The teacher professional development model for implementing assessment for learning in the classroom

This paper presents a teacher professional development model adopted by our project to help teachers upgrade their professionalism in using assessment for enhancing student learning (Quality Education Funded project entitled "Assessment for Hong Kong schools"). Twenty-seven teachers from eight primary schools in Hong Kong were involved in our one-year Assessment for Learning (AfL) professional development programme. The intervention adopted by our AfL project was based on a three-step model common to interventions predicated on teacher professional development during which teachers are exposed to professional development through, for example, workshops and seminars. Then teachers adopt new practices. Student engagement and learning are improved because of these improvements in teaching. What makes our model unique is its two key elements of professional development. The first element was the provision of an AfL implementation framework (Berry, 2007; Berry, 2008) for teachers to link AfL theory to classroom practice. The second element was a heightening of teachers' concept of agency in AfL practices. The concept of agency in this particular context implies an active teacher who initiates, makes plans and carries out appropriate actions to use assessment for learning purposes. Different methods were used in this respect including teacher reflecting on their AfL practices at the Teacher Learning Community Meetings (TLC meetings) and in their teacher portfolios. To see the impacts of our AfL professional development model on teachers' AfL professional growth, further data were collected from teacher interview, student interviews and school senior personnel interviews and lesson observation and will be reported in the presentation.