From Sea to Sea: Assessment Education Across Canadian Preservice Programs

• In Event: 45.047 - The Current Context for Assessment Education in Preservice Preparatory Programs: A Symposium of International Perspectives

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to examine the approaches to assessment education used across Canada's 55 teacher education programs in order to provide a theoretical and contextual foundation for future research in the field.
Perspective: Within an accountability framework of education, Canadian teachers are called to implement assessment-based teaching to support, monitor, and report on student learning in relation to educational standards (Author d; Volante & Fazio, 2007). Research indicates that teachers develop conceptions of assessment throughout their experiences as students (Lortie, 1975; Pajares, 1992), as teacher candidates (Bachor & Baer, 2001; Volante & Fazio, 2007), and as classroom teachers (Author e; Newmann, Secada, & Wehlage 1995). Initially, through an 'apprenticeship of observation' (Lortie, 1975), future teachers develop conceptions of assessment purposes, processes, and fairness in their own K-12 education, forming the foundation of their approaches to assessment (Daniels et al., 2014; Gotch & French, 2014). Within relatively short programs (i.e., most 2 years), preservice programs are required to support teacher candidates' learning from these initial conceptions to professionally-educated perspectives on how to use assessment to support and monitor learning (Graham, 2005). Initial research into explicit assessment courses has shown positive gains in teacher candidates' learning (e.g., Author; Campbell et al., 2002; Mertler & Campbell, 2005); however, these studies typically focus on one program or course. Therefore, there is a need for a comprehensive examination of assessment education approaches across all Canadian teacher education programs.

Methods: This study used a scoping review methodology focused on assessment education within Canadian teacher education programs (Arksey & O'Malley, 2005; Gough et al., 2012). The review identified teacher education programs and related documents (e.g., program accreditation documents) and inductively analyze (Bowen, 2009) their models for assessment education to present trends in established and emerging approaches to assessment education.

Results: Based on our scooping review of teacher education programs across Canada, assessment education can be divided into four models: (a) explicit required, (b) explicit elective, (c) embedded required, and (d) embedded elective. The first model involves explicit assessment education in the form of a full year course, half-year course, or module. Programs that use this model all have a dedicated course on classroom assessment. Explicit assessment education can be either required or elective. An embedded model of assessment education does not have an explicit course in classroom assessment but rather integrates assessment within curriculum, educational foundation, or professional studies courses. Teacher education programs with explicit assessment education are more numerous than those using strictly an embedded model. Within the full paper, statistics related to assessment education models are presented based on geography and institutional size. Further, examples of course descriptions are used to illustrate differences between models and dominant conceptions of assessment literacy in Canada.

Significance: Understanding how teachers are educated in assessment is the first step in redressing low levels of assessment literacy. This pan-Canadian study provides a theoretical and descriptive foundation for future research into assessment education in Canada and elsewhere with the aim of improving teachers' approaches in assessment.

Authors

• Christopher DeLuca, Queen's University - Kingston

• Andrew Coombs, Queen's University - Kingston