Demystifying reciprocal learning between teachers and students: A study of how three teachers of literacy use formative assessment practices

The purpose of this study was to learn how teachers use formative assessment practices to determine student learning as it is emerging. During this study I investigated how three fifth grade charter school teachers used lesson planning, delivery of instruction, feedback processes, and student mastery of the intended skill objective to inform teaching and learning. Analyzing the unique personal and professional backgrounds of teachers in the study revealed the ways and the extent to which study participants implemented formative assessment. Teachers in this study incorporated culturally responsive teaching into their formative assessment practices by melding their evaluation of student performance with their culturally grounded perceptions of students\u27 social and emotional needs. The power dynamics that are inherent in the roles of teacher and students within the classroom can limit the teacher\u27s ability to recognize that learning is a process that is shared by both the teacher and student. According to Freire (1973), as cited by Sirotnik & Oakes (1990), the teacher-learner dichotomy is reduced when teachers relinquish ritualistic and symbolic authority games and become an integral part of the activities and substance of learning. Thus the teacher is part learner and the learner is part teacher (p.67). A phenomenon that was explored in this study is the extent to which teachers are learners of their students while they are teaching, and in what ways are they thinking critically about student learning and their teaching practices. This study builds on Dewey\u27s insight that education is a never-ending cyclical process that includes constant reflection and pedagogical adjustments on the part of the classroom teacher. The study is relevant to the field of education via its intent to highlight how teachers constantly blend theory and practice, action and reflection. Formative assessment practices are critical to the teaching cycle and therefore warrant further investigation