Instruments
AIM has developed several instruments in each of the four content areas:
- Professional Development Provider Log
- Professional Development Observation Protocol
- Teacher Content Assessments
- Teacher Beliefs and Instructional Practices Survey
- Classroom Observation Protocol
- Student Content Assessments
Professional Development Provider Log
The purpose of the log is to capture what teachers experience in professional development (PD) related to one of our targeted content areas. PD providers would complete a log at the end of each day of PD on the topic. The log asks about features of the PD by goal (disciplinary content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge), including the specific content ideas addressed and how teachers were engaged with those ideas. It takes 15 minutes or fewer to complete.
Log data could also be used by projects to:- Examine fidelity of implementation;
- Help make the design thinking explicit to providers; and/or
- Have a discussion between PD designers and providers about modifications made during the implementation of the PD.
Professional Development Observation Protocol
AIM has created a modified version of Horizon Research, Inc.'s widely-used LSC Professional Development Observation Protocol. This modified protocol includes ratings for deepening teacher disciplinary content knowledge, and is more explicitly tied to research on learning. top
Teacher Content Assessments
AIM has developed conceptually-based multiple-choice teacher content assessments using research on misconceptions to generate plausible distractors. Assessments take approximately 30 minutes per administration. Two assessments, one for grades 3-5 teachers and one for grades 6-8 teachers, have been developed for each of the following topics:
- Force and motion
- Interdependence (i.e., Populations and Ecosystems)
- Evolution and Diversity
- Properties of and Changes in Matter
In contrast to traditional content assessments, multiple-choice items are written in the context of the work teachers do. AIM has created items that measure teachers':
- knowledge of science content;
- ability to use science content knowledge to diagnose student thinking; and
- ability to use science content knowledge to make instructional decisions.
Teacher Beliefs and Instructional Practices Survey
AIM has developed a pair of surveys to measure teachers' instructional practices (specific to the content area), their views of teaching and learning, and the context in which they work. The surveys are brief, and teachers complete one prior to their unit and the other after their unit. The questionnaires can be completed while students take the assessment. top
Classroom Observation Protocol
AIM has created a modified version of Horizon Research, Inc.'s widely-used LSC Classroom Observation Protocol. Like the Professional Development Observation Protocol, this protocol is explicitly tied to research on learning. top
Student Content Assessments
AIM has developed multiple-choice student content knowledge assessments in the same four topics as the teacher assessments. The assessments measure conceptual understanding and distractors are based on research on misconceptions. AIM has created two assessments for each topic, one appropriate for students in grades 3-5, and one for students in grades 6-8. Each assessment takes about 30 minutes to administer. top
