In this paper we describe the challenges we experience teaching an assessment course to pre-service teachers, as part of their studies in a bachelor of education program. As we teach the course, our intent is to explicitly model assessment practices that reflect a philosophy of success for all, rather than sort and rank. Rather than ranking students by achievement, our goal is to model how to tap into the learning potential of every student (Stiggins, 2005). Inquiring into moments that show how the teaching of a success for all philosophy is tension-filled in teacher education, we demonstrate the multiple and conflicting perspectives informing grades. We situate our discussion in the area of assessment in higher education and propose a series of actions, which may resonate with instructors in teacher education and higher education contexts.

In this reflective study, six members of a Faculty of Education implemented or adapted research-informed assessment practices in their university Bachelor of Education teaching. These practices included aligning university course outcomes to assessment, separating achievement on university course outcomes from achievement of non-academic outcomes, collaboratively creating achievement indicators for provincial curriculum outcomes, co-constructing criteria with university students for assignments, setting up opportunities with university students for peer feedback before an assignment is submitted for marking, and administering and marking a test according to research-suggested practices. This article describes the implementation of these practices and analyzes the challenges and successes experienced as these teacher educators strove to model assessment practices that are expected of preservice teachers when they enter the profession. The primary goal of implementation was to increase congruence between teaching and practice in terms of assessment. Keywords: assessment; preservice teacher learning; self-study

As an educator teaching an online course for the first time, I observed that the teachers in my class engaged in meaningful and sincere conversation and gained deep insight and greater awareness about their practice. Sincere conversation obviously differs from brief verbal exchanges operating at the surface level. It is conversation that invites self-reflection and contemplation through reciprocal trust, respect, and active listening. This study discusses how sincere dialogue, which leads to greater understanding of what it means to be an effective reading teacher, was enhanced during an online reading course. It highlights how the right conditions created in an online setting can encourage relationships and lead to professional knowledge. Quand j’ai enseigné un cours en ligne pour la première fois, j’ai remarqué que les élèves enseignants qui se trouvaient dans ma classe avaient des conversations constructives et sincères, qu’ils comprenaient bien leur profession et qu’ils en prenaient davantage conscience. Les conversations sincères diffèrent des courts échanges verbaux qui se déroulent en surface. Il s’agit de conversations qui invitent l’auto-réflexion et la contemplation par le biais d’une confiance et d’un respect réciproques, et d’une écoute attentive. Cette étude présente la manière dont le dialogue sincère, qui mène à une meilleure compréhension de ce que cela signifie d’être un enseignant de lecture efficace, a été mis en valeur lors d’un cours en ligne sur la lecture. Elle met en relief la manière dont les meilleures conditions créées dans un cours en ligne peuvent encourager des rapports et mener à la connaissance professionnelle.

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This study, conducted with eight elementary/ middle school teachers enrolled in an online reading course, asserts that through the development of relationships, the negotiation of a framework for study, and critical attention to generating and sustaining an environment conducive to learning, including interaction that promotes sincere conversation, that online learning can lead to substantial and meaningful professional insight. As a conceptual framework for this study I draw from images of the tides. Tides as metaphor provide me with a starting point for contemplation, an analogy from nature that, like teaching, has been an integral part of my life.