Artifact Packages for Characterizing Classroom Practice

This article describes the development of artifact collection and scoring procedures to characterize classroom practice in mathematics and science. A data collection tool called the "Scoop Notebook" was used to gather artifacts related to key features of classroom practice, such as teachers' use of instructional materials and strategies,classroom learning activities, and students' work. Pilot studies were conducted in a small number of middle school science and mathematics classrooms to provide initial information about the reliability, validity, and feasibility of artifact collections as measures of classroom practice. The pilot studies yielded positive results, indicating that the Scoop Notebook and associated scoring guide have promise for providing accurate representations of what teachers and students do in classrooms. Due to the small sample size, results are most appropriately used formatively, to help improve artifact collection procedures before they are tested on a larger scale.