Sowing Seeds and Growing Roots: Middle Grades Mathematics Teachers Learn to Implement Formative Assessment

• In Event: Professional Learning in STEM Areas

Abstract

This paper articulates two perspectives on middle-grades mathematics teachers’ learning to enact formative assessment. Two cohorts of middle school teachers participated in FACETS, a professional development program (PD) that emphasized five critical aspects of formative assessment: using learning progressions; sharing lesson learning goals and success criteria; eliciting and interpreting evidence of students’ thinking; providing focused, formative feedback; and developing students’ ability to monitor and manage their learning. Using a mixed-methods (convergent-parallel) research design, we administered pre- and post-program assessments, collected artifacts from the professional development, and observed classroom lessons. Results are based on analyses of group data as well as selected case studies for the first cohort of 23 teachers.

Authors

• Lynn T. Goldsmith, Education Development Center, Inc.

• Sophia Mansori, Education Development Center, Inc.