Leveraging simulated student interactions to learn about prospective teachers’ formative assessment practice

Formative assessment practices, including eliciting student thinking, interpreting student thinking, and engaging in teaching action grounded in information from those practices, must be nurtured in teacher preparation. We present a methodological approach using simulated student interactions to learn about prospective teachers’ formative assessment practices. We used the simulated student interaction to investigate whether such a simulated student interaction could reveal important details about prospective teachers’ capabilities with formative assessment. We report on findings from a study in which 12 prospective teachers engaged in the simulated student interaction. The study findings affirm that a simulated student interaction approach can encourage prospective teachers to engage in elements of formative assessment practices and reveal aspects of prospective teachers’ mathematical knowledge. • Simulated student interactions as a methodology. • Prospective teachers’ formative assessment practices. • Information gathered about a student’s process and understanding. • Contingent actions convey mathematical knowledge for teaching.