Embedded Files
Guiding Question
Guiding Question
Why begin with an assessment rather than immediately selecting instructional strategies?
Guiding Principles
Also
design decision
design decision
Belonging by Design begins with a formative assessment of classroom conditions.
Assessment informs instructional decisions rather than evaluating student performance.
Within the framework, assessment is operationalized through a brief Readiness Check.
Faculty use the results of the Readiness Check to determine which focus areas and instructional resources best support their students.
Working Definition
Working Definition
Assessment: The intentional process of gathering information to inform instructional decision-making.
Within Belonging by Design, assessment is implemented through a brief Readiness Check that helps faculty understand students' collaborative strengths, experiences, and perceived needs before selecting instructional strategies.
Design Rationale
Design Rationale
Problem
Problem
Students enter educator preparation with different experiences, strengths, and support needs.
Faculty often begin instruction without understanding students' readiness for collaborative learning.
A predetermined instructional sequence may not address the needs of every class.
Design Choice
Design Choice
Begin the framework with a formative assessment.
Use assessment to inform instructional decisions rather than measure student performance.
Provide faculty with actionable information before selecting instructional resources.
Reasoning
Reasoning
Effective instruction begins with understanding learners.
Assessment supports responsive teaching rather than predetermined teaching.
Faculty expertise is strengthened when instructional decisions are informed by evidence from their own classrooms.
Beginning with assessment reinforces that Belonging by Design is a decision-making framework rather than a scripted curriculum.
evidence & influences
evidence & influences
leadership
leadership
Relevant Ideas
Relevant Ideas
Adaptive Leadership emphasizes diagnosing the situation before taking action.
Team Leadership encourages understanding team strengths and needs before intervening.
Servant Leadership begins by listening to and understanding the needs of others.
Responsive leadership is grounded in evidence rather than assumptions.
- How Leadership Informed This Decision
Adaptive Leadership strongly influenced the decision to begin with an assessment. Rather than assuming every class requires the same instruction, faculty first seek to understand students' collaborative strengths, experiences, and needs. Team Leadership and Servant Leadership reinforce the importance of listening and understanding before selecting instructional responses. This approach positions assessment as the beginning of responsive instructional leadership rather than simply a measurement tool.
Included Theories
Included Theories
Adaptive Leadership
Team Leadership
Servant Leadership
learning theory
learning theory
Relevant Ideas
Assessment informs instruction.
Formative assessment guides teaching and learning.
Responsive instruction begins with understanding learners.
Questions to Explore
Formative assessment
Assessment for learning
Responsive teaching
belonging
belonging
Relevant Ideas
Students experience belonging differently across classrooms.
Assessment provides insight into connection, participation, collaboration, and belonging.
Responsive instruction is more likely to support meaningful participation and belonging.
asu resources
asu resources
Relevant Ideas
Next Education Workforce tools that begin with understanding team needs.
Whole Child practices emphasizing understanding learners before instruction.
Professional Learning Hub resources on formative assessment.
How Institutional Resources Informed This Decision
These resources reinforced the idea that instructional decisions should begin with understanding learners rather than implementing predetermined strategies. The Readiness Check operationalizes this idea within the Belonging by Design framework.
research evidence
research evidence
practical considerations
practical considerations
The Readiness Check is brief and designed to fit within existing courses.
Faculty can administer it with minimal preparation.
Results directly inform instructional planning.
The process is flexible and scalable across educator preparation courses
alternatives considered
alternatives considered
Alternatives
Begin with the same instructional sequence for every course.
Allow faculty to select resources without assessment.
Use assessment only after instruction.
Why They Were Not Selected
A common sequence assumes all students have similar needs.
Responsive instruction requires understanding the current classroom context before selecting strategies.
Assessment is most valuable when it informs, rather than evaluates, instruction.
decision notes
decision notes
Original Decision
The intervention included a pre-assessment to identify students' teamwork strengths and areas for growth before instruction.
Revisions
The framework shifted from using assessment primarily as a research tool to positioning it as an instructional tool that informs faculty decision-making. The Readiness Check became the operational component of this design decision.
Remaining Considerations
Which assessment items provide the most useful instructional information?
How can the Readiness Check remain brief while still informing meaningful instructional decisions?
How do faculty interpret and act on assessment results?
Current Stage
Emerging
Created
July 2026
Last Updated
July 2026
Next Steps
Add literature on formative assessment and responsive teaching.
Expand Adaptive Leadership connections.
Review after pilot implementation.
Page updated
Report abuse