Teacher Learning in a Team-Based Environment: Overview of the Formative Assessment for Michigan Educators Professional Model

• In Event: The Impact of a Statewide Professional Development Model for Formative Assessment on Teacher Learning and Practices

Abstract

Objectives or purposes
The first paper in the symposium outlines the conceptual model that underlies the FAME professional development model. This model is based on learning teams, a type of community of practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991), that consist of volunteer teachers and administrators interested in the study of formative assessment. Participants regularly meet throughout the school year to support changing their formative-assessment classroom practices.
The primary questions being explored through this piece is, “What is the concept of teacher learning in the FAME professional development model?” and “How does research illuminate the design of professional development models such as FAME?”

Perspective(s) or theoretical framework:
Professional development that supports teachers’ learning has been shown to be a key factor in improving the quality of schools (e.g., Borko & Putnam, 1995; Desimone, 2009) and in improving student learning (Desimone, Smith, Hayes, & Frisvold, 2005). Effective professional development should focus on instruction and student outcomes (Newmann, King, & Youngs; 2004); be sustained over a long period; engage teachers in a community that supports their learning (Darling-Hammond, 1997, Stoll, Bolam, McMahon, Wallace & Thomas, 2006; Wenger, 1998); and engage teachers in authentic problems within their professional practice (Lave & Wenger, 1991; Webster-Wright, 2009; Wilson & Berne, 1999). These characteristics are similar to optimal professional development programs in formative classroom assessment (Schneider & Randel, 2009) which have emphasized models based on different types of communities of practice (Webb & Jones, 2009; Willie, Lyon, & Goe, 2009; Schneider & Randel, 2009)

Methods & Data sources
This paper will conduct a systematic review of the research on qualities of effective professional development – highlighting the notion of teachers working in communities of practice engaged in authentic and classroom-based problem solving. Moreover, the paper will include sections on specific types of professional development for helping teachers improve their formative assessment knowledge and practices and on the characteristics of the FAME professional development model.

Results
This presentation will summarize the research base on effective professional development for helping teachers improve their formative assessment knowledge and practices. The findings will then be used to describe the design of the FAME professional development model.

Scientific or scholarly significance of the study or work
Research on professional development to support teachers’ formative-assessment knowledge and practice faces the challenge of determining the effectiveness of their implementation (Schneider & Randel, 2009) especially in terms of quality instruction and student learning. This paper provides evidence to support the specific design decisions in the FAME professional development model to support impacting both teacher knowledge and practices as well as student learning.

Authors

• Dante Cisterna, Educational Testing Service

• John L. Lane, Michigan State University

• Amelia Wenk Gotwals, Michigan State University

• Edward D. Roeber, University of Wisconsin