Formative Assessment in United States Classrooms by Cathy Box

Author:Cathy Box
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9783030030926
Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Theoretical and strategic knowledge also served to facilitate Phoebe’s implementation of formative assessment practices. She possessed advanced forms of knowledge that served to carry her across boundaries of propositional knowledge based on folk pedagogy that often guides the decision making of many teachers. This knowledge led her to teach in a way that was countercultural to traditional instruction. Likewise, she understood understanding and made that her goal for students, rather than the acquisition of factual knowledge. Bransford et al. (2000) asserted that understanding requires the ability to transfer knowledge and skills to a unique context, which Phoebe included in her repertoire of teaching strategies. Her instructional decisions that provided opportunities for students to make this transfer were congruent with her PPATs and informed by a body of theoretical knowledge related to effective instruction.

Not surprisingly, the distinction between theoretical and strategic knowledge is not easily identifiable. However, strategic knowledge moves beyond theoretical knowledge when principles are in conflict and the solution is illusive. Many teachers, for example, rely on folk pedagogy when they succumb to “teaching to the test” as they believe that it is unavoidable in the current culture of high-stakes testing. Phoebe’s students had to pass the state-mandated science, exit-level test in order to graduate, yet Phoebe drew upon her theoretical and strategic knowledge of how students learn to make instructional and assessment decisions rather than being driven by the test. Although standardized tests rely on individual accountability, Phoebe resisted the urge to have them learn independently, preferring instead to foster collaboration to promote learning. Her wisdom of practice overcame conflicting principles in a manner that promoted learning and was true to her personal theories of practice—evidence of strategic knowledge.

Several externally imposed contextual elements affected her use of formative assessment practices as well. The autonomy she felt due to the support from her administration and science department colleagues facilitated its use. Phoebe felt empowered as a professional to go beyond the norms of teaching in order to try new and innovative approaches to classroom instruction and assessment. She knew that she had administrative support as long as students were demonstrating success, and in addition, she felt a measure of collegiality with her fellow science teachers. She and teachers in her department worked well together unlike in her prior school where she felt reluctance to integrate novel approaches to instruction. According to Phoebe, teachers at MHS were “cooperative rather than competitive” (Box et al., 2015, p. 14), and this risk-tolerant environment supported her tendency to engage in non-traditional teaching and assessment practices as she worked toward perfecting her craft.

On the other hand, however, cultural norms and expectations of her students hindered her use of formative assessment practices. She discovered that students are equally entrenched in habits of traditional instruction and do not automatically accept changes in teacher practices or student roles and responsibilities, or if they do, it takes time (Hand, Treagust, & Vance, 1997). According to Phoebe, students in her classes had performance goals and worried more about their grades and how they compared to one another, rather than learning for its intrinsic value.

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