Questions interview Rick Stiggins
1. Performance standards/modelling: The developers recommended implementing CASL using teacher learning teams, in which teachers meet regularly to discuss and reflect on the content of the program provided in the textbook and DVDs and share their experiences applying the program practices and principles in their classrooms.
(A) Did the program principles also indicate what “good” formative assessment should look like (i.e., written performance standards or criteria for success)?
(B) Teachers were given DVDs on several subjects, such as “Assessment for Student Motivation”, “Evaluating Assessment Quality: Hands-On Practice”, “Assessing Reasoning in the Classroom”. Did these interactive presentations also include modelling (i.e., teaching examples of “good/quality” formative assessment)?
2. Activating prior knowledge: Teachers were asked to read chapters of the CASL handbook and watch DVDs as preparation for the learning team meetings.
(A) Were this ways to activate prior knowledge regarding formative assessment practices beforehand?
(B) If not, were there any other ways in which prior knowledge of teachers was activated?
3. Retrieval practice: To solidify knowledge and skills, retrieval practice (deliberately stimulating the recall of the training content learned) can be beneficial.
(A) Was retrieval practice applied in the PD?
(B) If so, how and how often ?
4. Spaced practice: Another instructional strategy that can be productive when developing a skill is spaced practice ( spreading practice over time). How often were teachers supposed to practice the skills necessary for each strategy?
5. Monitoring: An employee from each district with at least four participating schools was chosen and trained to serve as a district facilitator. District facilitators were typically instructional coaches, elementary education directors, assessment coordinators, or professional development directors. The district facilitators’ role was to help learning teams in intervention schools with issues related to implementing CASL (as opposed to issues related to the research, which were handled by the research team). On the other hand, we also read that the CASL program was designed to be self-executing, without a coach or external facilitator, but that there was a (rotating) team manager during the team meetings.
(A) Was a task of this facilitator or team manager also to monitor the progress of teachers regarding (formative) assessment during the meetings?
(B) If not, was this somebody else’s task?
6. Differentiation: The teacher sample included teachers who provided direct mathematics instruction in grade 4 or grade 5. Within such a sample, differences between teachers may have existed regarding (formative) assessment knowledge, abilities and attitudes.
(A) Were there ways within the CASL training to handle such differences during the meetings?
(B) If yes, how?
7. Ratio knowledge/skills: The average amount of total time that teachers reported spending on CASL training was 31 hours per teacher, as compared with the 60 hours recommended by the developer.
(A) What was, according to you, the implementation fidelity of the program (the actual implementation of the study versus how it was designed)?
(B) How many of these 60 hours do you think was to be spent on knowledge development and how much on practicing skills?
(C) Was intervention time spent on developing a positive teacher attitude towards formative assessment?
8. Representativeness of tasks:. The CASL authors recommended that between the meetings teachers spend two to four hours reading the CASL textbook or ancillary books, viewing the video, and practicing the CASL techniques in the classroom. We know from research that for formative assessment to be effective, multiple strategies have to be aligned, such as establishing learning intentions, assessment and tasks.
(a) Did you stimulate teachers’ integration of formative assessment in their own lessons?
(b) If yes, how?
9. Class feedback: Did teachers receive guidance during their own lessons in how to implement the learning material?