Assessing the Development of Teacher Expertise to Work With English Language Learners in Ambitious Ways

• In Event: 52.042 - Has the Next Generation of State Assessment Programs and Assessment Platforms Considered Linguistic, Social, and Cultural Inclusivity?

Abstract

Building on a decade of professional development, implementation, and studies on the development of teacher expertise to work with English Language Learners in 4-12 classrooms, this paper addresses the evaluation of the growth of teacher knowledge and ability to enact assessment in action. The every day assessment of English Language Learners and other students who need to develop deep and robust academic practices in English relies on teacher expertise. The paper discusses the nature of teacher expertise required to make these assessments valid, reliable, and above all, pedagogically informative. It will draw on data derived from applications the Quality Teaching for English Learners Observational Instrument, (QTEL-OI) designed by Aída Walqui and Leslie Hamburger at WestEd, with the collaboration of Ofelia García, at the time at Teachers College, Columbia University to assess the enactment of teacher practice and assessment as a result of participation in professional development. The goal of this instrument is to measure the development of teacher expertise across time, and it seeks to capture not only innovative teaching practices and ELLs’ engagement in academic activity, but also the intellectual quality of the formative assessment driving pedagogical change.

Author

• Aida Walqui, WestEd