bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Exploring Colleagues’ Professional Influence on Mathematics Teachers’ Learning
Authors: Sun Min , Wilhelm Anne Garrison , Larson Christine J. , Frank Kenneth A. 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context This article contributes to the literature on how teachers learn on the job and how schools and districts can support teacher learning to improve student learning and incorporate changing standards and curricular materials into instructional practices. The findings in this study are relevant to the implementation of ambitious mathematics instruction reform through changing teachers’ knowledge and instructional practices. Focus of Study This study examines how middle school teachers’ networks influence their mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) and instructional practices. We also examined how mathematics coaches’ expertise, in the form of MKT, plays a role in augmenting the extent to which teachers learn through interacting with close colleagues. Research Design The article draws on data from a larger NSF-funded study in four large, urban districts that responded to accountability pressures by attempting to implement ambitious mathematics instruction aligned with the recommendations of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) and by supporting implementation with a significant investment in teacher learning. The analysis in this paper involves 89 focal participants who were middle school mathematics teachers in 29 schools, the focal participants’ close colleagues, and their instructional coaches. Measures include mathematics teachers’ professional networks, MKT, classroom practices, individual background characteristics, and school factors. We used hierarchical linear models with cross-level interaction effects and in-depth sensitivity analyses of the effects of close colleagues and coaches. Findings/Results Our results show that changes in teachers’ instructional practice were positively related to their access to instructional expertise through interactions with close colleagues. But, we did not find a similar significant relationship between changes in teachers’ MKT and access to their close colleagues’ MKT expertise. Rather, coaches’ MKT expertise positively moderated the extent to which teachers learned MKT from their close colleagues through seeking advice on teaching mathematics; that is, having an expert coach in the school enhanced the MKT learning opportunities that teachers had from interacting with close colleagues. Conclusions/Recommendations Results from this study shed light on how to support teachers’ on-the-job learning and successfully implement ambitious instructional reforms in schools. It is important for schools and districts to consider ways to encourage the development of teacher networks that can promote instructional changes. For example, schools and districts can purposely provide common planning time and common workspaces that facilitate sharing expertise among teachers. They can also support teachers with instructional coaches who have content expertise and know how to facilitate interactions among teachers.
Change Management in the Governance of Schooling: The Rise of Experts, Planners, and Statistics in the Early OECD
Authors: Tröhler Daniel 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Based on archival material, the following paper analyzes the political strategies of the early OECD stakeholders in transforming schooling from a cultural to a technological system and how they were in need of standardizing different existing patterns of thoughts or institutional behaviors in the member countries. The European standardization process observable in the early 1960s, triggered by the OECD, affected the organization of the educational policies on a ministerial level designed to influence the national school systems according to a specific ideology. Purpose The paper asks how this new managerial ideology was transported, disseminated, and implemented and finds its answer in a specific rhetoric that bypassed politically taboo themes and that covered up the clear strategies: The new iron cage of accountability was based on omitting controversial topics. Research Design A contextual reconstruction of the discourse emerging from and reinforcing the process of standardization and the dissemination of specific ways of educational planning, such as statistics, and with them specific ideologies of how society and its citizens should be shaped. Conclusions/Recommendations Revisiting today's educational bureaucracy and its logic of expertise, standards, and accountability by reconstructing its origins in the Cold War and by that challenging the ideology of uniformity and accepting plurality as the condition of life of late modern societies.
Assessment as Evidential Reasoning
Authors: Gorin Joanna 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context Principles of evidential reasoning have often been discussed in the context of educational and psychological measurement with respect to construct validity and validity arguments. More recently, Mislevy proposed the metaphor of assessment as an evidentiary argument about students’ learning and abilities given their behavior in particular circumstances. An assessment argument consists of a claim one wants to make, typically about student learning, and evidence that supports that claim. From this perspective, the quality of our assessments are a function of both whether we have built our arguments about the right types of claims and whether we have collected sufficient persuasive evidence to support our claims. Purpose This paper examines limitations of the dominant practice in educational assessment of the 20th century, which focuses on relatively simple claims and often rely on a single piece of evidence. This paper considers future educational assessment in terms of principles of evidential reasoning, focusing the discussion on the changes to the claims our assessments must support, the types of evidence needed to support these claims, and the statistical tools available to evaluate our evidence vis-à-vis the claims. An expanded view of assessment is advanced in which assessments based on multiple evidence sources from contextually rich situated learning environments, including unconventional data regarding human competencies, improve our ability to make valid inferences and decisions about all education stakeholders. Conclusions For educational assessment to have the positive impact we intend on educational outcomes, future assessments must leverage technological and computational developments, as well as more contemporary models of human cognition, to build robust complex evidential arguments about the critical competencies that are likely to determine individuals’ success in 21st century society.
Higher Order Thinking in an Online World: Toward a Theory of Web-Mediated Knowledge Synthesis
Authors: Deschryver Michael 
Published: November 2021

Background/Context The rapid pace of technological change, undergirded by near ubiquitous access to the web, is producing a new learning ecology—a new ecology of information, of knowledge, of reading, of teaching, and of thinking. This instant availability of digital resources frees both time and cognitive energy that may be used to facilitate higher order thinking. This article provides a framework through which to better understand, evaluate, and scaffold the generative synthesis of knowledge in a web-mediated world. Purpose/Objective The purpose of this article is to describe a theory that can stimulate additional scholarly work examining higher order, or generative, thinking in web-mediated environments. Research Design The author outlines theory development based on two explicit steps. First, he reviews scholarly literature from educational psychology, reading comprehension, hypertext and web-based reading, cognitive flexibility, and creativity. Based on this process, he develops a proto-theory for web-based synthesis. Then, using this three-fold operationalization of synthesis, the author reports findings from a multiple-case study of advanced learners on the web, resulting in further elaboration of the concept of web-based knowledge synthesis. Conclusions/Recommendations The author proposes a theory of web-mediated knowledge synthesis comprising seven interacting elements: (a) divergent keyword search phrases; (b) synthesis for meaning; (c) in-the-moment insights; (d) repurposing; (e) reinforcement; (f) note-taking; and (g) creative synthesis. Through these elements, this theory provides a road map for further exploration of how web users can construct knowledge that adds value to the information they encounter every day.
Complexity of Illustrations in PISA-2009 Science Items and Its Relationship to the Performance of Students from Shanghai-China, the United States, and Mexico
Authors: Solano-Flores Guillermo , Wang Chao 
Published: November 2021

Background While illustrations are widely used in international test comparisons, very scant research has been conducted on their design and on their influence on student performance. It is not clear how the features of illustration act in combination supporting students’ access to the content of items or increasing their interpretation demands. Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine how the characteristics of illustrations used in science items are related to the performance of students in PISA-2009. Population We used PISA-2009 data on the responses of 1571 to 1582, 1601 to 1617, and 11,662 to 11,746 students, respectively from Shanghai-China, the U.S., and Mexico. Research Design This was a secondary analysis study that compared the three PISA-2009 jurisdictions as to the magnitudes and directions of the correlations between the complexity of illustrations used in science items and the difficulty of those items. We used the information on item difficulty provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 2010). The features of the illustrations were coded with a system that coded the presence or absence of about 100 types of illustration features. The complexity of each illustration was computed as the number of different types of features observed. Findings For the U.S. and Mexico, items with higher illustration complexities were more difficult than items with lower illustration complexities. For Shanghai-China, the correlation of number of illustration features and item difficulty was close to zero. This pattern of correlations is consistent with the three jurisdictions’ ranking in PISA-2009. Conclusions While this was an exploratory study that examined the performance of only three of the 65 PISA-2009 jurisdictions, the results speak to the importance of examining illustration complexity as a factor that shapes student performance in science tests and which should be addressed systematically in the design of science items.
How Can Schools of Education Help to Build Educators’ Capacity to Use Data? A Systemic View of the Issue
Authors: Mandinach Ellen B. , Friedman Jeremy M. , Gummer Edith S. 
Published: November 2021

Background With the growing emphasis for educators to use data to inform their practice, little has been done to consider the means by which the educators can acquire the requisite data literacy skills. This article provides a context for why schools of education can and must play an important role in preparing teachers to use data. Purpose This article sought to understand if and how schools of education are preparing teacher candidates to use data effectively or responsibly. The study examined the extent to which schools of education teach stand-alone courses on data-driven decision making or integrate data use concepts into existing courses. It also examined state licensure and certification requirements to determine if and how data use is included in documentation. Population A stratified randomized sample of schools of education was drawn with 208 institutions responding, representing a 25.7% response rate. Research Design The survey portion of the study consisted of a stratified randomized sample of all schools or departments of education in the United States. The syllabus review was a voluntary part of the survey. The licensure review was a descriptive analysis of every state's documentation for teacher licensure and certification. Findings/Results The survey results indicated that a vast majority of the schools of education reported that they offered a stand-alone data course, and even more integrated data use into existing courses. The syllabus review provided a deeper dive into the course offerings and indicated that the courses were more about assessment literacy than data literacy. The licensure review yielded a plethora of skills and knowledge related to data that are included in state requirements. However, there was wide variation across states in their requirements. Conclusions Even though schools of education reported that they are teaching about data-driven decision making in their teacher preparation programs, the results indicate that the content is more about assessment literacy than data literacy. This finding is consistent with the often observed conflation of the two constructs. Licensure requirements include both data literacy and assessment literacy, but the emphasis is more on assessment than data. With the increasing emphasis by policy makers on the importance of educators using data, it is essential that schools of education begin to incorporate data concepts into their curricula and that states make explicit the data-related skills and knowledge required for teachers for licensure and certification.
Teachers’ Use of Assessment Data to Inform Instruction: Lessons from the past and Prospects for the Future
Authors: Datnow Amanda , Hubbard Lea 
Published: November 2021

Background Data use has been promoted as a panacea for instructional improvement. However, the field lacks a detailed understanding of how teachers actually use assessment data to inform instruction and the factors that shape this process. Purpose This article provides a review of literature on teachers’ use of assessment data to inform instruction. We draw primarily on empirical studies of data use that have been published in the past decade, most of which have been conducted as data-driven decision making came into more widespread use. The article reviews research on the types of assessment data teachers use to inform instruction, how teachers analyze data, and how their instruction is impacted. Research Design Review of research. Findings In the current accountability context, benchmark assessment data predominate in teachers’ work with data. Although teachers are often asked to analyze data in a consistent way, agendas for data use, the nature of the assessments, and teacher beliefs all come into play, leading to variability in how they use data. Instructional changes on the basis of data often focus on struggling students, raising some equity concerns. The general absence of professional development has hampered teachers’ efforts to use data, as well as their confidence in doing so. Conclusions Given that interim benchmark assessment data predominate in teachers’ work with data, we need to think more deeply about the content of those assessments, as well as how we can create conditions for teachers to use assessment to inform instruction. This review of research underscores the need for further research in this area, as well teacher professional development on how to translate assessment data into information that can inform instructional planning.
Teaching Educators Habits of Mind for Using Data Wisely
Authors: Bocala Candice , Boudett Kathryn Parker 
Published: November 2021

Background Institutions of higher education, specifically schools of education, should play a pivotal role in supporting educators’ development of data literacy for teaching. While novice teachers are often prepared to use test-based assessment data, they learn these experiences in isolated courses that do not connect to instruction or school improvement. Moreover, once these novice teachers begin working in schools, they are increasingly expected to work with colleagues to apply data literacy skills, yet few preparation programs provide sustained support with using data collaboratively for whole-school improvement. Purpose This essay describes the habits of mind, or ways of thinking and being, that underlie data literacy courses offered by the Data Wise Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The habits include: shared commitment to action, assessment, and adjustment; intentional collaboration; and relentless focus on evidence. Adding an emphasis on habits of mind expands building data literacy beyond accumulating discrete knowledge and skills or learning a process that becomes routine. Research Design The authors provide suggestions for instructional design than can be incorporated both in degree-program courses and in ongoing professional development. These suggestions provide opportunities for participants to actively cultivate the three habits of mind. Conclusions In order to support all educators while learning data literacy for teaching, there is a need to bridge the resources of an institution of higher education with the instructional capacity of professional development providers and the authentic experiences of school-based practitioners.
NCLB and Its Wake: Bad News for Democracy
Authors: Meens David E. , Howe Kenneth R. 
Published: November 2021

Background Local control has historically been a prominent principle in education policy-making and governance. Culminating with the passage of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), however, the politics of education have been nationalized to an unprecedented degree, and local control has all but disappeared as a principle framing education policymaking. During the same period, policies imposed upon locales by state and federal governments have shifted from an emphasis on equity to accountability. Purpose This paper examines what the eclipse of local control through NCLB and related policies means for democracy. Research Design Drawing upon contemporary normative democratic theory, we distinguish two dimensions of democracy that are at issue—democratic policymaking and democratic education—and conclude that the effect of NCLB has been to frustrate democracy along both of these dimensions. Findings In terms of democratic policymaking, we argue that NCLB oversteps the boundaries that may be legitimately imposed upon local participation in policymaking on the basis of democratic principles. In terms of democratic education, we show how NCLB undermines both the content and the context of schooling likely to inculcate the skills, knowledge, and dispositions required for meaningful participation in democratic politics. Conclusions Based upon this analysis, we offer a set of guidelines to aid in the assessment of future federal education policy vis a vis democracy. First, reform efforts should embrace a participatory model for engaging local communities. Second, curriculum standards adopted by states and locales should include a conscious and substantive focus on developing the deliberative skill and dispositions required of democratic citizenship. Third, efforts must be made to keep individuals and organizations that receive public funds accountable to the public through democratic procedures. Fourth, reform efforts must seek ways to more adequately and equitably finance schools. Fifth, the goal of better integrating schools across important categories of social difference should be revitalized in order to help ensure access to equal educational opportunities and the diverse context of learning that all students need for the inculcation of democratic character.
An Accident of Geography? Assessing the Gerrymandering of School Attendance Zones
Authors: Richards Meredith P. , Stroub Kori J. 
Published: November 2021

Context Despite the recent emphasis on public school choice, more than four-fifths of public school students still attend the traditional school to which they are assigned (NCES CCD, 2013), making attendance zone boundaries critical and fercely contested determinants of educational opportunity. Historical and anecdotal evidence suggests that attendance zone boundaries are not “accidents of geography,” but have been “gerrymandered” into irregular shapes in ways that alter patterns of student attendance. However, no empirical evidence has directly examined the issue of attendance zone gerrymandering. Purpose of Study Drawing on the literature on electoral gerrymandering, we outline a framework for conceptualizing and measuring educational gerrymandering. Using geospatial techniques, we then provide initial empirical evidence on the gerrymandering of school attendance zones and the variation in gerrymandering across geographic and demographic contexts. Research Design We analyze the boundaries of a large national sample of 23,945 school attendance zones obtained from the School Attendance Boundary Information System (SABINS). For each attendance zone, we compute complementary measures assessing two dimensions of gerrymandering: (1) dispersion, or the elongation of the area of a boundary; and (2) indentation, or the irregularity of the perimeter of a boundary. Results Overall, we find that attendance zones are highly gerrymandered—nearly as much as legislative districts—and are becoming more gerrymandered over time. Findings underscore the racial and, to a lesser extent, socioeconomic character of gerrymandering, which is particularly acute in Whiter and more affluent schools and in areas experiencing rapid racial change. Conclusions The gerrymandering of school attendance zones has significant implications for students and schools. Gerrymandering alters patterns of attendance and, thereby, student access to educational opportunity and resources, by “zoning out” certain students living closer to schools while “zoning in” others living farther away. Gerrymandered boundaries also hold the potential to significantly alter the racial and ethnic composition of schools and may serve as a mechanism of segregation. In addition, gerrymandered attendance zones are inherently inefficient and may impose additional transportation costs on students and districts. We conclude with implications for state and federal policy.