Potentials and Challenges of a Situated Professional Development Model

The purpose of this chapter is to describe a statewide professional development program designed to improve teachers' knowledge and practices around formative assessment. The authors describe three key characteristics that guided the program design: (1) providing a framework for formative assessment; (2) providing opportunities for flexible implementation; and (3) providing support for capacity development. The chapter provides examples of the ways the program was instantiated at the local level, discusses the potentials and challenges related to the professional development implementation, and illustrates connections to teacher learning about formative assessment. The authors provide recommendations that may help individuals who design and deliver professional development that balance large-scale program expectations (e.g., state-level) with local and situated contexts of implementation. General implications for the design and enactment of situated professional development models are also described.