The Importance of Teacher Content Knowledge for Student Learning
ATLAST, an MSP RETA, is developing instruments that measure teacher and student learning in middle grades science. Both teacher and student assessments are developed through a rigorous process involving extensive review of the misconceptions literature, multiple reviews of items by STEM experts, cognitive interviews with students and teachers, and psychometric analysis. The instruments provide an excellent opportunity to investigate the relationship between teacher and student knowledge. To date, such studies have relied largely on proxy measures of teacher knowledge; e.g., major, GPA, or area of certification. The ATLAST teacher and student assessments are tightly aligned to the same content, improving the validity of study findings.
