Getting the Pieces in Place

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Getting the Pieces in Place

• From Pupil Learning to More Pupil Learning
• Patrick McQuillan, mcquilpa_at_bc.edu
• Lisa DSouza, andrieli_at_bc.edu
• Boston College

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A Conceptual Framework for Assessing Teacher
Education
TC Entry Character- istics
Teacher Learning (knowledge of
content, pedagogy, learning, schooling beliefs a
ttitudes) TL
Teaching Practices (in schools
and classrooms) TP
School Outcomes O
Pupil Learning PL
TE Program (opportunities to learn)
Social Justice SJ
Teacher Retention Ret
Pupil Characteristics PC
Classroom, school, community, university,
accountability Contexts
Induction/mentoring, years 1-2 of teaching
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  Evidence Portfolio
             
 
Comparison Study Observations Pupil
Assessments Program Comparisons TC, TE, TP, PL,
SJ
 Surveys and Tracking Entry Exit Year-Out Two-Yea
r-Out Three-Year-Out 5,8,10 Contact TC, TE, TL,
TP, Ret, SJ
Value-Added Assessment Teacher
Characteristics Pupil Test Scores TC, TE, PC, PL
Social Justice   Survey Scale Vignettes Inquiry
Rubric Case Studies Teacher Observations TC, TE,
TL, TP, SJ
 Qualitative Case Studies Interviews Observations
Pupil Work Coursework TC, TE, TL, TP, I/M, O,
Contexts
Inquiry Projects Rubric TE, TL, TP, PL, SJ
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Qualitative Case Studies Project (QCS)
Examines relationships among
TCs entry characteristics
TCs learning
Teaching practice
Pupils learning
Efforts to teach for social justice
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Research Design Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Cohort 1 (12 cases) Preservice
Cohort 2 (10 cases) Preservice
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YEAR 1 DATA SOURCES-Preservice Year
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Research Questions

• In a teacher education program committed to
  social justice, inquiry, and meeting the needs of
  all learners, how do teacher candidates assess
  their pupils, and how do they make sense of the
  subsequent pupil learning?
• In particular, how do they respond to dilemmas
  that arise in the course of enacting these
  assessments?

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Problems with Evaluative Testing

• Reshape instruction and lower complexity
• Emphasize rote and superficial learning
• Has a negative impact on low-achieving students

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A numerical grade does not tell students how
to improve their work(Black, et al., 2004, p.
13)
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Themes of the Lynch School of EducationBoston
College

• Promoting Social Justice
• In the course, Teaching Bilingual Students,
  teacher candidates learn to support those who
  are most vulnerable in our society, children from
  low-income families and homes where English is
  not the first language.

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Exit Survey Data for 06 M.Ed. Teacher Candidates

• Social Justice
• 76 of respondents agreed or strongly agreed
  with the 12 survey items examining conceptions of
  teaching for social justice
• Reliability estimate for social justice scale was
  .72

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Themes of the Lynch School of EducationBoston
College

• 2. Affirming diversity by meeting the needs of
  all learners
• For example, the syllabus for the elementary
  course, Teaching Reading, maintained that all
  excellent pedagogy begins with the premise that
  learning must be connected to and catered for all
  learners needs, interests, abilities, and
  background.

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Exit Survey Data for 06 M.Ed. Teacher Candidates

• Meeting the Needs of All Learners
• 79 of respondents selected good or
  excellence on the 10 survey items related to
  meeting all pupils needs
• Reliability estimate for scale was .89

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Themes of the Lynch School of EducationBoston
College

• 3. Inquiry into practice
• For Inquiry Seminar teacher candidates
  considered the following questions
• How do we know pupils are learning?
• Are all pupils learning?
• How can we measure pupil learning?
• How can we adapt instruction to improve pupil
  learning?

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Exit Survey Data for 06 M.Ed. Teacher Candidates

• Classroom Inquiry
• 88 of respondents selected good or
  excellence on the 10 survey items focused on
  their preparation for classroom inquiry
• Reliability estimate for inquiry scale was .92

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I cant just give up when something is hard to
do Sonia

• Dilemma
• Planned ambitious Readers Theater that did not
  meet her expectation for pupil achievement
• Took ownership by keeping pupils in during recess
  and working through the problems
• If theyre not meeting the objectives, theyre
  not learning. . . . and I stressed a lot, its
  your responsibility to learn.

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Using inquiry to identify pupil learning

• I think you have to . . . . listen for
  students understandingBut also listen for
  their interests or for their ideas . . . to guide
  your teaching. For all the activities I think
• Is it relevant to them?
• Is it going to be meaningful to them?
• Is it going to be exciting for them to learn
  about this? (Sonia)

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I like seeing social justice in action
Elizabeth

• Dilemma
• Modified unit plan from English methods course
• Viewed multi-draft writing as necessary
• Received feedback from CT that it is time
  consuming
• Created a multi-step process for assessing pupil
  learning and related needs

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Using formative assessment to identify pupil
learning

• I gave them step-by-step instructions . . . so
  I could keep track of . . . what part they were
  having a really hard time with and pinpoint any
  problems. . . . If they were struggling . . . I
  could quickly identify the ones that might not
  get it, but with a little help, they would.
  (Elizabeth)

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Leaving students behind is unacceptableMark

• Dilemma
• Planned debate early in student teaching but it
  was not structured very well and the reading
  materials were too difficult
• Designed a 2nd debate which focused on weaknesses
  identified after first debate, but the topic was
  too personal for many pupils to debate
  objectively
• Continued to explore how to best organize a class
  debate

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Using formative assessment to identify pupil
learning

• Informal assessment actually works. The
  students get it. . . . I wouldnt have thought of
  formative assessment as the tool that I now
  think of it as. I probably would have given an
  essay test Answer the question thats it. And
  there are some students that thats just not
  going to work for. I just would have given them
  the test and walked away. (Mark)

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Distancing

• Focus on pupil motivation and ability as inherent
  pupil characteristics
• Conception of social justice shifted
• Lack of connection between teaching and learning
  outcomes for both high- and low-achieving pupils

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Implications

• Teacher education programs should help teacher
  candidates explore issues like
• ethical dimensions of teaching
• distancing logic
• connections between teaching and pupil learning
• pupil disengagement

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Disequilibrium impetus for change

• In attempting to reduce this tension,
  individuals often try a new behavior or change an
  attitude or belief (Nadler, 1993, p. 62)
• Growth appears from disequilibrium, not balance.
  . . . Disruptions, confusion, chaos. . . . are
  necessary to awaken creativity (Wheatley, 1999,
  p.21)