This study explores the role of conceptual coherence in science teacher learning of science‐specific formative assessment. Conceptual coherence refers to the alignment of ideas about teaching and learning and may be difficult with certain teaching practices, like formative assessment, that have a central role in accountability mechanisms in schools. The case study analyzes how one department of science teachers surfaced and managed issues of coherence as they developed and implemented science‐specific formative assessments during a 3‐year, job‐embedded professional development program. The issues of coherence shifted over the course of the 3 years of professional development as organizational changes happened at the district and the school. These shifting sources of incoherence resulted in varied uptake and use of the resources provided through professional development. When the source of incoherence was with changes introduced by the district or the school administration, the teachers did not leverage the resources provided by the professional development team. However, when the teachers surfaced issues of coherence in their classroom instruction, the science teachers relied on the professional development resources in their sensemaking. The results of this study have implications for the design of science teacher professional learning to provide teachers opportunities to manage sources of incoherence as they work to implement new instructional practices in their classrooms.
This content will become publicly available on April 23, 2025
The Framework for K‐12 Science Education set an ambitious goal of broadening participation in science learning for all students. Meeting this vision will involve supporting teachers in making meaningful connections with the cultural and linguistic resources their students bring to school; in essence, developing pedagogies that frame these resources as assets important to learning. In this manuscript, we present a qualitative case study of one community of high school science teachers who participated in a year‐long professional learning focused on formative assessment co‐design related to natural selection. Findings show that the process of formative assessment co‐design surfaced both deficit‐ and asset‐based statements about students' contributions. Teachers were more likely to share deficit‐based statements as compared to facilitators, whose statements were more asset‐based. This was particularly true with reference to students' prior knowledge and linguistic resources. At the same time, our analysis suggests that teachers were more likely to share more asset‐based framings of learners when practicing for and reflecting on enactment of formative assessment tasks. These findings suggest that supportive co‐design environments can encourage teachers to take more asset‐oriented views of learners. We discuss the implications of these findings for professional learning and science classroom practice.
more » « less- PAR ID:
- 10549752
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Research in Science Teaching
- Volume:
- 61
- Issue:
- 9
- ISSN:
- 0022-4308
- Format(s):
- Medium: X Size: p. 2133-2161
- Size(s):
- p. 2133-2161
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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