Chapter 5: “Getting on the Same Page”: Identifying the Influences on the Decision-Making of Novice Teachers

Several studies have demonstrated that beginning teachers’ decisions regarding assessment and instruction are the result of a complex combination of influences, as they draw on various personal, professional, and practical funds of knowledge to inform their instruction (e.g., Goldstein, 2008). These include teacher training programs and their current teaching environment (Flores & Day, 2006), access to mentors (Achinstein, 2012), personalized professional development (Anderson & Olsen, 2006), professional learning communities (Coburn, 2001), and alternative forms of assessment (Kuh & Nelson, 2014).

As beginning teachers consider these influences and make decisions concerning instruction and assessment, they must negotiate a misalignment that often occurs with policy and teacher education program outcomes (DeLuca & Bellara, 2013). As an example, one beginning teacher in the research study reported in this chapter shared: