The Instructional Quality Assessment as a tool for reflecting on instructional practice (original) (raw)
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1996
The purpose of this exploratory study was to develop a model for evaluating teachers' instructional practices in mathematics and the cognitions associated with these practices. The sample consisted of seven beginning and Seven experienced teachers of secondary school mathematics, who each taught one lesson of his or her own design. To evaluate instructional practice, a Phase-Dimension Framework for Assessing Mathematics Teaching was developed. It consisted of three dimensions (tasks, learning environment, discourse) that were adopted from the "Professional Standards for Teachers of Mathematics" of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (1991). To evaluate teacher thoughts, a Teacher Cognitions Framework was developed. It also considered teachers' overarching cognitions (goals, knowledge, beliefs) and their cognitions before (planning), during (monitoring and regulating), and after (evaluating and suggesting) their lesson enactments. Data were obtained through observations, lesson plans, videotapes, and audiotapes of structured interviews during the course of one semester. Data analysis suggests that teacher cognitions play a well-defined role in classroom practice. The findings provide useful insights for researchers, supervisors, and teacher educiO:ors interested in assessment techniques reflecting recommendat:ons from current reform movements. Three appendixes contain practice ratings of highlighted lessons, a summary chart of lessons dimensions, and a summary of patterns of cognitions. (Contains 1 figure 2 tables, and 74 references.) (Author/SLD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 2015
One crucial question for researchers who study teachers' classroom practice is how to maximize information about what is happening in classrooms while minimizing costs. This report extends prior studies of the reliability of the Instructional Quality Assessment (IQA), a widely used classroom observation toolkit, and offers insight into the often asked question: “What is the number of observations required to reliably measure a teacher's instructional practice using the IQA?” We found that in some situations, as few as three observations are needed to reliably measure a teacher's instructional practice using the IQA. However, that result depends on a variety of other factors.
The development of an assessment tool to measure the quality of instruction is necessary to provide an informative accountability system in education. Such a tool should be capable of characterizing the quality of teaching and learning that occurs in actual classrooms, schools, or districts. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of the Academic Rigor in Mathematics (AR-Math) rubrics of the Instructional Quality Assessment Toolkit and to share the findings from a small pilot study conducted in the Spring of 2003. The study described in this paper examined the instructional quality of mathematics programs in elementary classrooms in two urban school districts. The study assessed the reliability of the AR-Math rubrics, the ability of the AR-Math rubrics to distinguish important difference between districts, the relationships between rubric dimensions, and the generalizability of the assignment collection. Overall, exact reliability ranged from poor to fair, though 1-point reliability was excellent. Even with the small sample size, the rubrics were capable of detecting difference in students' opportunities to learn mathematics in each district. The paper concludes by suggesting how the AR-Math rubrics might serve as professional development tools for mathematics teachers.
Examining the Benefits of Instructional Assessment as Experienced by Secondary Mathematics Teachers
2017
Mathematics teachers use a wide variety of assessment tools and methods to measure student understanding and illuminate potential learning gaps (NCTM, 2014). The most frequent and least formal types occur as observations and interactions that provide immediate feedback on the learning process (NRC, 2003, Wiliam, 2007). These Instructional Assessments emerge within the social environment of classroom activity, and serve a formative function by directly impacting the flow of discussion and motivating appropriate teaching interventions. Research has shown that formative assessment improves student performance, but is often challenging for teachers to master (OECD, 2005). The influence of annual high-stakes testing in the United States over the past decade motivates further examination of this conflict at the secondary level. This dissertation describes two case studies performed with secondary mathematics co-teachers in a large, urban, public school. Interviews and classroom observatio...
PsycEXTRA Dataset, 2000
The development of an assessment tool to measure the quality of instruction is necessary to provide an informative accountability system in education. Such a tool should be capable of characterizing the quality of teaching and learning that occurs in actual classrooms, schools, or districts. The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of the Academic Rigor in Mathematics (AR-Math) rubrics of the Instructional Quality Assessment Toolkit and to share the findings from a small pilot study conducted in the Spring of 2003. The study described in this paper examined the instructional quality of mathematics programs in elementary classrooms in two urban school districts. The study assessed the reliability of the AR-Math rubrics, the ability of the AR-Math rubrics to distinguish important difference between districts, the relationships between rubric dimensions, and the generalizability of the assignment collection. Overall, exact reliability ranged from poor to fair, though 1-point reliability was excellent. Even with the small sample size, the rubrics were capable of detecting difference in students' opportunities to learn mathematics in each district. The paper concludes by suggesting how the AR-Math rubrics might serve as professional development tools for mathematics teachers.
Integrating New Assessment Strategies Into Mathematics Classrooms
2008
Performance assessment, or performance-based assessment, refers to the assessment practice in which the information about students' learning is gathered through students' work on performance tasks. Performance tasks in this study mainly include authentic real-life problems and open-ended tasks. Project assessment, or project-based assessment, refers to the assessment practice in which the teacher gathers the information about students learning through their work on project tasks. Student self-assessment refers to the assessment practice in which the information about students' learning is gathered through their reflection, evaluation, and report to the teacher. Communication assessment in this study refers to the assessment practice in which the information about students' learning is gathered through students' performance on communication tasks, including mainly both journal writing (writing communication) and oral presentation (oral communication) tasks. A detailed explanation about the concept of the four assessment strategies mentioned above is provided in relevant chapters from Chapter 3 to Chapter 10. Examples of different assessment tasks are also given in these chapters. The reason that we focused on these four relatively new strategies is that, as we believe, not only are they better defined in the community of mathematics educators and All the interview data collected were transcribed by researchers themselves or in some cases by professional service providers, and examined by the researchers. Qualitative methods were employed in analysis. They were also used to triangulate what have been revealed in the quantitative data, so as to strength the findings of the study. Chapter 3 Results and Findings (I): Performance Tasks (Primary) 3 3.1 Chapter 4 Results and Findings (II): Student Self-Assessment (Primary) 5 4.1 4.2 Research Questions and Conceptual Framework 4.2.1 Research questions The main research questions for the self-assessment sub-study are: 1. What are the influences of self-assessment strategies on students' learning of mathematics in both cognitive and affective domains? Chapter 5 Results and Findings (III): Project Work (Primary) 6 5.1
2005
According to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and “The Facts About Math Achievement” (July, 2002), achievement in mathematics among America’s youth is imperative, yet children are not excelling in math at the same rate as in subjects such as reading. A study conducted by the National Assessment of Education Progress showed that while an achievement in math is slowly improving, “only a quarter of fourthand eighth-graders are performing at or above proficient levels in math, and twelfth-grade math scores have not improved since 1996,”(NAEP, 2000). This review of literature reveals suggestions for multiple approaches to improving the quality of mathematics instruction and to better preparing pre-service mathematics teachers. This information will aid in the modification of curriculum and instruction and the development of teaching techniques to improve mathematics achievement among our nation’s children.