ASSESSING DIAGNOSTIC COMPETENCE OF PRESERVICE TEACHERSIN MATHEMATICS
Moritz Walz, Jürgen Roth
University of Koblenz-Landau
,
Diagnostic competence of teachers
Diagnostic competence of teachers means the ability to handle the diagnostic challenges while teaching as well as the quality of in this process reached diagnostic achievements (Schrader 2013).Diagnoses are about the current state and are related to intended goals (Schrader 2013). In educationalpsychology, diagnosis used to be a tool for assessment and evaluation. In the meantime, the focus ondiagnosis has been widened to learning processes (Schrader 2013). Learning process diagnostic is theanalysis of the learning process and the adaption of teaching based on this analysis (Horstkemper2006; Schrader und Helmke 2001). One distinguishes between the macro adaption and the microadaption. Macro adaption is about the adaption in the planning of several lessons. Micro adaption isabout the adaption during a learning processes (Schrader and Helmke 2001). The last one is focusedon in this study.
Influence of the process diagnostic ability on teacher action and reflection
Teachers need to be able to recognize the level of understanding an individual learner has already reached. Furthermore, they need to be able to support or promote him adequately if necessary. Traineddiagnostic skills are an essential condition for teachers to do appropriate real-time interventions(Randi and Corno 2005). Moreover, diagnostic competence is useful for developing learningenvironments as well as to identify and avoid potential sources of errors and problems of students.Diagnostic skills can also be used as basis for a well-grounded reflection of students’ learningprocesses.
Design of the study
We intend to test the ability of preservice mathematics teachers to do learning process diagnosticsusing ViviAn ( a video and computer based learning and testingenvironment for diagnostic skills (Bartel and Roth 2017). For this reason, we prepared and analysed several video vignettes out of existing videos. The videos show a group of four students workingautonomously on mathematical tasks. Preservice teachers answer some diagnostic tasks afterwatching a video vignette. The diagnostic tasks are theory-based and evaluated by experts. Theaccordance between the answers of an individual preservice teacher and experts is used as measurefor the learning process diagnostic skills of the individual preservice teacher in the tested area.
During a master´s degree seminar preservice teachers design learning environments in groups of threepeople. These learning environments are tested by a class of a nearby school. The preservice teachersobserve the interaction of students while working on the designed learning environment. Theyintervene during students group work, if they think it´s necessary. These interventions are videotapedand used for qualitative analysis. Furthermore, they are used for a group discussion between the threepreservice teachers. They reflect about their own interventions and about the interventions of othergroup members. The discussions again are videotaped and used for qualitative analysis. In the end,the preservice teachers are again processing videos using ViviAn to measure their process diagnosticskills. First results of this study are discussed during this talk.
REFERENCES
Bartel, M.-E., Roth, J. (2017). Diagnostische Kompetenz von Lehramtsstudierenden fördern – Das Videotool ViviAn. [Foster diagnostic competence of preservice teachers – the videotoolViviAn]. Erscheint in T.Leuders et al. (Hrsg.): Mit Heterogenität im Mathematikunterricht umgehen lernen – Konzepte undPerspektiven für eine zentrale Anforderung an die Lehrerbildung. Wiesbaden: Springer.
Horstkemper, M. (2006). Fördern heißt diagnostizieren. Pädagogische Diagnostik als wichtige Voraussetzungfür individuellen Lernerfolg. [Foster meansanalysis. Educational diagnostic as an important requirementfor learning achievement]. In Becker G., Horstkemper, E., Risse, E., Stäudel, L., Werning, R. und Winter,F. (Hrsg.): Diagnostizieren und Fördern. Stärken entdecken – Können entwickeln. Friedrich JahresheftXXIV 2006. Seelze: Friedrich.
Randi, J., Corno, L. (2005). Teaching and learner variation. In Pedagogy – Learning for Teachers. BJEPMonograph Series II (3). New York: Springer.
Schrader, F.-W. (2013). Diagnostische Kompetenz von Lehrpersonen. [Diagnosticcompetenceofteachers] InBeiträge zur Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerbildung, 31 (2). New York: Springer.
Schrader, F.-W., Helmke, A. (2001). Alltägliche Leistungsbeurteilung durch Lehrer. [Daily performanceevaluationbyteachers]. In Weinert F. E. (Hrsg.): Leistungsmessungen in Schulen. Weinheim: Beltz.