Developing Assessment Scenarios to Support Teacher Facilitation of Student Argumentation

This paper discusses the development of assessment scenarios designed to help teachers learn how to facilitate student discussions of controversial topics in elementary language arts classrooms. Each assessment scenario includes one or more weaknesses in students’ argumentation. Teachers are asked to identify and address the weaknesses with ‘talk moves’ and receive targeted feedback on their performance.The current project draws on our prior research on teacher facilitation and professional development. We rely on the previously developed framework, called the Argumentation Rating Tool, to operationalize weaknesses in student argumentation and related teacher facilitation strategies and talk moves. We also use videotaped classroom discussions from our prior studies to develop and validate our assessment scenarios.Our work is also informed by the ‘approximations of practice’ theory proposed by Grossman and colleagues (2009). The theory highlights the importance of offering teachers low-stakes instructional environments in which they can make mistakes and learn from their failures, without experiencing real-world consequences. The framework also highlights the essential role targeted feedback plays in fostering professional expertise.Eventually, we aim to automate assessment scenarios, developing an AI-powered simulated classroom environment and tutoring system for teachers. Such a system will provide for practical, effective, low-stakes, and scalable professional development aimed at addressing an important educational priority – improving the teaching and learning of argumentation.