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July 1, 2002
Take A Varied Approach to Assessment
By Barbara Bray
Thorough assessments determine what is working, what is not working, and what changes need to happen. Many schools rely on one source for assessing teachers on the use of technology mainly because of limited time and resources. But without proper assessments and reliable data, professional development may falter. Billions of dollars have been spent on hardware and infrastructure with less than 15 percent going to professional development. Data from assessments provides the evidence schools need to prove that technology positively impacts student learning so funding can be dispersed judiciously. Various types of assessments that ask the right questions need to be utilized to design a program that works.
Determining the Questions
Baseline data for professional development programs include the current status of the teachers with respect to technology proficiency. Many schools use or adapt surveys that ask teachers whether they are beginning, intermediate, or advanced users of technology. For instance, with word processing: a teacher may not know what "beginning" word processing means. And teachers only know what they know. A teacher may use a computer as a typewriter and indicate on a survey that they are an intermediate user, but still press enter at the end of each line. They may not understand how students can use computers for all stages of the writing process and not just the final draft.
Some teachers recognize their students know more than they do about technology. Try competing with a 7-year-old on a video game -- it's like a foreign language to most adults. Any child under 20 grew up with this new language of technology and many young children can explore the Internet without help. You may not need to teach Internet basics to fourth-grade students. But it is necessary to teach them how to access, use, and evaluate primary and secondary sources of information for validity. What questions do we ask teachers about their knowledge of technology? Let's not ask if they are a beginning or advanced user, but how they are using technology.
Looking at Comfort Levels
Each teacher has pre-conceived ideas about technology use. Every school site administrator has their own experiences and biases with technology that affect purchasing decisions. Schools and districts have issues to resolve including providing appropriate resources and support. Even with smaller classrooms that have enough computers, teachers may be overwhelmed with equity issues and management strategies.
There are wide ranges of comfort levels and attitudes about teachers' technology use. One teacher may be reluctant to touch the computer for fear of breaking it while another enjoys troubleshooting computer glitches. A useful tool to approach these differences is Stages of Concern, adapted from the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM), which places teachers at different levels of adopting change (Hord, 1987).
| Stage of Concern |
Description |
| Awareness |
May or may not know about technology or be ready to use it |
| Informational |
Wants to learn more about technology and how used with students |
| Personal |
Has concerns about proficiency level and uses for own productivity |
| Management |
Wants practical suggestions on how to use and organize technology |
| Consequence |
Uses technology with students but wants to know impact on learning |
| Collaborative |
Would like to share lessons with other teachers |
| Refocusing |
Co-teaches with students and looks for ways to improve program |
Assessing a teacher at a particular level does not explain why they are at that level. Some teachers assessed at the Personal Stage years ago may still be at that level today. Schools do expect a lot from teachers. Creating lessons that teach to standardized tests takes time. Add technology to everything else they do, and there may not be time to implement the lesson and guarantee equitable use. Teachers also need alternative lessons just in case the technology does not work. Aligning lessons to standards helps teachers assure students are learning what they need to know. And this takes more time. Even teachers at the collaborative level may be doing less with technology because of the immense pressures that come with their job.
Measuring More than Technology Use
Since every teacher and classroom is unique, teachers' lessons and examples of student work may differ for teachers at the same grade levels or subject areas. Schools that align the standards to the curriculum coordinate what is learned for each subject and grade. With the emphasis on standardized tests, it is a challenge to teach a subject in the depth that is suggested in the standards. The lessons that teach to these tests generally reach the first two categories in Bloom's Taxonomy: Knowledge and Comprehension. At these levels, the learning objectives may include defining a term or identifying parts of something. Teaching with technology tends to transform the learning environment to be more student-centered and project-based, which incorporates higher levels of the taxonomy: Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation. Students at these levels involve learning objectives that may demonstrate, design, and summarize what they learned. To be successful learners in the 21st century, students will need information literacy skills that incorporate all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy (Bloom, 1996).
Technology integration goes beyond using educational games or accessing computers for reward; it involves reviewing, selecting, and evaluating the appropriate resources for the curriculum to support the learning objectives. Integration can range from one lesson where students use a word processor to write a persuasive essay to using technology for brainstorming, planning, capturing data and images, designing, presenting and assessment. Comfort and attitude are a big consideration when you design one lesson that uses technology or a project-based learning activity that uses multiple resources. For an effective professional development program, it is important to measure proficiency issues as well as types of integration, the available resources and support, curriculum and learning objectives, instructional strategies, classroom setups, and management techniques.
Assessment as Professional Development
Assessment should be an ongoing process using a variety of tools. To develop a professional development program that encourages teacher ownership and enthusiasm, schools cannot rely on one tool alone. A thorough assessment takes time beyond the school day for teachers, administrators, and specialists. Professional development plans need additional funding for the time it takes to create, adapt and implement suitable assessment methods that will improve the student and instructional programs. Here's a way to look at incorporating all these elements.
Use a Variety of Assessment Tools
| Tools |
Measures |
Form |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
| Surveys |
ý Proficiency Levels
ý Resources Available
ý Opportunities/ Challenges
ý Curriculum Projects
ý Goals and Hopes |
ý Checklist
ý Fill-in-the-Blank
ý Database |
ý Own Input
ý Compiled as Charts |
ý Limited Choices
ý Rating can be too high or low
ý Chart not helpful for individual |
| Self-Assessments |
ý Proficiency Levels
ý Types of Integration
ý Curriculum
ý Comfort Levels/Attitudes
ý Current and Desired Use |
ý Rubrics
ý Surveys
ý Database |
ý Easy-to-Understand
ý Results based on Input
ý Individual Learning Plans
ý Compiled Charts |
ý May rate too high or low
ý Charts not helpful for individual |
| Inventories |
ý Number, type, and location of Resources |
ý List
ý Database |
ý Know who has what and where |
ý Takes time to create and implement |
| Mapping the Curriculum |
ý Curriculum
ý Projects and Lessons
ý Standards
ý Learning Objectives
ý Types of Integration |
ý Spreadsheet
ý Calendar |
ý Replacement Units
ý Multidiscipline Activities
ý Reduces Redundancy |
ý Buy-In from all stakeholders needed
ý Best implemented before school starts |
| Interviews |
ý Comfort Levels/Attitudes
ý Available Resources
ý Classroom Setup
ý Examples of Projects |
ý Informal Meetings
ý Not an Evaluation |
ý Involves Teachers and Administrators
ý Personal Approach |
ý Coordinating Schedules
ý Confidentiality Concerns |
| Observations |
ý Classroom Setup
ý Instructional Practices
ý Management Strategies |
ý Classroom visits |
ý Objective Feedback
ý Reinforces Teacher Position |
ý Confidentiality Concerns |
| Evidence of Student and Teacher Work |
ý Instructional Practices
ý Curriculum
ý Types of Integration |
ý Lessons
ý Projects
ý Portfolios
ý Test Scores
ý Grades |
ý Finds what worked
ý Discloses what did not work
ý Encourages Discussions |
ý Confidentiality Concerns
ý Takes Time & Coordination to Collect Evidence |
Email: Barbara Bray
Barbara is president of Computer Strategies, LLC and My eCoach. She moderates the CUE techstaffdevelop listerv and writes PDQs for TechLearning.com.
To submit tips visit the PDQ submsission form.
Computer Using Educators
Copyright 2002, CUE, Inc. Reprinted with permission.
Resources
Hord, S. et.al. Taking Charge of Change. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, Virginia. 1987. Online. Available Oct. 2001.
Bloom, B. Learning Skills. Online. 1996. Available October 2001.
* Adapted from: Bloom, B.S. 1956. Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: The Classification of Educational Goals: New York; Toronto: Longmans, Green.
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