Conference Program

This study is situated within the field of Teacher Professional Development (TPD) and investigates the use of pedagogical-didactic documentation as a tool to support teachers’ professional reflection and learning. The training approach integrates theory and practice and moves beyond deficit-oriented models of teacher education (Kennedy, 2005). The study examines the outcomes of a professional development programme addressed to primary school teachers and centred on the use of pedagogical documentation and descriptive assessment as tools for reflective practice.

The literature review pursued two main objectives: (i) to conceptualise pedagogical documentation from a didactic perspective, acknowledging the complexity of this construct; and (ii) to identify the main factors and dimensions of impact associated with professional development and the effectiveness of training interventions. In this perspective, pedagogical-didactic documentation aims both to make students’ learning processes visible and to support teachers’ reflection on their instructional practices and pedagogical choices. It can also function as a mediating tool between teachers and researchers within inquiry-oriented professional learning processes.

The training programme was designed drawing on research on effective professional development (Kennedy, 2016; Sims, 2021). The study adopts an ecological perspective and follows a mixed-methods sequential explanatory design (QUAN → qual; Creswell & Clark, 2017) to explore the outcomes of a 16-hour professional development programme involving 200 primary school teachers and focused on formative descriptive assessment. The evaluation process was conducted through a participatory “fourth-generation evaluation” approach (Guba & Lincoln, 1989), aimed at capturing teachers’ perspectives and experiences.

The quantitative phase involved a pre- and post-questionnaire (N = 99), analysed through t-tests and exploratory factor analysis. Results show positive variations across all analysed items and reveal the emergence of a new factor related to student involvement in assessment practices, suggesting increased attention to students’ active participation. A shift was also observed within the “didactic” dimension, with a stronger focus on learning-oriented assessment practices rather than administrative aspects.

The qualitative phase included six focus groups (N = 72) and three follow-up focus groups (N = 31), analysed through Template Analysis (King & Brooks, 2017). Findings indicate that the training fostered teachers’ awareness of the relationship between instructional design and assessment processes, particularly in relation to feedback practices and descriptive judgments. Teachers reported a more reflective use of self-assessment tools and metacognitive questioning strategies. While quantitative data showed limited change in the dimension related to learning objectives, qualitative findings revealed deeper reflection on the coherence between learning goals and classroom tasks.

Additional results highlight the role of school leadership and the importance of communication tools capable of supporting dialogue with families through the sharing of pedagogical documentation. Finally, a descriptive analysis of teachers’ documentation (N = 15) shows a more advanced use of qualitative assessment tools, greater student involvement in evaluation processes, and improved coherence between objectives and learning activities. Overall, the study suggests that pedagogical-didactic documentation can function as a powerful device for supporting teachers’ professional reflection and fostering meaningful professional learning within teacher professional development.