Presenters use illustrations from a project that used scenario-based, graphics-enhanced online questionnaires to introduce participants to the use of these techniques to study teaching knowledge and practice.
The objective of this session is to enable researchers to use scenario-based questionnaires in the study and assessment of teaching knowledge and practice. Presenters show examples of items from 15 instruments developed to study teachers’ decisions in instructional situations, their recognition of specific norms of mathematics instruction, and their dispositions toward professional obligations of teaching. After participants peruse the items and instruments, they are walked through the steps taken by presenters to develop, pilot, revise, and implement this set of instruments. Session leaders describe processes used to validate the measures developed and illustrate their use with sample results of the analysis. At least 45 minutes is dedicated to consultations with participants about their possible uses of these techniques: Participants might use these procedures and tools if they are interested in displaying classroom practices to ask questions about them or if they are interested in engaging respondents in branching scenarios (a.k.a., choose your own adventure). Presenters provide assistance conceptualizing those scenarios and the associated questionnaires.