Applying Transformative Learning Theory to Understand Preservice Teachers’ Learning Experiences About Formative Assessment Strategies
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1 APPLYING TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING THEORY TO UNDERSTAND PRESERVICE TEACHERS’ LEARNING EXPERIENCES ABOUT FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES A doctoral thesis presented by Jamie M. Lee Korns to the College of Professional Studies – Graduate School of Education in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the field of Education Curriculum, Teaching, Learning, and Leadership Northeastern University Boston, Massachusetts February 2018 Committee Members: Kristal Moore Clemons, Ph.D. Lynda Beltz, Ph.D. Elizabeth Farley-Ripple, Ph.D. 2 Abstract Despite widespread awareness regarding the value of training educators to use formative assessment strategies (FAS), an overreliance on summative assessment data in K-12 education has caused a deficit in the depth and breadth of preservice teacher training in this area. The purpose of this study was to examine how learning experiences in a course about educational assessment impacted the professional dispositions of elementary preservice teachers regarding FAS. The central research question and two subquestions explored whether preservice educators experienced a perspective transformation related to the effective use of FAS; the questions also sought to reveal how specific learning experiences contributed to these changes. Mezirow’s transformative learning theory (TLT) was applied as a theoretical framework to structure this study, and research instruments, including a survey, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis, were aligned to TLT to measure transformative learning in response to learning activities. Utilizing mixed method research strategies and employing case study methodology, this research gathered Learning Activities Survey (LAS) data from thirty-two (32) participants and engaged five (5) participants in semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings of this study indicate that 78.1% of participants experienced transformational learning related to types and roles of assessments, and particularly towards the effective use of FAS. These transformations generally may be categorized as shifts in mindsets regarding best assessment practices and the growth of a “teacher mentality” among preservice educators. Approximately fifty-nine percent of participants felt their transformation was impacted by a person involved with the course, such as their peers or the instructor; 78% felt their shift was affected by certain class assignments, such as opportunities for verbal discussion and class/group projects. 3 Implications of these findings include recommendations for praxis for those who oversee and instruct preservice teachers in educational assessment, as well as recommendations for future research. Keywords: formative assessment strategies, teacher preparation, preservice education, transformative learning, learning experiences 4 Dedication “If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” John Dewey, 1944, in Democracy and Education “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, you do better.” Maya Angelou, as cited by Oprah Winfrey, 2011 This research is dedicated to the students of tomorrow, that we do better to teach them than we did for the students of today. 5 Acknowledgements First, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Kristal Clemons, whose understanding of my passion for my topic and my personal and professional goals helped me bring my research to fruition. I would also like to thank Dr. Lynda Beltz, whose steadfast reassurance and wisdom guided me to become a stronger writer and a more passionate scholar-practitioner during my time in her course. Her patience and guidance continued through this research process as part of my doctoral thesis committee, for which I am extremely grateful. Last, but certainly not least, I have the utmost gratitude to my third reader, Dr. Elizabeth Farley-Ripple, who ignited within me an insatiable appetite for using data-based decision-making to drive continuous educational improvement. My first encounters with Liz were as her student in two sequential graduate courses when I pursued my master’s degree. Under her tutelage and encouragement, I became a risk-taker and began to develop from a teacher to a true teacher leader. In addition to my doctoral thesis committee, I have grown as a woman and as an educator because of the mentorship of other lifelong educators who have touched my life. As a student, Franklin Regional Junior High School (Murrysville, PA) teachers Ghislaine Dibiasi-Hess and Dominic Colangelo taught me everything I never would have learned on my own about the power of believing in a student and never giving up on him or her. Their lessons impressed upon me the entire heart and soul of teaching that I sought to embody when I became a classroom teacher. Then, as a classroom teacher, 2004-2005 Delaware State Teacher of the Year Kathleen—Kathi—Thomas mentored me in the spirit that my former teachers had, reminding me regularly that showing students we care about them is an essential ingredient for a successful classroom. The evident passion of Kathi, along with district administrator Dr. Sherri Kijowski, and my coursework with Liz, impacted me at the same time in my career and left remarkable 6 impressions on me regarding the need for educational assessment that truly measures what students know and can do. Of course, I would not have learned so much if it were not for former principal, and current district superintendent, Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald. Supportive of me from the day I entered the building, Dr. Fitzgerald encouraged me to follow my passions and supported me as I honed my craft as a new teacher, learning to employ a variety of assessment practices aligned to standards-based grading (a major passion of mine). Together, these educators were the impetus behind this doctoral research and my deep commitment to supporting current and future educators. Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank my family. My mother and father, Elaine and Greg Lee, always told me I could do anything I put my mind to. My husband, Michael, is truly my better half and my best friend, and his encouragement and downright insistence that I “go back to school before we start having children, lest I regret it for the rest of my life and complain about it when we rock in our rocking chairs on our front porch some day in our twilight years,” led me to my pursuit of this degree and research. 7 Table of Contents ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. 2 DEDICATION .......................................................................................................................... 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...................................................................................................... 5 CHAPTER 1 – INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................... 11 PURPOSE OF THE STUDY ........................................................................................................................................... 12 PROBLEM STATEMENT .............................................................................................................................................. 12 JUSTIFICATION & EVIDENCE OF THE RESEARCH PROBLEM ................................................................................ 13 DEFICIENCIES IN THE EVIDENCE ............................................................................................................................. 15 SIGNIFICANCE AND CONTEXT ................................................................................................................................... 16 DEFINITION OF TERMS .............................................................................................................................................. 16 POSITIONALITY STATEMENT .................................................................................................................................... 18 Professional and personal perspectives ...................................................................................................19 Effects of positionality. ....................................................................................................................................22 RESEARCH QUESTIONS .............................................................................................................................................. 24 THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK .................................................................................................................................... 25 THEORETICAL FRAMING OF THIS RESEARCH ....................................................................................................... 30 CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................................................ 32 CHAPTER 2 – LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................. 34 CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE FAS .................................................................................................................. 34 Use of FAS in K-12 Education .......................................................................................................................35 Distinguishing FAS from “Other Assessment”........................................................................................37