# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Artificial Intelligence In Education: Teachers’ Opinions On AI In The Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In recent years, the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has sent shockwaves through society on both economic and cultural levels. Seemingly poised to become as ubiquitous as email, this rapidly evolving technology is transforming many aspects of daily life—including how we teach and learn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
AI is coming to schools, and if we're not careful, so will its biases | Brookings

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Developers must intentionally build AI systems through a lens of racial equity if the technology is going to disrupt the status quo.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Opinion | What Teachers Told Me About A.I. in School

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Many students lean on the technology rather than wrestle with challenging tasks.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Although there is a huge amount of interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the consumer world, particularly since the release of OpenAI's free ChatGPT program last November, in the hallowed halls of academia the response has been more wary. Concerns abound about academic integrity. There are also worries about how AI-generated content can be biased, inaccurate, and sometimes contain entirely false information, dubbed "hallucinations."

The cautious response is to be expected according to Houman Harouni, lecturer on education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a former elementary and high school teacher. He has compassion for educators trying to grapple with a rapidly shifting world shaped by machine learning.

"Technology creates a shock," he explains. "This shock is sometimes of a magnitude that we cannot even understand it, in the same way that we still haven't absorbed the sharp shock of the mobile phone."

Harouni has long wrestled with the impact of cutting-edge technology on education, including experimenting in his own classroom, and is convinced that when it comes to teaching "the medium is part of the message." He believes that getting school students and those in higher ed to engage with virtual worlds is essential.

"Where we want to get to is a place where you're dancing with it, dancing with robots," he says.

If the idea of waltzing with a robot creates apprehension for educators, Harouni has some advice :
1) Stop pretending that it doesn't exist
Educators must "help the next generation face the reality of the world and develop instruments and ways of navigating this reality with integrity," Harouni says. Students are well aware that technologies such as ChatGPT exist and are already experimenting with them on their own, but they need guidance about how to use them responsibly.

Teacher education and professional development programs should not ignore generative artificial intelligence either.
2) Use AI alongside your students
Engage with generative AI tools with your students in person, when possible. Otherwise, share AI-generated responses to questions during class time and ask students to consider them or have students experiment with the technology at home, document their experiences, and share them with the class.
3) Teach students how to ask the ChatGPT tool questions
"The educator's job is to understand what opportunities are left open beside the technology," Harouni says.

Teach students to do what artificial intelligence cannot do. For example, unlike robots, we can ask ourselves questions and that is what students need to be trained in: to know how to ask questions and to learn how to critique their own questions, frameworks, and the answers generated by AI, he says.

Students can start with topics and questions that they are interested in and ask ChatGPT for answers, he suggests. The knack is then getting them excited about asking follow-up questions. Harouni uses a personal experience with his 10-year-old stepdaughter and his newborn baby to illustrate his point. When his stepdaughter asked him why he kept telling her to be careful with the baby, Harouni turned to ChatGPT to help her to get to the bottom of her question.

"My creativity as the teacher or the parent at that moment is to say, 'What is it that you're really trying to ask? What is it that you really want to know?'"

While ChatGPT churned out a "whole bunch of answers about the fragility of the baby," with some patience, Harouni helped his stepdaughter discover the question that she truly wanted to ask which was what she could safely do with the new baby. "At the moment that the exploration [with AI] ends with the answer, you know that your work as a teacher begins," he explains.
4) Use generative AI tools to spark the imagination
One frequent concern about generative artificial intelligence is that students will use it to cheat and avoid the hard work of thinking for themselves, but Harouni says that tools like ChatGPT should really challenge teachers and professors to reassess the assignments they give their students.

"You have to stop thinking that you can teach exactly the way you used to teach when the basic medium has changed," he explains. If students can turn to ChatGPT or other AI language models for quick and easy answers then there is a problem with the lesson, Harouni believes.

"We have to create assignments that push [students] to the point where they have to question what is the framework that is being used here and what would it mean for me to radically change this framework," he says.

Harouni recently wrote about how he used ChatGPT to spur higher-level thinking among his students at HGSE when he presented them with a challenging case study that had no easy solutions. The students' initial responses were no better than the chatbot's ideas. Instead "it was after ChatGPT reflected to the students their failure of imagination that they could begin to think of options that they, or any automatic language scrawler, would not have readily reached for," he explained in a co-authored article for Wired.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Embracing Artificial Intelligence in the Classroom

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Generative AI tools can reflect our failure of imagination and that is when the real learning starts

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
‘We’re at a Disadvantage,’ and Other Teacher Sentiments on AI

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teachers say they have other, more pressing priorities.

# data[].attributes.body
School safety encompasses the measures, policies, and practices designed to create a secure environment for students, teachers, and staff, addressing physical, emotional, and psychological well-being .It requires a multi-layered, comprehensive approach involving physical security, emergency preparedness, student wellness, and effective communication.

# data[].attributes.headline
Chamomile Rexley: Igniting Curiosity in Schools

# data[].attributes.subject
Chamomile Rexley: Igniting Curiosity in Schools

# data[].attributes.headline
Teaching students to self regulate big emotions 

# data[].attributes.subject
Teaching students to self regulate big emotions 

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.edutopia.org/article/teaching-young-learners-self-calming-skills

# data[].attributes.headline
Chamomile Rexley: Curiosity as an Essential Life Skill

# data[].attributes.subject
Chamomile Rexley: Curiosity as an Essential Life Skill

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Using Watercolors to Teach Mood and Tone

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When students approach abstract concepts through hands-on activities like painting, their literary analysis skills improve—and their writing does, too.

# data[].attributes.body
https://www.edutopia.org/article/late-work-policies-motivate-students-without-punishing-them

https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/critical-practices-for-social-justice-education-curriculum-and-instruction-social-justice-based-assessment-evaluation-and-grading/

https://www.ascd.org/blogs/rethinking-grades-to-reduce-teen-stress

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
After Years of Declines, Young Students Show Gains in Reading and Math | KQED

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Unscathed by pandemic-era school closures, the nation’s 9-year-olds showed progress in math and reading. It’s a different story for 13-year-olds, however.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
If you didn't answer "all of the above," then: A. You haven't been paying attention, or B. You work for a testing software company.

develop a thorough analysis in an essay; conduct a laboratory investigation; curate a portfolio of student work; or complete an original research paper.

PBA allows students to demonstrate knowledge and skill through critical-thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and the application of knowledge to real-world situations. In other words, it helps students prepare for college, career, and life.

And when they share with the class, that helps reinforces everyone's learning, she explains. None of this is possible in an individual test.

PBA also removes bias and creates more equity. For example, Holland recalls a state standardized test question about decomposition for eighth-grade science: "The question asked about grass clippings after mowing the lawn, and students got hung up on 'grass clippings,'" she says. "Some had no idea what they were because they either lived in apartments and had no lawns, or they had lawns but didn't mow them because they had landscapers."

Stronger Relationships with Students

"Students always say that working together was the best part," he says. That's the best part for the teachers, too, because it helps them build stronger relationships with students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Standardized Testing is Still Failing Students | NEA

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Educators have long known that standardized tests are an inaccurate and unfair measure of student progress. There's a better way to assess students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Student Literacy Rates Are Concerning. How Can We Turn This Around? (Opinion)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The ranking Republican senator on the education committee wants to hear from educators and families about making improvements.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Are you looking for engaging ways to teach your students about how to share their stories? Are you thinking about bringing a real-world approach to your writing curriculum for the next school year? Have you thought about incorporating multimedia projects, such as podcasts or photography, into your classroom but don't know where to start?

In the eight videos below - all edited versions of previously recorded live webinars - we walk teachers through how to use The New York Times to teach writing using our lesson plans, writing prompts, mentor texts and student contests. Each video focuses on a different genre: argumentative writing, narrative writing, informational/science writing, review writing, profile writing, podcast writing, multimedia creation and reader responses. The videos feature a mix of Learning Network staff, Times journalists, classroom educators and student creators who share their advice for producing writing that is meaningful, engaging and impactful.

Please note: Each year we adjust our lineup of student contests. Please stay tuned for our 2022-23 contest calendar.

Evidenced-based persuasive writing is a core component of middle and high school education, and you can find models of it every day in The Times Opinion section. In this webinar, you'll hear from an educator who uses Times editorials in his teaching, past winners of our Student Editorial Contest and Katherine Schulten, a Learning Network editor and the author of " Student Voice: 100 Argument Essays by Teens on Issues That Matter." They'll show you how you can use our writing prompts, lesson plans and real-world texts to sharpen your students' argument-making skills.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
8 Webinars on How to Teach Writing With The New York Times

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Are you looking for engaging ways to teach your students about how to share their stories? Are you thinking about bringing a real-world approach to your writing curriculum for the next school year? Have you thought about incorporating multimedia projects, such as podcasts or photography, into your classroom but don't know where to start?

# data[].attributes.body
Why Curiosity if Foundational to Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Abstract

Standardized testing in some circles is demonized as the vilest form of assessment. These individuals point to many problems with how these tests are created and administered, as well how the results are used. In other circles standardized testing represents true assessment whereby individual performances can be compared to other performances in a meaningful manner. That is, standardized testing is seen by some as a fair form of comparison; others do not. Knowing where standardized testing came from and what were the motivations for its growth, may help in understanding and perhaps in being able to use the results of standardized tests to improve teaching and learning. This article serves as an overview of the history and current realities of standardized testing.

Introduction

Considering the role standardized testing has acquired in education systems internationally, one can safely assume that a vast majority of Canadians have experienced these tests as students. More and more students' lives are becoming influenced by standardized testing, as a societal push for educational accountability has led to a dramatic increase in the use of these assessments across districts and nations (Guskey & Jung, 2013). Their value is much debated by educators, academics, and politicians, but what is clear is that their use seems to be increasing rather than decreasing. Experiencing standardized tests as students can provide a useful perspective, however, it is important that faculty and students have a general understanding of the history of standardized or high-stakes testing, as well as a basic overview of the how these assessments are built.

This article will explore the history of standardized testing, recent developments within standardized testing, creation of test questions, and applicability.

Definition

Stiggins (2008) states that

these once-a-year tests are not likely to be of much value to classroom teachers as you plan and carry out day-to-day instruction. They are assessments OF learning that are too infrequent, broad in focus, and slow in returning results to inform the ongoing array of daily decisions. But this does not mean that these tests are without purpose or value. They can communicate valuable information about students' achievement status to other decision makers (pp. 347-348).

This relatively rational statement could be considered a definition of the battle lines that have been drawn up between those who are proponents of standardized tests and those against them.

The intent in standardized testing is to have large numbers of students write a single test, then to compare any single score against all others to see how an individual's score compares to the large sample. The results are then posted on a bell curve that indicates where a score sits within descriptive statistical standards. Standardized tests are given to large groups numbering at least in the thousands, sometimes millions. In order to make the results as valid as possible, thus "standardizing" the administration of the assessment, the tests are:

written at the same time and same day for all students,

administered with consistent instructions,

allowed the same amount of time for each student to write the test, and

scored in the same manner.

Scantron is a common method of marking bubble sheets of multiple-choice style questions. Essays are marked by specialists who have been trained to mark in similar fashion.

Burke (1999) maintains that traditionally "standardized" meant that the test is standard or the same in three ways: (a) format/questions, (b) instructions, and (c) time allotment. Format/questions means that the test questions are the same for all students writing the exam. The information that the students are to show they know is asked of them in the same format that is usually multiple choice. Multiple choice is the format of choice because as Stiggins (2008) suggests, "It is relatively easy to develop, administer, and score in large numbers" (p. 354). Further, in order for the test to be fair in the sense of all students having the same chance to answer each question correctly, all questions must be the same.

The instructions are to be the same as well. These are to be delivered in the same way to all students so that no students are advantaged or disadvantaged. The last standardization is time allotment. All students are to be given the same amount of time to finish the exam.

However, the standardization of standardized exams is being eroded. Common changes to standardized testing allow certain students to have more than the allotted amount of time. Some students with certain learning needs are now allowed to have more time than other students to complete the exam. These students are then often allowed to write in different rooms as well.

The second requirement of standardized tests is also frequently adapted. Students with reading problems can get "readers" to read the questions. The rationale behind this is that the curriculum asks that students know certain information. Whether the students know this information is the purpose of the exam, not whether the students can read. These readers may adapt the standardized instructions that the students receive. Also, reading the questions to the students may give them an advantage or disadvantage other students do not have. Therefore, the second and third requirements of standardized testing are no longer strongly in effect.

There are other forms of standardized testing that are available other than multiple-choice questions, for example, essay writing. This form of testing currently has the disadvantage of needing markers to assess the essays. Essay markers must be trained to gain a sense of what the standards are. Then they must engage in the time-consuming activity of reading the essays. Even with the training assessors can give significantly different grades to an essay.

Proponents of standardized testing point to large-scale use of the tests that go beyond the individual student or even the school. Standardized testing allows comparison between provincial education systems or even national education systems. Advocates say that standardized tests are impartial and rational. They state that standardized tests are an inexpensive way to check that schools and teachers are accountable, that students and therefore the public are getting the education that public dollars are paying for. Standardized tests by this measure are intended to examine the whole education system and therefore individual scores may be not as significant.

"... the standardization of standardized exams is being eroded."

History

The history of standardized testing is underpinned by noble sentiments. Testing can be found in all cultures. Evaluating the understanding of someone learning a new skill is common for all societies. Standardized testing as we know it today began in earnest in China as a form of aptitude testing, trying to ascertain who would be best at a particular job. Fletcher (2009) states that, "The earliest record of standardized testing comes from China, where hopefuls for government jobs had to fill out examinations testing their knowledge of Confucian philosophy and poetry." These exams started in about 100 CE but were firmly established during the Sui Dynasty in 605 CE. They attempted to predict aptitude by discerning the best candidates for the Chinese civil service.

The most recent impetus to standardized testing was the Industrial Revolution and the movement to increased schooling where students were moved out of the work force and into schools. One of the easiest and arguably the cheapest way to test large numbers of those children was with a standardized exam.

Alfred Binet (1857-1911) and Theodore Simon (1872-1961) developed what is now commonly known as an IQ Test, beginning in the late 1800s and culminating with the Binet-Simon scale in 1905. These intelligence tests were created in response to the French government wanting to develop special education classes for students who were not benefiting from the newly instituted regular compulsory education program. The tests tried to identify students who needed focused education in order to maximize their education. These standardized tests were an attempt to streamline education so that society would gain maximum benefit from each citizen, a noble sentiment.

The test contained problems arranged in order of difficulty in a range of subjects but had as the basis items assessing comprehension, reasoning, and judgment (Reynolds, Livingston, & Willson, 2009). Louis Terman (1877-1956), who was teaching at the time at Stanford University, noted the success of these exams and their potential applicability in America. He spearheaded the creation of the Stanford-Binet Test which remains, in its fifth iteration, the most popular IQ testing vehicle in existence.

Fletcher (2009) suggests that "... by World War I, standardized testing was standard practice: aptitude quizzes called Army Mental Tests were conducted to assign U.S. servicemen jobs during the war effort." Robert Yerkes was one of the academics assigned to test the servicemen and then suggest appropriate placement. This testing of servicemen helped build up a record of statistical evidence for IQ testing. Carl Brigham worked with Yerkes in the testing of servicemen. After the war he published a book, A Study of American Intelligence, based on the results in World War I. From this finding and analysis he created the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) in 1926. Its intention was to screen college applicants to insure the worthy candidates were allowed admission. The test became immediately popular and by 1945 it became a standard method of college and university entrance, again a noble enterprise.

Everett Linquist invented the American College Test (ACT) in 1959 as a competitor to the SAT. In 2011, more than 3.3 million individuals wrote SAT and ACT exams. The ACT is considered more of a test of accumulated knowledge while the SAT is thought to test logic. Other important standardized exams are the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) and the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT).

These standardized tests that attempt to predict success or aptitude seem to be successful. Reynolds, Livingston, and Willson (2009) state, "As a general rule, research has shown with considerable consistency that contemporary intelligence tests are good predictors of academic success" (p. 334). Fishman and Pasanella (1960) reviewed SAT predictive validity in the 1950s, finding that the median correlation between student first-year success and the SAT score was a significant 0.61. Recently Kobrin, Patterson, Shaw, Mattern, and Barbuti (2008) found a correlation of 0.29, a respectable correlation between SAT scores and First Year Grade Point Average (FYGPA).

In Alberta, standardized testing began in the 1960s. McEwen (1995) suggests that Alberta's introduction of achievement testing for Grades 3, 6, and 9 was done in response to a worldwide wave of educational reform that wanted more accountability in education. At the Grade 12 level, diploma exams were reinstated in 1984 after being removed for a few years. McEwen clarifies the reason for the achievement tests:

Public education is funded by taxpayers who want and have a right to know if they are getting value for their investment. Such accountability requires public information. An indicator system is a tool to focus reform and to improve accountability by providing better information about the education system's performance. The goals, or intended benefits, of implementing indicator systems are to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of the educational enterprise, to improve education, and to provide a mechanism for accountability (p. 28).

Pros and Cons of Standardized Testing

The primary conundrums in standardized testing of achievement lie in the validity and applicability of the test results. Validity relates to how accurately the test results actually reflect the students' knowledge about the subject. Standardized tests use a minimum number of questions and getting even one or two wrong due to environmental reasons will affect the individual student's results. The factors that affect a student getting a question right or wrong may be infinite and could be organized into (a) situational/environmental confounding factors, (b) personal/emotional factors, and (c) grade-spread requirement in standardized testing.

Situational/Environmental Factors

Even though standardized testing attempts to minimize confounding variables by requiring students to write in similar situations, it may be that some students are writing in situations that are significantly different from other students, for example, it might be too bright or too dark or even too cold or too hot. The testing conditions may cause students to perform poorly such as when students might miss questions not because they do not know the material but for something as simple as the testing centre had poor lighting that caused headaches in students, or because the testing room was too cold and did not allow certain students to focus.

Personal/Emotional Factors

Students who are poor test takers because of nerves associated with tests may not be able to show what they can accomplish in the high-stakes atmosphere of standardized testing. Their anxiety becomes the determining factor of how well they do the test, not whether they know the material. Even students who are normally good test takers can have a skewed result; for example, a student who had an emotional moment just before the test might not be able to focus and receives a result that is not reflective of his or her capabilities.

Grade-Spread Requirement

Perhaps the primary concern with achievement standardized testing is that testing should be based on curricular outcomes that are mandated by the provincial or state governing bodies. Standardized tests have to make a one-size-fits-all test that will not fit all because as Popham (1999) says, "... standardized achievement tests will invariably contain a number of items that are not aligned with what's emphasized in a particular setting" (p. 331). A 1983 study of alignment between textbook content and the standardized test found that, "In no case was even 50 percent of a test's content satisfactorily addressed in any textbook" (Popham, p. 331). That is, there was a poor correlation between what was in the test and in the textbooks that were a prime resource to prepare students for the test.

Test creators seek a score spread in their questions. They seek questions that are not answered correctly by too many students. Questions that are answered correctly by more than 60% of the students are usually removed from the test. Popham indicates this is a problem because "... items on which students perform well often cover the content that, because of its importance, teachers stress" (p. 332). So the important material that is required by the curriculum is often not tested.

How questions are determined to be most worthy for standardized testing is important. When deciding which questions to use, test creators, in essence, try to find questions that only the top 50% of the students will get right. These types of questions are popular in standardized testing because they support the common theory of testing whereby the highest achieving students answer the questions correctly. So, standardized tests can be self-affirming. Students who are in the top 50% of the class answered the questions correctly because they are in the top 50% of the class.

Further, if a concept is taught to all students in a class and all students answer the question correctly, that question will not be used in the future as it does not spread the students' scores so that fine-grained norm-referenced numbers can be associated with each student. That is, if all students did well on the test then there would be no bell curve and the associate connection with where each student sits on the curve. Put more simply, there have to be questions that are only answered by about 50% of the students in order for comparisons to be made.

A student's socio-economic status is highly correlated to standardized achievement test scores. This is probably due to the tests being skewed to reflect learning that children gain at home. Again there is a curriculum and testing mismatch. For example, if a question asks about a "field of work" such as law or medicine, students whose parents are in such professions may understand the concept from conversations at home. However, students whose parents work in the service industry or work at the local grocery store may not. Answering the question correctly may not be a function of what was learned at school but rather what has been learned out of school. Antagonists to standardized achievement testing suggest that it is not fair to check on student achievement that is not in the curriculum.

What instructors or textbooks focus on may not be reflected in the test. The requirement for a score spread in the exams means that questions that are answered by a majority of students will probably be removed because they do not discriminate enough.

Conclusion

The history of standardized testing suggests that the impetus for large-scale testing has been based on noble aspirations, primarily that of having the right person in the right place, whether that place is the correct job in the military or the correct form of education. Standardized testing has value in today's society. Aptitude testing for admission into colleges and universities seems to be especially effective as quantitative research has established links between such testing and later success at post-secondary institutions.

Achievement testing has issues especially related to situational/environmental factors, personal/emotional factors, and grade-spread requirement that may make applicability difficult to ascertain. That is, standardized testing may be best at determining aptitude or future ability in an individual and also good at examining a school district's efficaciousness. Standardized tests seem to be weaker at being able to correctly indicate how much a specific student has learned.
>> Back to Table of Contents
References

Alberta Assessment Consortium (2012). A new look at public assurance: Imagining the possibilities for Alberta students. Retrieved from http://www.aac.ab.ca/a-new-look-at-public-assurance-imagining-the-possibilities-for-alberta-students.html

Alberta Education (1997). Teaching Quality Standard applicable to the provision of basic education in Alberta. (Ministerial order #016/97). Retrieved from http://education.alberta.ca/media/6734948/teaching%20quality%20standard%20-%20english.pdf

Bew, Lord P. (2011). Independent review of key stage 2 testing, assessment and accountability, final report, as written for the Department of Education. Retrieved from https://www.education.gov.uk/publications/standard/publicationDetail/Page1/DFE-00068-2011

Boardman, A. G., & Woodruff, A. L. (2004). Teacher change and "high stakes" assessment: What happens to professional development. Teaching & Teacher Education, 20(6), 545-557.

Booi, L., & Couture, J. C. (2011). Testing, testing. What Alberta can learn from Finland about standardization and the role of the teacher. Alberta Views, 7, 28-32.

Brookhart, S. M. (2001). The "Standards" and classroom assessment research. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, Dallas, TX. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED451189).

Burke, K. (1999). The mindful school: How to assess authentic learning (3rd ed.). Arlington Heights, IL: Skylight Publishing.

Fishman, J. A., & Pasanella, A. K. (1960). College admission selection studies. Review of Educational Research, 30(4), 298-310.

Fletcher, D. (2009, December 11). Standardized testing. Time. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1947019,00.html

Franklin, C. A., & Snow-Gerono, J. L. (2007). Perceptions of teaching in an environment of standardized testing: Voices from the field. The Researcher, 21(1), 2-21.

Gordon, S. P., & Reese, M. (1997). High-stakes testing: Worth the price? Journal of School Leadership, 7, 345-368.

Gronlund, N., & Waugh, C. (2009). Assessment of student achievement (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Guskey, T. R., & Jung, L. A. (2013). Answers to essential questions about standards, assessments, grading, & reporting. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Kobrin, J., Patterson, B., Shaw, E., Mattern, K., & Barbuti, S. (2008). Validity of SAT for predicting first year college grade point average (Report No. 2008-5). New York, NY: College Board. Retrieved from http://professionals.collegeboard.com/profdownload/Validity_of_the_SAT_for_Predicting_First_Year_College_Grade_Point_Average.pdf

McEwen, N. (1995). Accountability in education in Canada. Canadian Journal of Education, 20, 1-17.

Pedulla, J. P. (2003). State-mandated testing - What do teachers think? Educational Leadership, 61(3), 42-46.

Popham, J. (2002). Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know (3rd ed.) Boston: Allyn and Bacon.

Popham, W. J. (1999). Why standardized tests don't measure educational quality. Educational Leadership, 56(6), 8-15.

Reynolds, C., Livingston, R., & Willson, V. (2009). Measurement and assessment in education (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Stiggins, R. J. (1999). Are you assessment literate? The High School Journal, 6(5), 20-23.

Stiggins, R. J. (2008). An introduction to student-involved assessment for learning (5th ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson Merrill Prentice Hall.
>> Back to Table of Contents

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Standardized testing in some circles is demonized as the vilest form of assessment. These individuals point to many problems with how these tests are created and administered, as well how the results are used. In other circles standardized testing represents true assessment whereby individual performances can be compared to other performances in a meaningful manner.

# data[].attributes.headline
The Effectiveness of School-Based Mental Health Services for Elementary-Aged Children: A Meta-Analysis

# data[].attributes.subject
The Effectiveness of School-Based Mental Health Services for Elementary-Aged Children: A Meta-Analysis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By now, we’re well familiar with critiques of standardized testing opponents: tests rob schools of critical instructional time, encourage teaching to the test, place undue pressure on students and educators to perform, are educationally irrelevant, only provide a snapshot of student achievement at a specific moment in time, and are largely driven by family income levels, parents’ education, and other non-school-related factors.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
18 Warm-Up Activities to Engage Students Before They Read Nonfiction Texts (Published 2021)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Here is a collection of our favorite “bell ringers,” “do nows” and “hooks” to grab students’ attention, along with examples from dozens of our daily lessons.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Why Curiosity is Foundational to Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For children to develop new skills, knowledge, and mindsets it is foundational to spark curiosity. Otherwise, they may not actually learn.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Tapping Into Curiosity to Engage Teens in Challenging Content

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Using topics students care deeply about in an AP Statistics course can leverage their natural interest to encourage them to develop new skills and content knowledge.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Research News You Can Use: Debunking the Play vs. Learning Dichotomy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Director of the NAEYC Center for Applied Research examines the tension between play and academic achievement in early childhood education.

# data[].attributes.headline
Mental health matters in elementary school: first-grade screening predicts fourth grade achievement test scores

# data[].attributes.subject
Mental health matters in elementary school: first-grade screening predicts fourth grade achievement test scores

# data[].attributes.headline
From Professional Development to Professional Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
From Professional Development to Professional Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
May 1, 2026

5 min (est.)

Vol. 83

No. 8

Abstract

Adult Learning Needs Intentional Design

Designing Support for Teacher Variability

Embracing Variability to Build Ownership

Deepening Learning with Collaborative Inquiry

Sustaining Learning Through Relational Structures

Why Educator Agency Matters

Intentionally designed support structures shift professional learning from one-off events to sustainable daily practice.

Credit: DigitalClipart / Shutterstock

Abstract

Adult Learning Needs Intentional Design

Designing Support for Teacher Variability

Embracing Variability to Build Ownership

Deepening Learning with Collaborative Inquiry

Sustaining Learning Through Relational Structures

Why Educator Agency Matters

For years, schools have relied on professional development (PD) as the primary lever for improving teaching. PD is often something done to teachers: an event selected, scheduled, and delivered by someone else. It might be a keynote, a workshop, or a required session that checks the "mandated hours" box. PD can be inspiring . . . or it can frustrate already overworked educators. Even engaging PD can be ineffective because, at its core, PD is a noun-an event you attend. It's "drive-by," one-off, and limited in its ability to create sustainable change.

Professional learning (PL), however, is something very different. Hannay et al. (2006) define professional learning as "the application of an iterative cycle of inquiry that two teachers engage in daily, within a collaborative and supportive environment, with the intent to change practice." PL is not an event; it is a behavior. It is ongoing, participatory, and tightly aligned with instructional goals.

Moving from drive-by PD to meaningful, lasting professional learning requires more than rebranding a workshop. It requires intentionally designing learning structures that are collaborative, sustained, and responsive to educator needs. Through our coaching work with schools, we discovered several research-based ways to shift from one-off PD to continuous, job-embedded PL. By designing universally supportive PL experiences, encouraging educator choice, opening classroom practice through learning walks, and using relational structures like coaching to deepen reflection, leaders can truly create a culture of professional learning.

Adult Learning Needs Intentional Design

Teachers deserve the same conditions we expect them to design for students: active learning, meaningful engagement, opportunities to reflect, and experiences that translate directly into practice. The days of "do as I say, not as I do" are over for both students and teachers. We can't champion inquiry, agency, and inclusion for students while giving teachers the opposite; their learning must reflect what we want for classrooms. As Kendra Grant and Luis Pérez remind us in their book, Dive Into UDL (2018), "If we want students to experience a different type of learning . . . then we as educators need to experience something similar in our own professional learning."

Adults bring a wide range of backgrounds, needs, and motivations to their learning, yet much of PD ignores what Malcolm Knowles (1984) identified decades ago as the core principles of andragogy: Adults need choice, relevance, collaboration, and opportunities to apply new learning. Educators' learning must be intentionally designed with their variability and individual needs in mind. This is the bridge from PD to PL. And it's why Universal Design for Learning (UDL) becomes essential for adults, not just students.

UDL offers a framework to design professional learning that anticipates learner differences and fosters agency, setting the stage for lasting instructional change. Every day in education, we accept that students vary widely in background, readiness, preference, and need. Yet, when we plan learning for adults, we often ignore that same variability. We hand every adult the same format, pacing, and expectations-then wonder why implementation falls flat. The bottom line is that educators are learners, too. If we want high-quality implementation, we should universally design the support just as intentionally as we design the instruction.

Designing Support for Teacher Variability

Simply acknowledging adult variability isn't enough. PL must be intentionally structured to honor it. Universally Designed Support offers a practical way to operationalize UDL in professional learning. The idea of Universally Designed Support is deceptively simple, but its impact can be significant: It helps professional learning lead to meaningful changes in practice.

The premise is that if learners vary (which of course they do), then their support structures need to vary as well. Some teachers need to see a strategy modeled with their own students. Some need individual coaching to process, question, and plan. Some want webinars, books, and podcasts to deepen understanding. Some want a PLC to troubleshoot and grow alongside colleagues. Some need bite-sized implementation cycles. Flexibility and responsiveness should be standard practice for adult learning. When we design support that honors teacher variability, we make implementation more likely, burnout less likely, and impact more sustainable.

Embracing Variability to Build Ownership

Once we acknowledge that educators vary in how they learn, the logical next step is empowering them to choose the learning pathways that work best for their roles, goals, and contexts. When educators are trusted to self-select their professional learning, something powerful happens: ownership. Rather than passively receiving information in a required one-size-fits-all session, teachers become active participants in their own growth. They identify what they need, seek it out, and engage more deeply because the learning is personally meaningful and professionally relevant.

This might look like a science teacher selecting a session on inquiry-based learning to promote student engagement or a team of high school teachers attending a session on Paideia Seminars to increase the quality of student discourse in their classrooms. This kind of intentional, teacher-driven learning leads to lasting classroom impact because it honors what educators already know and builds on their existing expertise. It also fosters a culture of professional agency. When teachers feel like their growth is valued and trusted, their sense of efficacy rises and so does their commitment to the work.

Self-selected professional learning doesn't mean abandoning structure. School leaders can support this shift to teacher-directed learning by scheduling time for teachers to participate in and reflect on optional professional learning opportunities. This might look like offering high-quality options during school-based professional learning or funding teachers to attend workshops and conferences beyond the school and district level when possible. When teachers help shape their learning journeys, professional learning becomes a catalyst for transformation.

Deepening Learning with Collaborative Inquiry

While individual choice is critical, learning also deepens when teachers learn with and from one another. One powerful way to accomplish this is by making teaching "public" through collaborative inquiry structures, a powerful example of how PL happens in practice. When schools make a commitment that instruction is worth studying, they foster a continuous cycle of collective improvement (Saphier & West, 2009) and embed reflection and analysis directly into teachers' day-to-day work.

Learning walks are a low-stakes method of collaborative inquiry structures where teachers observe student learning and peer instructional moves across classrooms. Their broad, positive purpose is designed to make teaching public and keep host teachers at ease. Learning walks work best when host teachers volunteer and are allowed to select the observation times during which they will be visited. This level of ownership respects educators' professional autonomy. In learning walk groups, a facilitator leads reflective discussions after teachers visit their colleagues' classrooms. Discussions focus on students' learning, encouraging teachers to observe how students engage, access information, and demonstrate learning. Figure 1 (p. 12) shows sample questions facilitators might pose, depending on the focus of the learning walk.

Sustaining Learning Through Relational Structures

Opening classroom doors is only one part of the professional learning equation. Sustaining new learning requires relational structures, such as coaching and professional learning communities (PLCs), that support teachers as they refine and extend their practice. Coaching continues to be one of the most powerful components of professional learning. When coaching is combined with public teaching, the result is peer coaching, a strong pathway to transfer new knowledge from theory to daily practice. Research shows that peer coaching, when added to training components like theory, demonstration, and practice, can lead to impressive gains in knowledge, skill, and most importantly, the transfer of learning to practice (Joyce & Showers, 2002).

Peer coaching can flourish under a structured focus. Teams can prioritize one schoolwide goal, like student engagement, while allowing each teacher to select an additional personalized goal for deeper focus, connecting the group's work to individual, self-selected learning. Effective teams use clear protocols for observation and instructional feedback tools. These structures ensure observations are non-evaluative and that the final debriefing session facilitates genuine reflective debriefing, prompting teachers to create actionable next steps. For example, when Kenny McKee (coauthor) supported peer coaching in Buncombe County Schools in North Carolina, teachers reflected on how the coaching related to next steps in their practices, saying:

"I tried a new protocol and had concerns about lag time and staggered finishes. My peers gave great suggestions for tiered responses to differentiate with the groupings. We also discussed ways to deal with 'dominant' voices in the classroom to give voice to others."

"The learning targets for the lesson were clear! The students were working . . . to reinforce and practice an algorithmic skill. I need to do more debriefing at the end of the lesson or when I switch topics."

By engaging in focused observation and feedback, peer coaching teams help build coherence around high-quality teaching practices across the school. These structures operationalize professional learning by building shared inquiry into daily practice.

Instructional coaches and educators can also co-create goals-another practice, like peer coaching, that allows educators to collaborate on learning. In this approach, a coach works toward a goal with a teacher, acting as a partner to support the growth of their instructional practice. Co-creation removes the perceived status of the coach as the "expert," promotes shared ownership of outcomes, and acknowledges the educator's expertise. Goals are designed around the educator's actual needs and the specific context of their classroom and students, which ensures the learning is immediately applicable and avoids the common pitfall of compliance-based PD.

Professional learning communities provide ongoing collegial interactions that focus on what students should know and be able to do, and how to measure learning, review data, and develop next steps. The core purpose of professional learning is to positively impact instructional practice and, consequently, student learning. By using data (e.g., assessment results, student work, observation notes), educators can objectively see the impact of their own actions, which provides powerful and personalized feedback that drives change. As professional learning deepens, educators evolve from passive recipients to engaged practitioners and, eventually, to empowered collaborators shaping their own instructional growth.

Why Educator Agency Matters

When teachers participate in these types of professional learning, they gain something of high importance: the agency to drive their own growth. Teacher agency means teachers have voice, choice, and ownership in their learning-and also the processes, tools, and resources to determine the knowledge and skills they need to develop and evaluate how new practices are working in their classrooms. Ultimately, professional learning builds teacher agency by helping teachers make decisions that fit their roles so that they extend similar experiences to their students.

Professional development will always have its place, but sustainable improvement comes from professional learning that is teacher-driven, iterative, reflective, and supported through universally designed structures. When we honor teacher variability and design shared, supportive learning structures, we create the conditions for sustained instructional improvement, and for the kind of teaching all students deserve.

Reflect & Discuss

Where might teachers in your school need different kinds of support (modeling, coaching, PLC time, resources) to move from learning about a strategy to effectively implementing it in their classrooms?

What norms or structures would need to shift for peer observation, or other collaborative learning practices, to feel developmental rather than evaluative in your school or district?

References

Grant, K., & Pérez, L. (2018). Dive into UDL: Immersive practices to transform learning. ISTE.

Hannay, L., Wideman, R., & Seller, W. (2006). Professional learning to reshape teaching. Ontario Principals' Council.

Joyce, B., & Showers, B. (2002). Student achievement through staff development. ASCD.

Knowles, M. S. (1984). Andragogy in action: Applying modern principles of adult learning. Jossey-Bass.

Saphier, J., & West, L. (2009). How coaches can maximize student learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(4).

ASCD is a community dedicated to educators' professional growth and well-being.

Let us help you put your vision into action.

From our issue

We empower educators to reimagine and redesign learning through impactful pedagogy and meaningful technology use. We achieve this by offering transformative professional learning, fostering vibrant communities, and ensuring that digital tools and experiences are accessible and effective.

Questions?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
From Professional Development to Professional Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Intentionally designed support structures shift professional learning from one-off events to sustainable daily practice.

# data[].attributes.headline
How do Teachers Learn Beyond Best Practices

# data[].attributes.subject
How do Teachers Learn Beyond Best Practices

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How Do Teachers Learn Beyond “Best Practices”?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When teachers own their learning, connect across disciplines, and lead research, real professional growth follows.

# data[].attributes.headline
Curiosity, Connection & the Future of Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
Curiosity, Connection & the Future of Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Curiosity, Connection, and the Future of Learning

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Students thrive when they feel safe enough to wonder.

# data[].attributes.headline
Empowering Youth Scholars with Differentiation in Study Groups

# data[].attributes.subject
Empowering Youth Scholars with Differentiation in Study Groups

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Empowering Young Scholars with Differentiation in Study Groups

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When you were in college, what did you do when you encountered a new concept that was particularly challenging? For many of us, the answer was to join or form a study group—a gathering of peers coming

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Daniel Z Fang, Christina B Young, Shahrokh Golshan, Ian Fellows, Christine Moutier, Sidney Zisook

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Medical students and residents are known to have high rates of depression, a common stress-related challenge that impairs quality of life and job satisfaction and predisposes those affected to general medical illness. Our primary hypothesis was that…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Identifying factors contributing to depression and anxiety among medical students: a multicenter cross-sectional study - Scientific Reports

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Scientific Reports - Identifying factors contributing to depression and anxiety among medical students: a multicenter cross-sectional study

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A growing number of medical schools and teaching hospitals are developing programs to identify and help at-risk trainees.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What’s driving decline in U.S. literacy rates? — Harvard Gazette

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In podcast, experts discuss why learning to love to read again may be key to reversing trend

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The literacy crisis in America – USA Reads

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
According to studies by the National Literacy Institute in 2024, 21% of American adults are illiterate.

# data[].attributes.headline
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education Ellie Tonnessen

# data[].attributes.subject
Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Education Ellie Tonnessen

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teachers’ Union’s AI Plan Seeks ‘Big Tech Tax,’ Elementary Screen Bans

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The American Federation of Teachers launches push to limit AI-based tools for students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teachers’ Union’s AI Plan Seeks ‘Big Tech Tax,’ Elementary Screen Bans

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The American Federation of Teachers launches push to limit AI-based tools for students.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Ed-Tech Backlash Is Here. What It Means for Schools

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Many educators and parents are worried that overuse of tech in schools is hurting learning.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
America’s tech-filled classrooms are facing a backlash against school-assigned devices

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Schools across the U.S. are starting to rethink the abundance of digital devices in classrooms

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Unpacking the "Black Box" of AI in Education on JSTOR

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Nabeel Gillani, Rebecca Eynon, Catherine Chiabaut, Kelsey Finkel, Unpacking the "Black Box" of AI in Education, Educational Technology & Society, Vol. 26, No. 1 (January 2023), pp. 99-111