Dynamic Classroom Assessment:
Linking Mathematical Understanding to Instruction
Developed by George W. Bright, University of North Carolina at Greensboro and Jeane M. Joyner, Meredith College
Learn Research-Based Assessment Techniques to Improve Student Achievement in Grades K–12
Dynamic Classroom Assessment (DCA) is a sustained professional learning course that presents a research-based, proven process for assessing what math students know and can do. Teachers learn how to apply this knowledge to the curriculum to more effectively align instructional decisions with the needs of individual students and an entire class.
Training for facilitators is provided on-site by the program authors or other certified facilitators.
By participating in DCA professional learning courses, teachers will strengthen their ability to:
- Probe student understanding—differentiate between what students know and what they show us they know
- Provide effective feedback—develop adaptive questioning and assessment skills that allow them to more effectively root out misconceptions students have about math concepts
- Adapt instruction to students’ needs—discover how to effectively incorporate an expanded understanding of students’ thinking and comprehension levels into instructional decisions
Create Your Own Local DCA Trainers
Your
district’s staff development providers can become
certified DCA facilitators by attending 2-5 days of training,
depending on the desired DCA course: Elementary, Secondary,
or both. Facilitator training can be achieved through scheduled
sessions at our training site or arranged at your site
for groups of 25 or more.
DCA facilitators receive thorough preparation in DCA content
and strategies directly from the program authors. When
your staff developers return to your district, they will
be certified to conduct DCA training with your teachers
and they will have all of the print, software, and video
support to begin training right away!
Train Your Own Teachers
Certified DCA facilitators work with the provided course
materials, suggested presentation outlines, and implementation
guidelines to deliver DCA strategies and techniques to
classroom teachers. Participant teachers build confidence
to implement proven instructional approaches through a
structured combination of theoretical and practical experiences.
Secondary math teachers will receive up to sixty hours
of sustained professional development from your certified
DCA facilitators with thirty hours in the Core program
and an additional thirty hours through a series of three
extension modules. Thirty hours of professional development
is available to elementary teachers in the elementary
program.
Achievement gains for classroom
assessment are "among the largest ever reported
for educational interventions. The effect size of 0.7,
on average, illustrates just how large these gains
are… If mathematics teachers were to focus their
efforts on classroom assessment that is primarily formative
in nature, students’ learning gains would be
impressive."— Wilson & Kenney, 2003, p. 55, based largely on Black & Wiliam,
1998
