
RESULTS – THE EXCHANGE MEETING
Observation
First face-to-face meeting
Director had each UCAPP student stand to
introduce the names of the one or two teachers
Parties introduced themselves to each other
Dinner line together / Informal discussions
Formal meetings convened
Culminating activity
Teachers
 In preparing for a classroom observation by an administrator, ensure that
the lesson is “authentic””
 Share what you would like the administrator to focus on during the
classroom observation (e.g., As part of the project, differentiation and
student assessment was the focus. You could state something about how
you plan to incorporate these in your lesson and seek feedback.)
 Be open-minded…open to suggestions and willing to accept new ideas
 Be self-reflective (e.g., Reanalyze the lesson yourself and share your
thoughts on the strengths and areas needing improvement.)
 Be willing to seek clarification of what the administrator says in the
conference
 Do not take “criticism” personally
 Have a conversation with the administrator
 Assume the administrator has the best interest in mind (e.g., helping you
- the teacher - and helping to facilitate learning by the students)
 Be respectful of the administrator (e.g., Watch tone of voice; folded arms)
 Try to summarize the major points shared by the administrator at the end
of the conference
Administrators
 Have a dialogue before the classroom observation to lay out the expectations for
the observation
 Have clear expectations of the focus of the lesson (e.g., As part of the project, it
was differentiation and student assessment)
 Be sure to watch the students, as well as the teacher, during the classroom
observation
 As an administrator, be confident in your observation and subsequent analyses
 Be respectful of the teacher (e.g., Watch tone of voice and be aware of body
language throughout the session)
 Do not let the ego of being an administrator creep up
 Understand that teachers are people who have feelings, too
 Be honest
 Keep the meeting a mutual conversation – not a monologue
 Do not use the “w” word (weakness vs. area for improvement)
 Practice “PBIS”
 Be specific and help to be a part of the solution (e.g., “What does that look like in
the classroom?”)
 Use data to back up the areas for improvement and the resulting suggestions
 Wrap up the session with clear communication (e.g., Let’s summarize …)
 End on a positive note
RESULTS – IMMEDIATE ASSESSMENT
TCPCG
UCAPP
Paired t
M
SD
M
SD
Positive experience
4.47
0.82
4.61
0.61
-1.16
Enjoyable experience
Clear communication generally
about the project
4.18
1.05
4.57
0.65
-2.91**
3.69
1.31
3.37
1.17
1.63
Clear expectations about the
project
3.55
1.29
3.35
1.09
1.09
Focus on differentiation
3.90
1.12
3.92
0.81
-.12
Focus on pupil assessment
4.02
1.01
3.80
0.91
1.21
Clear recommendations offered
4.73
0.64
4.31
0.74
3.46**
Evidence-based feedback given
4.49
0.92
4.23
0.75
1.70
RESULTS – FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENT
Semi-structured Focus Group
1. Tell us what you know about UCAPP and initial reaction?
2. Briefly, tell me how you assessed the students in your class
during your lesson?
3. How did you embed differentiation?
4. How (in what ways) did the feedback provided by the
TCPCG/UCAPP Exchange project improve your teaching?
5. How did the TCPCG/UCAPP Exchange project prepare you for
future interactions with school administrators?
6. Please share anything else regarding with Exchange project
that we have not addressed.
RESULTS – FOLLOW-UP ASSESSMENT
How (in what ways) did the feedback provided by
the TCPCG/UCAPP Exchange project improve your
teaching?
Positive responses: Levels of comfort, detailed
feedback, provision of insight/resources for future
use, impartial reviewer, more tailored feedback
Negative responses: Issues with the timeline, lack
of feedback
OVERALL – FINDINGS GIVE HOPE
Participants from both programs generally felt it was
a positive, enjoyable experience with clear and
evidence-based feedback/recommendations offered
The last activity of the dinner meeting was found
particularly helpful to many of the participants as
items to remember in the future when facing a
teacher-principal evaluative interaction
PARAMETERS
All data collection needed to be done within the
framework of designated courses and timeframe
Participants were from one institution
Did not include either all TCPCG students, or the
other teacher education program at that
institution
Researchers needed to respect the regular course
load of these students, particularly in TCPCG as
participants are in an intensive one-year program
LEARNINGS/FUTURE AVENUES
 Clearer explanations of the project
 More immediacy of feedback
 Expand to the other TCPCG cohort and
perhaps to the other teacher education
component
 Examine the standardized assessment results
that UCAPP students take
 Schedule alumni survey, embed some
questions on the long-time potential benefits
CONCLUSIONS
 Much time for all stakeholders - Take it slowly and cautiously
 As higher education faculty, adult learners are mindful
practitioners
 Learning process did provide authentic learning
opportunities (i.e., delivering a lesson, evaluation and giving
feedback to a lesson) to support students’ self-esteem, self–
efficacy, self-directedness
 Self-directed learning allow students to be involved in what
and how they learned (e.g., reflecting on the experience and
dialoguing with others promoted collegiality across participants from the
two programs in a positive way)
 Scholarly significance - A collaborative assessment could foster
in future teachers and administrators that learning is a
continuous process that will further evolve and develop