Exploring Preservice Teachers' Knowledge of Assessment Practices for Diverse Young Learners

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 30
  In Roundtable Session: Developing Understandings of Diversity Among Early Childhood Preservice Teachers

Abstract

Assessment is an integral part of classroom daily life that informs instruction and curriculum when conducted purposefully and thoughtfully (Dorfman, Galluzzo, & Meisels, 2006). However, educators are underprepared to meet the complex assessment contexts in schools (DeLuca & Johnson, 2017). This study examines 20 preservice teachers’ (PSTs) evolving understandings of diverse assessment practice for young children. Immersed in a semester long assessment course, coupled with a field experience working with a culturally or ability diverse young learner, the PSTs develop and implement a variety of assessments to document the young child’s learning across developmental domains. Primary data sources include cognitive maps and confidence level surveys. Findings reveal PSTs’ emerging understandings of essential aspects of assessment practices for diverse young learners.

Authors

• Leslie La Croix, George Mason University

• Erin Geiger, George Mason University

• Julie K. Kidd, George Mason University