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Guiding Conceptions and Assessment Principles for The Praxis Series: Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers. Revised January 1993

Author(s):
Dwyer, Carol A.; Villegas, Ana Maria
Publication Year:
1993
Report Number:
RR-93-17
Source:
ETS Research Report
Document Type:
Report
Page Count:
13
Subject/Key Words:
Instruction, Performance Assessment, Praxis Series, Teacher Evaluation, Teacher Examinations, Teaching Skills

Abstract

(13pp.) This paper discusses beliefs about teaching that underlie the assessment of prospective teachers, specifically the new teacher assessment called The Praxis Series™: Professional Assessments for Beginning Teachers. For this series, teaching tasks are grouped into four broad areas or domains: 1) organizing content knowledge for student learning; 2) creating an environment for student learning; 3) teaching for student learning; and 4) teacher professionalism. A model of the teaching process is described which involves these four broad teaching task areas interacting with student variables, all within the context of a particular subject matter. The teaching and learning interactions flow from the teacher to the student and from the student to the teacher. To this model is added the assessment process, including a framework to be used in the Praxis II® test, incorporating the four task domains, each with a set of criteria by which teaching can be judged. Twelve of the American Psychological Association's "learner-centered psychological principles," which provide a complementary overview of the principles of the Praxis™ test, are summarized in Appendix A. (JGL)

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