InFocus: Exploring Equity-Based Assessment in Montessori Teacher Education: Ungrading Demonstration of Competencies and Implications for Practice

1.5 CPDs, Run Time: 1 hour 19 minutes

Come co-construct, build community and explore assessment with us! The goal of this session is to consider how equity-based assessment can be used in Montessori teacher education so adult learners can experience the humanistic/liberatory potential when authentic assessment contributes to internal motivation in the context of community. We will share results of research conducted with Montessori educators on the benefits and challenges of equity-based assessment strategies and discuss ways you can incorporate diverse assessments in your Teacher Education Program’s online and in-person learning experiences. This session will also offer opportunities to work collaboratively, share experiences with equity-based assessment, and design appropriate equity-based assessment strategies for the courses you teach and the adult learners they serve in person and online.

Gay Ward, PhD, is a Professor Emerita at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, where she works as a Montessori consultant and academic faculty in Teacher Education and Montessori Studies including the Montessori Doctoral Program. Gay is the 2024 Living Legacy for AMS. Gay was the 2015 recipient of the Dennis Shapiro Award for Innovation in Montessori Teacher Education. She has presented and published on equity-based assessment, reading and narrative development, choice and joy. AMS-credentialed (E1)

Katie Sharpe (she/her) is the online learning instructional designer at AMS. She coordinates the design, development, and delivery of online learning experiences and collaborates with Montessori experts on ways they can share their expertise across a variety of online learning platforms. Katie also supports content developers and teacher education program instructors as they prepare content for online classes and explore innovative teaching and learning tools to enhance online delivery. Katie is a former teacher and previous director of academic learning support. She is AMS-Credentialed (Early Childhood).

Paige M. Bray, Ed.D. is the Director of the Center for Montessori Studies and Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education at the University of Hartford, Connecticut. She has worked to address systemic inequities for over three decades. Her teaching expertise focuses on the personal “reflexes” and professional identity transitions fostered through dynamic inquiry and the use of meta-cognitive tools with pre-service teachers as well as credentialed teachers across the career continuum.