Professional Learning
Professional Learning Opportunities
Assessment
SCALE Science at WestEd is dedicated to building system-wide capacity to support the use of performance assessments in ways that promotes science instruction that is meaningful to students, elicits and leverages their ideas and interests to facilitate learning, and builds student agency. Developing high-quality assessments that elicit rich information about students’ thinking is one important piece of creating a system of supports for students and teachers, but the ways the assessments are used can have as much, if not more impact on classrooms, and on building a culture of student-centered and equitable instructional practices in a school or district.
SCALE Science professional learning activities are grounded in our framework for student-centered and equitable instructional practices and are customized to each context we work in. Our professional learning experiences are collaborative and practice-based; teachers, instructional coaches, specialists, school and district leaders, and materials developers work in teams to use SCALE Science’s Criteria for Instructionally-Meaningful Assessments That Center Equity to develop and use resources tailored for their context, analyze data from their students, and decide on responsive moves.
We work with groups around the globe to collaborate on in-person, hybrid, or online learning opportunities that range from weeks to months to years.
Where assessment meets instruction
Teachers are often asked to “adjust instruction” based on evidence from assessment, but few supports exist to help them develop strategies for making equitable instructional moves in response to assessment data. Learn more about how the IMPACT Professional Learning model is transforming how schools and districts integrate assessment practices seamlessly into instruction.
Looking for FREE professional learning opportunities on performance assesssment?
Our series of free hybrid online/face-to-face courses on edX provide, step-by-step guidance to school and district teams interested in learning to develop and/or use 3D performance assessments. We also offer various levels of direct support to teams using the courses, which makes sustained, high-quality professional learning much more affordable!
If you are interested in learning more, please see our services page or contact us.
