Home Linguistics & Semiotics Examining the Construction of “Teaching Assessment Literacy”: A Case Study of Teacher Conceptual Development in Collaborative Research Practice
Article
Licensed
Unlicensed Requires Authentication

Examining the Construction of “Teaching Assessment Literacy”: A Case Study of Teacher Conceptual Development in Collaborative Research Practice

  • Luxin Yang

    Luxin Yang is a professor of applied linguistics at the School of English and International Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University. Her research interests include foreign language curriculum and instruction, foreign language teacher education, and second language writing.

    and Ning Zhang

    Ning Zhang (the corresponding author) is a lecturer of English at the School of Foreign Languages, Xizang Minzu University. Her research efforts have focused on foreign language education and teacher education.

Published/Copyright: July 2, 2024

Abstract

This study explored the trajectory of teacher concept development during collaborative research practice promoted by a university-school partnership teacher development program. Drawing on Vygotsky’s and Engeström’s notion of concept formation, it examined how a secondary EFL teaching-research officer (TRO) negotiated between scientific and everyday concepts as she co-constructed the research theme “teaching assessment literacy” with mentors and fellow teachers mediated by the program. Multiple sources of data were collected over a span of two years, including six rounds of oral defense and research reporting activities, classroom observations, interviews, journals, and research reports. The analysis showed that the TRO experienced a gradually integrated and transformed path of concept development, and also initiated an expansive learning opportunity for her research participants, triggering collective concept development. While the program played a significant role in providing multi-module facilitating activities, academic-practice joint mentoring and collective scaffolding, more subtle guidance is suggested for the tension-laden process.

About the authors

Luxin Yang

Luxin Yang is a professor of applied linguistics at the School of English and International Studies, Beijing Foreign Studies University. Her research interests include foreign language curriculum and instruction, foreign language teacher education, and second language writing.

Ning Zhang

Ning Zhang (the corresponding author) is a lecturer of English at the School of Foreign Languages, Xizang Minzu University. Her research efforts have focused on foreign language education and teacher education.

Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the project of Research on Educating Excellent Foreign Language Teachers in the New Era supported by China National Social Science Foundation (19BYY220).

References

Alderson, J. C., Brunfaut, T., & Harding, L. (2017). Bridging assessment and learning: A view from second and foreign language assessment. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 24, 379-387.10.1080/0969594X.2017.1331201Search in Google Scholar

Arias, C., Maturana, L., & Restrepo, M. (2012). Evaluation in foreign language learning: Towards fair and democratic practices. Lenguaje, 40, 99-126.10.25100/lenguaje.v40i1.4945Search in Google Scholar

Babaii, E., & Asadnia, F. (2019). A long walk to language assessment literacy: EFL teachers’ reflection on language assessment research and practice. Reflective Practice, 20, 1-16.10.1080/14623943.2019.1688779Search in Google Scholar

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 5, 7-74.10.1080/0969595980050102Search in Google Scholar

Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (2018). Classroom assessment and pedagogy. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 25, 1-25.10.1080/0969594X.2018.1441807Search in Google Scholar

Borg, S. (2010). Language teacher research engagement. Language Teaching, 43, 391-429.10.1017/S0261444810000170Search in Google Scholar

Borg, S. (2013). Teacher research in language teaching: A critical analysis. Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Brindley, G. (2001). Language assessment and professional development. In C. Elder, A. Brown, E. Grove, K. Hill, N. Iwashita, T. Lumley, & K. O’Loughlin (Eds.), Experimenting with uncertainty: Essays in honor of Alan Davies (pp. 126-136). Cambridge University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Burns, A. (2015). The action research in ELICOS program: Refining the development of a national model. Research Notes, 60, 4-8.Search in Google Scholar

Burns, A., & Westmacott, A. (2018). Teacher to researcher: Reflections on a new action research program for university EFL teachers. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 20, 15-23.10.15446/profile.v20n1.66236Search in Google Scholar

Dafermos, M. (2018). Rethinking cultural-historical theory: A dialectical perspective to Vygotsky. Springer.10.1007/978-981-13-0191-9Search in Google Scholar

Davies, A. (2008). Textbook trends in teaching language testing. Language Testing, 25, 327-347.10.1177/0265532208090156Search in Google Scholar

DeLuca, C., LaPointe-McEwan, D., & Luhanga, U. (2016). Teacher assessment literacy: A review of international standards and measures. Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability, 28, 251-272.10.1007/s11092-015-9233-6Search in Google Scholar

Derakhshan, A., Wang, Y., & Ghiasvand, F. (2023). “I never make a permanent decision based on a temporary emotion”: Unveiling EFL teachers’ perspectives about emotions in assessment. Applied Linguistics Review. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2023-008910.1515/applirev-2023-0089Search in Google Scholar

Edens, K., & Shields, C. (2015). A Vygotskian approach to promote and formatively assess academic concept learning. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 40, 928-942.10.1080/02602938.2014.957643Search in Google Scholar

Edwards, E., & Burns, A. (2016). Language teacher researcher identity negotiation: An ecological perspective. TESOL Quarterly, 50, 735-745.10.1002/tesq.313Search in Google Scholar

Engeström, Y. (2001). Expansive learning at work: Toward an activity theoretical reconceptualization. Journal of Education and Work, 14, 133-156.10.1080/13639080123238Search in Google Scholar

Engeström, Y. (2008). From teams to knots: Activity theoretical studies of collaboration and learning at work. Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511619847Search in Google Scholar

Engeström, Y., Miettinen, R., & Punamäki, R.-L. (Eds.). (1999). Perspectives on activity theory. Cambridge University Press.10.1017/CBO9780511812774Search in Google Scholar

Engeström, Y., Pasanen, A., Toiviainen, H., & Haavisto, V. (2005). Expansive learning as collaborative concept formation at work. In K.Yamazumi, Y. Engeström, & H. Daniels (Eds.), New learning challenges: Going beyond the industrial age system of school and work (pp. 47-77). Kansai University Press.Search in Google Scholar

Fleer, M. (2009). Understanding the dialectical relations between everyday concepts and scientific concepts within play-based programs. Research in Science Education, 39, 281-306.10.1007/s11165-008-9085-xSearch in Google Scholar

Fulcher, G. (2012). Assessment literacy for the language classroom. Language Assessment Quarterly, 9, 113-132.10.1080/15434303.2011.642041Search in Google Scholar

Giraldo, F. (2018). Language assessment literacy: Implications for language teachers. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 20, 179-195.10.15446/profile.v20n1.62089Search in Google Scholar

Giraldo, F. (2020). A post-positivist and interpretive approach to researching teachers’ language assessment literacy. Profile: Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 22, 189-200.10.15446/profile.v22n1.78188Search in Google Scholar

Giraldo, F., & Murcia, D. (2018). Language assessment literacy for pre-service teachers: Course expectations from different stakeholders. Gist Education and Learning Research Journal, 16, 56-77.10.26817/16925777.425Search in Google Scholar

Golombek, P. R., & Johnson, K. E. (2019). Materializing a Vygotskian-inspired language teacher education pedagogy. In S. Walsh & S. Mann (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of English language teacher education (pp. 25-37). Routledge.10.4324/9781315659824-4Search in Google Scholar

Hanks, J. (2015). Language teachers making sense of exploratory practice. Language Teaching Research, 19, 612-633.10.1177/1362168814567805Search in Google Scholar

Harding, J. (2013). Qualitative data analysis from start to finish. Sage.Search in Google Scholar

Harding, L., & Kremmel, B. (2016). Teacher assessment literacy and professional development. In D. Tsagari, & J. Banerjee (Eds.), Handbook of second language assessment (pp. 413-428). Walter de Gruyter.10.1515/9781614513827-027Search in Google Scholar

Inbar-Lourie, O. (2008). Constructing a language assessment knowledge base: A focus on language assessment courses. Language Testing, 25, 385-402.10.1177/0265532208090158Search in Google Scholar

Inbar-Lourie, O. (2013). Language assessment literacy. In C. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics (pp. 1-9). Blackwell.10.1002/9781405198431.wbeal0605Search in Google Scholar

Inbar-Lourie, O. (2017). Language assessment literacy. In E. Shohamy, I. G. Or, & S. May (Eds.), Language testing and assessment (3rd ed.) (pp. 257-268). Springer.10.1007/978-3-319-02261-1_19Search in Google Scholar

Johnson, K. E. (2006). The sociocultural turn and its challenges for second language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 40, 235-257.10.2307/40264518Search in Google Scholar

Johnson, K. E. (2009). Second language teacher education: A sociocultural perspective. Routledge.10.4324/9780203878033Search in Google Scholar

Johnson, K. E., & Golombek, P. R. (2016). Mindful L2 teacher education: A sociocultural perspective on cultivating teachers’ professional development. Routledge.10.4324/9781315641447Search in Google Scholar

Lam, R. (2019). Teacher assessment literacy: Surveying knowledge, conceptions and practices of classroom-based writing assessment in Hong Kong. System, 81, 78-79.10.1016/j.system.2019.01.006Search in Google Scholar

McNamara, T., & Roever, C. (2006). Language testing: The social dimension. Blackwell.Search in Google Scholar

Mei, D. M., & Wang, Q. (Eds.). (2018). Interpreting the senior high school curriculum standards 2017 edition. Higher Education Press.Search in Google Scholar

Ministry of Education. (2018). English curriculum standards for general high school (2017 edition). People’s Education Press.Search in Google Scholar

Ministry of Education. (2020). English curriculum standards for general high school (2020 revised). People’s Education Press.Search in Google Scholar

Murphy, G. L. (2002). The big book of concepts. The MIT Press.10.7551/mitpress/1602.001.0001Search in Google Scholar

Purpura, J. E. (2016). Second and foreign language assessment. The Modern Language Journal, 100, 190-208.10.1111/modl.12308Search in Google Scholar

Scarino, A. (2013). Language assessment literacy as self-awareness: Understanding the role of interpretation in assessment and in teacher learning. Language Testing, 30, 309-327.10.1177/0265532213480128Search in Google Scholar

Selvi, A. F., & Martin-Beltrán, M. (2016). Teacher-learner engagement in the reconceptualization of second language acquisition knowledge through inquiry. System, 63, 28-39.10.1016/j.system.2016.08.006Search in Google Scholar

Servet, H. (2018). An investigation of prospective teachers’ views on concept teaching: A case of history. Educational Research and Reviews, 13, 638-644.10.5897/ERR2018.3588Search in Google Scholar

Shepard, L. A. (2000). The role of assessment in a learning culture. Educational Researcher, 29, 4-14.10.3102/0013189X029007004Search in Google Scholar

Shepard, L. A. (2019). Classroom assessment to support teaching and learning. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 683, 183-200.10.1177/0002716219843818Search in Google Scholar

Shohamy, E., Or, I. G., & May, S. (2017). Volume editors’ introduction to language testing and assessment. In E. Shohamy, I. G. Or, & S. May (Eds.), Language testing and assessment (3rd ed.) (pp. ix-xviii). Springer.10.1007/978-3-319-02261-1Search in Google Scholar

Stiggins, R. J. (1991). Assessment literacy. Phi Delta Kappan, 72, 534-539.Search in Google Scholar

Taylor, L. (2013). Communicating the theory, practice and principles of language testing to test stakeholders: Some reflections. Language Testing, 30, 403-412.10.1177/0265532213480338Search in Google Scholar

Tracy, S. J. (2013). Qualitative research methods: Collecting evidence, crafting analysis, communicating impact. Wiley-Blackwell.Search in Google Scholar

Vogt, K., & Tsagari, D. (2014). Assessment literacy of foreign language teachers: Findings of a European study. Language Assessment Quarterly, 11, 374-402.10.1080/15434303.2014.960046Search in Google Scholar

Vygotsky, L. S. (1986). Thought and language. MIT Press.Search in Google Scholar

Vygotsky, L. S. (1987). Thinking and speech. In R. W. Reiber (Ed.), The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky, vol. 3. Problems of the theory and history of psychology (pp. 37-285). Plenum.Search in Google Scholar

Vygotsky, L. S. (1998). Development of thinking and formation of concepts in the adolescent. In R. W. Rieber (Ed.), The collected works of L. S. Vygotsky, vol. 5: Child psychology (pp. 29-81), Plenum.10.1007/978-1-4615-5401-1_2Search in Google Scholar

Wang, Q., & Li, L. (2019). Integrating teaching-learning-assessment in the EFL classroom in the context of developing key competencies: Significance, theories and methods. Curriculum, Teaching Material and Method, 39, 114-120.Search in Google Scholar

Wang, Q., & Luo, S. (2019). Shifting from teaching the subject to developing core competencies through the subject: The revised senior middle school English curriculum standards (2017 Edition) in China. In X. Gao (Ed.), Second handbook of English language teaching (pp. 109-134). Springer.10.1007/978-3-030-02899-2_6Search in Google Scholar

Xu, Y., & Brown, G. T. (2016). Teacher assessment literacy in practice: A reconceptualization. Teaching and Teacher Education, 58, 149-162.10.1016/j.tate.2016.05.010Search in Google Scholar

Yan, Y., & Yang, L. (2019). Exploring contradictions in an EFL teacher professional learning community. Journal of Teacher Education, 70, 498-511.10.1177/0022487118801343Search in Google Scholar

Zhou, J., & Gong, C. (2016). Educating reflective and inquiry-oriented teachers: Research-based teacher education in Finland. International and Comparative Education, 38, 34-39.Search in Google Scholar

Published Online: 2024-07-02
Published in Print: 2024-02-26

© 2024 BFSU, FLTRP, Walter de Gruyter, Cultural and Education Section British Embassy

Downloaded on 18.3.2026 from https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.1515/CJAL-2024-0105/html
Scroll to top button