Abstract:

This research article describes the progress of improving an online test that is based on a framework of teacher performance in relation to competence needed for teaching 21st century skills which is a topical nation-wide curriculum change in Latvia and other education systems. Within the framework that is still being developed and piloted, there are competence categories IA1 ''Student self-regulation'', IA2 ''Student cognitive activation'' and IB ''Teacher basic skills'' that are broken down into 17 criteria. Detailed descriptions of the criteria are outlined in the form of a rubric, where each have five (scale 0-4) performance level descriptors (PLDs) focusing on classroom practice domains that cover the teaching of 21st century skills. The overall aim of developing the test is to have a complimentary lesson observation instrument for triangulated data-based teacher competence gap identification in order to plan teacher professional development needs.

Goal of this research article is twofold: to share the research team’s methodology approach on how to develop an online test for gathering data of teachers’ knowledge and understanding of appropriate actions in given classroom situations and teachers` reflection on their most typical behavior in given classroom situations; and additionally the analysis results gathered in the second piloting of the revised test are outlined to determine the test’s content validity.

The test is improved based on several shortcomings identified from the first piloting (spring 2018) of its first version: discrimination index showed that part of the questions were too easy, parts of the test had too varied formats of questions etc. In next piloting phase (04.2019-12.2019), 1st to 12th grade general education teachers from 33 Latvian schools participated in the piloting of the new test (N = 457) and data is gathered for analyzing and determining the content validity and overall utility of it.

This research article seeks to answer the following research questions:
1. How to gather data on teachers' knowledge and understanding of actions appropriate for reaching learning goals in given classroom situations according to the PLDs?
2. How to gather data on teachers' reflection of their most typical behavior in given classroom situations according to the PLDs?
3. What do the result analysis of the improved test indicate regarding its reliability to gather data on teachers’ knowledge, understanding and reflection?

Results of this research can be used for teacher competence gap identification of a specific group of teachers in a school or municipality for planning data-driven professional development in the context of implementing new curriculum related to teaching and learning 21st century skills.

Keywords:

Online test, teacher competence gap, 21st century skills.