TLA Measurement Fellowship: A new blended teaching assessment tool emerges

As blended teaching becomes more prevalent throughout the country, leaders in the field are looking for how to measure and assess quality blended teaching skills. As part of my TLA Measurement Fellowship, I distilled the information that I gleaned from a literature review (Pulham & Graham, 2018) to create an objective test of teacher skill in blended teaching. While there are several self-assessments of blended teaching readiness out there (including: Process Blended Teaching Readiness Instrument and Pedagogical Blended Teaching Readiness Instrument), there is not yet a validated, objective test of blended teaching competence. The test I developed had four key areas:

1. Blending online and in-person learning (7 questions)
2. Technology-mediated Interactions (5 questions)
3. Personalization (8 questions)
4. Real-time Data Practices (8 questions)

The goal of my study was to ensure that the test consistently measured the four areas listed above in a statistically sound manner. Almost 200 participants took the test, and using their responses, along with feedback from one of our prior pilot tests, and feedback from expert reviewers, I created these three individual tests that improve on the original:

1. Personalized & Blended Classroom Quiz
2. Technology-Mediated Interactions Quiz
3. Real-time Data Quiz

In future iterations, these tests will also provide specific recommendations for growing blended teaching skills through links within this book: https://k12blendedteaching.pressbooks.com/. These tests and this open textbook complement each other since the same evidence-based skills and ideas underpin both resources.

These tests are best used in a formative setting for self-reflection, or to help a district understand where they should put their future efforts in helping teachers improve their personalization, data practices, and technology-mediated interactions. (They are not “summative” exams that test knowledge.) I encourage individuals, school districts, and others to make use of these assessments in ways that can inform professional development and guide teachers’ personal reflection. If you have questions or feedback about these tests, please contact Saro Mohammed (saro@learningaccelerator.org), or Emily Pulham (ebpulham@gmail.com).