TEFA's Origins

From 1994-1997, the UMass Physics Education Research Group spearheaded a research project called TTECCS: Transforming Technical Education with a Classroom Communication System (funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation through grant DUE-9453881). In collaboration with Better Education Inc., we worked to refine, test, and develop curriculum and pedagogical methods for Classtalk, the first modern classroom response system.

As we discovered ways that Classtalk could be used to support sound science instruction consonant with educational research findings, the first outlines of TEFA emerged. This pedagogical approach matured through our subsequent teaching, mentoring other UMass instructors, and our work with high school physics teachers as part of A2L: Assessing-to-Learn Physics (NSF grant ESI-9730438).

We continue to formally articulate and flesh out TEFA as part of our current project, Teacher Learning of Technology-Enhanced Formative Assessment (TLT).