Teachers’ Professional Development in the Context of Collaborative Research: Toward Practices of Collaborative Assessment for Learning in the Classroom

Abstract

This chapter presents a collaborative research project carried out with six Geneva primary school teachers. The focus of the project was on teachers’ practices of collaborative assessment for learning in their classrooms. The main features of collaborative research are presented, in particular the process of co-construction between researchers and practitioners of a significant project for both the scientific and the professional communities. Interplay between professional development seminars and teachers’ classroom experiences was at the heart of the project. Support for teachers’ learning was provided by the articulation of conceptual tools proposed by the researchers with concrete tools and data coming from the teachers’ classrooms. The conceptualization of collaborative assessment for learning in classroom included both individual and group self-assessment procedures in the context of student work in small groups. An overview is given of the principal themes emerging during three professional development seminars and the intervening experiences in the classrooms. One particular theme is developed in order to illustrate the exchanges and issues considered by the participants. This theme concerns the focus of collaborative assessment for learning on social and/or academic objectives and the corresponding assessment criteria. It highlights teachers’ representations about collaborative assessment and, more broadly, their stance and sense of their responsibility with respect to assessment of student learning. The chapter’s conclusion outlines some recommendations for professional development in the context of collaborative research.