Presentation Schedule
A Collaborative Assessment Tool for Special Education Teachers: Fostering a Multi-Faceted Understanding of Students (101626)
Session Chair: Evangelos Liaras
Sunday, 8 February 2026 10:25
Session: Session 1
Room: Opal 101 (Level 1)
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Providing optimal individualized instruction in special education requires a multi-faceted understanding of students, not a one-sided view. However, this is challenging, as the perspective of an individual teacher can lead to a biased interpretation of a student's needs and background. This study developed a workshop to address this challenge. Using a card tool composed of two types—“Sign” (observed behaviors) and “Factor” (underlying causes)—18 teachers conducted a collaborative assessment on a specific student case within each group in six groups of three. The study aimed to clarify the effects of this method on teachers' understanding of children's backgrounds by qualitatively analyzing the workshop's conversation logs, post-interviews, and surveys. The analysis revealed several key findings. The card work enabled teachers to move beyond their individual perspectives and experiences to form a more holistic and multi-faceted understanding of students, connecting behaviors to their potential underlying causes. Serving as a visual common ground, the cards facilitated a rich and multi-faceted exchange of opinions among teachers. Furthermore, insights gained from the workshop showed significant potential for application in daily practice, though challenges to sustainable use, such as the need for tool improvements, were also identified. This method proved to be an effective support for teachers to systematically understand students’ complex backgrounds by visualizing the assessment process. The card-mediated dialogue also functioned as a powerful scaffold, transforming the tacit knowledge rooted in individual teachers' experiences into shared, collaborative knowledge for the team.
Authors:
Seigo Kai, Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan
Momoko Nakatani, Institute of Science Tokyo, Japan
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