Professional development in formative assessment

127 Pages·2015·1.06 MB·English

Professional development in
formative assessment: Effects on
teacher classroom practice and
student achievement

Catarina Andersson
Department of Science and
Mathematics Education
Umeå 2015
Responsible publisher under Swedish law: the Dean of the Science/Technology
Faculty
This work is protected by the Swedish Copyright Legislation (Act 1960:729)
ISBN: 978-91-7601-256-7
ISSN: 1650-8858
Cover picture: Marika Vikström
Elektronisk version tillgänglig på http://umu.diva-portal.org/
Printed by: Print & Media, Umeå universitet
Umeå, Sweden 2015

Innehåll/Table of Contents

Innehåll/Table of Contents i

Abstract iv

List of original articles v

Svensk sammanfattning vi

1. Introduction 1

1.1 Aims 2

1.2 The coherence between the four articles 3

1.3 The intervention, the professional development program 4

1.3.1 Collaboration between municipality and the university 4

1.3.2 Design of the professional development program 5

1.4 Mathematics education and formative assessment in the Swedish context 7

1.5 Summary 10

2. Formative assessment 11

2.1 Procedures for searching literature in formative assessment 12

2.1.1 Snowball method 13

2.1.2 Searches in selected databases and journals 14

2.1.3 An extensive systematic search in Web of Science and Swepub 15

2.2 Development of the research field and concept of formative assessment 16
2.3 Definition and framework of formative assessment used in the research

project 19

2.3.1 Definition of formative assessment 19

2.3.2 Interaction between the key strategies 22

2.3.3 Three dimensions for development 23

2.4 Formative assessment and student learning 25

2.4.1 Student learning perspectives in formative assessment 25

2.4.2 The relationship between formative assessment and student achievement28

2.5 Challenges in implementation of formative assessment 29

2.6 Challenges in the field of formative assessment research 32

2.7 Summary 33

3. Professional development in formative assessment 35
3.1 Procedures for searching literature in professional development in formative

assessment 36

3.1.1 Snowball method 36

3.1.2 Searches in selected databases 36

3.1.3 An extended systematic search in Web of Science and Swepub 37

3.2 Professional development in general 37

3.3 Professional development in formative assessment 40
3.4 Linking literature about professional development in general to literature

about professional development in formative assessment 45

3.5 A motivation theory perspective 47
i
3.6 Summary 48

4. Methodology 50

4.1 The overall research design 50

4.1.1 The framework and analytical tool 51

4.1.2 Mixed methods 52

4.1.3 Triangulation 52

4.2 Overview of the research project 53

4.3 Research methods 56

4.3.1 Participants 56

4.3.2 Procedures in data collection and data analysis 57

4.3.2.1 Study I and II - Classroom observations and Teacher interviews 58

4.3.2.2 Study III – Teacher interviews and Teacher questionnaires 62

4.3.2.3 Study IV – Student mathematics pre- and post-tests 63

4.4 Philosophical considerations 65

4.4.1 A pragmatic approach 66

4.4.2 Values, beliefs and attitudes 67

4.5 The role of the researcher 68

4.6 Ethical considerations 69

4.5.1 Information 69

4.5.2 Consent 70

4.5.3 Confidentiality 71

4.5.4 Use 71

4.5.5 Additional ethical considerations 71

4.6 Summary 72

5. Results 74

5.1 Article 1 74

5.2 Article 2 75

5.3 Article 3 76

5.4 Article 4 78

6. Conclusions 79

7. Discussion 80

7.1 Contribution of the research presented in this thesis 80

7.2 A unity of integrated formative assessment strategies 83
7.3 The value of characterising high quality formative assessment classroom

practice 84
7.4 Important characteristics of professional development programs in

formative assessment 85

7.5 Implications for educational practice 88

7.6 Implications for the educational research field of formative assessment 89

7.7 Future research 90

7.8 Summary and final words 91

Acknowledgements 92

References 94
ii
iii
Abstract
The potential of formative assessment, evident in several research reviews,
has raised the interest in many countries to invest in reform initiatives to
develop the use of formative assessment. However, implementation of
formative assessment is not straightforward and there is a lack of knowledge
about how to design appropriate professional development. The intervention
study presented in this thesis aimed to see if a random selection of teachers,
participating in a professional development program with many contact
hours and substantial support of an expert, implemented formative
assessment in a way that increased their students’ learning in mathematics.
It also aimed to examine the reasons for the teachers’ changes in their
classroom practice.
The twenty-two year 4 teachers attended a professional development
program in formative assessment in mathematics. A mixed methods
approach used classroom observations, teacher interviews, questionnaire
surveys and student mathematics tests to investigate the effects on teacher
classroom practice and student achievement.
It was found that the teachers trained in formative assessment built on their
previous formative classroom practice and added new formative assessment
activities into their mathematics classroom practice to a level that had
significant impact on student achievement in mathematics (p = .036, d =
.66). The teachers developed their formative assessment practice in three
dimensions: key processes in teaching and learning, agents in the classroom,
and the length of the formative assessment cycle.
The reasons for teachers´ implementation of new formative assessment
activities were well explained by the expectancy-value theory of achievement
motivation. Important aspects of the professional development program
were: (1) A formative and process-oriented character; (2) Activities directly
useable in classrooms; (3) Experience of using formative assessment
activities; (4) Connection between theory and practice; (5) Time; and (6)
Knowledgeable support.
The thesis shows that it was possible to provide sufficient support to a
random selection of teachers for them to develop their formative assessment
practice in a way that improved student achievement. However, this thesis
also indictes that it can be expected that teachers would need substantial
time and support to achive such developments in their classroom practice.
iv
List of original articles

The thesis consists of the following articles (also addressed as studies I–IV),
that at the time of printing of this thesis have not yet been submitted for
publication.

Article 1
Formative assessment in Swedish mathematics classroom practices.
Authors: Catarina Andersson and Erika Boström.

Article 2
The characteristics of formative assessment that
enhance student achievement in mathematics.
Authors: Catarina Andersson and Torulf Palm.

Article 3
Reasons for teachers' successful development of a formative assessment
practice through professional development - a motivation perspective.
Authors: Catarina Andersson and Torulf Palm.

Article 4
The impact of formative assessment on student achievement: A study of the
effects of changes in classroom practice after a comprehensive professional
development program.
Authors: Catarina Andersson and Torulf Palm.
v
Svensk sammanfattning
Inledning
Flertalet forskningsöversikter har visat på de effekter på elevers lärande som
är möjliga genom att använda formativ bedömning. I flera länder har denna
forskning ökat intresset för att satsa på reformer för att utveckla
användningen av formativ bedömning. Att utveckla sitt sätt att använda
formativ bedömning är dock inte en okomplicerad process och det behövs
ytterligare kunskap om hur man utformar lärarfortbildning i formativ
bedömning. Interventionsstudien som presenteras i denna avhandling syftar
till att se om vanliga (slumpvis utvalda) lärare, som deltog i en fortbildning
med många kontakttimmar och ett betydande stöd från en expert, kunde
utveckla sin användning av formativ bedömning på ett sätt som ökade deras
elevers lärande i matematik. Ett annat syfte var att undersöka varför lärarna
valde att göra förändringar i sin undervisning och vilka egenskaper i
fortbildningen de ansåg vara viktiga för att de skulle göra förändringar i sin
undervisning.
Avhandlingens fyra delstudier (Artikel 1-4) har undersökt: lärarnas
matematikundervisning, med avseende på formativ bedömning, innan
fortbildningen; fortbildningens effekter på lärarnas undervisning; orsakerna
till den förändrade undervisningen, och vilka aspekter i fortbildningen som
var viktiga för att förändringarna i undervisningen skulle ske; samt
fortbildningens effekter på elevernas matematikprestationer.
Vi har använt ett ramverk som definierar effektiv och ändamålsenlig
formativ bedömning som en klassrumspraktik grundad på en tillämpning av
en grundläggande idé (the big idea), som handlar om att använda
information om elevernas lärande för att justera undervisningen för att
bättre möta elevernas behov, samt en kompetent användning av följande fem
nyckelstrategier (Wiliam, 2010; Wiliam & Thompson, 2008.):

1. Klargöra, dela och skapa förståelse för lärandemål och kriterier för
framsteg
2. Åstadkomma effektiva klassrumsdiskussioner, aktiviteter och
inlärningsuppgifter som visar att lärande har skett
3. Ge feedback som för lärandet framåt
4. Aktivera eleverna till att bli undervisningsresurser för varandra
5. Aktivera eleverna till att äga sitt eget lärande

vi