Project Title: Measuring Next Generation Science Instruction Using Tablet-Based Teacher Portfolios

Research Team: Matt Kloser, Matt Wilsey, Felipe Martinez (UCLA), Brian Stecher (RAND), Jayashri Srinivasan (UCLA), Kate Riedell (UCLA)

Funder & Grant Size: NSF REAL $1,600,000

This project is focused on developing, deploying, and evaluating a new generation of teacher portfolio instruments based on modern tablet technology. The project is a collaboration between a multidisciplinary team of experts in assessment, science education, and technology aimed at helping researchers and practitioners monitor, assess, and improve instruction in middle school science classrooms aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Building on prior successful portfolio systems, a new electronic portfolio platform will be developed and tested using a mixed methods validation study. A sample of 40 volunteer middle school science teachers will be selected for participation. Teachers will collect evidence of their instruction using the electronic portfolios, and this evidence will be assessed by a group of experienced raters and experts using a set of guidelines of instructional practice aligned to the Next Generation Science Standards. Advanced quantitative methods, including multifaceted generalizability theory, factor analysis, and hierarchical linear models, will be used to assess the properties of portfolio data against other teacher measures. This evidence will be complemented with in-depth qualitative analyses of portfolio contents, and debriefing interviews with participant teachers and reviewers.