Broadening Conceptions of Data: Understanding Secondary Science Teachers' Data Use in Ongoing Instruction

• In Event: 46.030 - Owning the Reform: Teacher Use of Data for Instructional Improvement

Abstract

This qualitative study focuses on how high school science teachers rely on data other than standardized assessments for instructional decision making and how they appraise the value of that data. The findings depict a highly nuanced portrait of data use, where data from more informal assessments, such as observation and conversation with students, are far more useful for making instructional decisions than any other kind of data, standardized or otherwise. However, teachers report that they still collect a substantial amount of formal assessment data with the expectation that students will use that data to monitor their own learning. The findings suggest that broader framework for assessment and data is necessary to understand the complex nature of teacher data use.

Author

• Nora Gannon-Slater, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign