[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Qualitative Methods in PER: A Critical Examination.] Epistemic beliefs about physics are most often investigated using quantitative instruments that reflect binary conceptualizations of those beliefs. This study reports from a qualitative study which used continua to represent the epistemic beliefs…

Two commonly used approaches to capturing information about teachers are random probability surveys and teacher panels. This paper reviews the strengths and limitations of these two approaches in the context of capturing information about the teacher workforce. A case study is then presented drawing upon recent teacher survey data collections in…

Meaningfully engaging faculty in assessment presents a continual challenge for general education administrators. Faculty perceptions of assessment--including that assessment serves no purpose other than "checking a box" for accreditation and that it conveys little benefit to the instructor--often hinder instructor engagement. A low-cost…

Acceleration is an effective approach for many high ability students, and it can be especially beneficial for Black students. Upstander teachers are those who recognize educational crises and the problem of overlooked and underdeveloped gifts and talents of Black students in regular and gifted education programs. They proactively identify Black…

This chapter explores issues surrounding adjunct instructor roles in assessment, and provides some useful techniques to incorporate their assessment work toward unifying education delivery.

Over the last two decades, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has become ubiquitous in ELT. In this article, I consider how differences in the way in which the framework is being interpreted by different powerful actors, including governments and for-profit organizations, affect its usability for ELT practitioners, a…

Recent policy reforms to the national assessment system in England have altered the way in which teachers undertake assessment. Through an analysis of data from a small-scale interview study with eleven primary teachers in the south and east of England, we examine the ways in which teachers work with assessment software to monitor and track…

In the shift to Emergency Remote Teaching and Learning (ERT&L) during the COVID-19 pandemic, remote assessment and feedback became a major source of discontent and challenge for students and staff. This paper is a reflection and analysis of assessment practices during ERT&L, and our theorisation of the possibilities for shifts towards…

The Micro-Credential Program is a digital badging system composed of competency-based pathways that move forward early childhood professionals to achieving mastery in employability skills. These skills are crucial for early childhood professionals to have to provide high-quality, nurturing learning environments to children in their care as well as…

'Quality' in education has become a global phenomenon, and is frequently discussed in transnational and national policy. In such discussions, 'quality' seems to be both worthwhile and demanded, but at the same time, the concept has also been criticised in previous research as it seems to have attained a 'common sense' status. In this context, the…

The language assessment literacy of English language teachers has been one of the topics of discussion in the language testing field. In this article, I focus on the need to expand research constructs and methodologies to understand, in depth, the language assessment literacy for these key players in language assessment. I first explain the need…

The appointment of a new chief inspector from January 2017 offers the opportunity to re-set the relationship between Ofsted and the teaching profession. Both inspectors and teachers need to readjust their mindsets, if inspection is to be seen as developmental and principled rather than judgemental and arbitrary. Without claiming that it was…

From the fall of 2017 to the winter of 2020, the Student-Centered Assessment Network (SCAN) aimed to transform high school teaching in Rhode Island. Researchers and teachers worked together to make high school classes more student centered by increasing teachers' use of student-centered formative assessment. Network leaders (the hub) organized…

Hattie and Timperley's (2007) model of effective feedback, widely used in teacher professional development, provides an easily-applied framework for thinking about the information contained in feedback. However, the model simplifies a complex phenomenon shaped in practice by interpersonal, disciplinary and institutional aspects. Examining the…

Personal beliefs about a construct are formed based on individuals' experiences in sociocultural contexts. Personal beliefs are powerful as individuals tend to plan, take actions, and evaluate their own and others' actions based on their belief system. In this chapter, we review pervasive creativity myths, followed by an examination of teachers'…