New Frontiers of Assessment Using a Disciplinary Literacy Approach: Perspectives From Teachers

• In Event: 25.037 - Increasing Our Understanding of Classroom Assessment

Abstract

Many students in middle and secondary school face challenges in understanding complex content expressed in disciplinary-specific discourses. Disciplinary literacy (DL) has emerged as a viable approach to these challenges. Yet, to date, the assessment of disciplinary literacy remains relatively underdeveloped. The current paper examines the characteristics of assessment practices for DL based on field research with history teachers. Our thematic analysis, grounded in the assessment triangle of cognition, observation, and interpretation (Pellegrino et al., 2001), explores assessment practices that support the pedagogical principles of DL, and teachers’ perspectives of their positive effects on students’ learning. Themes include process orientation, student questioning, self-assessment, student choice, and use of technology.

Authors

• Jeanne Sinclair, University of Toronto

• Eunice Eunhee Jang, University of Toronto

• Saskia Stille, York University

• Gina Park, University of Toronto