The survey asked the respondents, "How did you learn about assessment?" and provided them with a list of responses to choose from. The respondents could select more than one answer. In a recent study (2003), Smith and Hofer identified three avenues for educators to learn: independently through self-study or working with students; (2) informally through colleagues; and (3) formally through professional development (PD) activities. The findings from this survey reveal that learning independently outweighs learning through informal and formal activities.
Learning independently received the highest ranking, with 86 percent of the respondents reporting that they learned through practice-"by doing it." Fifty-eight percent of the respondents indicated self-study activities, such as reading articles, journals, and reports. Seventy percent of the respondents engaged in informal learning through their colleagues; this response received the second highest ranking. This includes mentoring and coaching opportunities; accessing the expertise of consultants, resource people, and colleagues; reflection on practices with other staff members; and network meetings. This type of learning is convenient for educators with limited time and funds for travel and PD workshops. Finally, 62 percent learned by participating in formal PD activities such as workshops, training events, and e-conferences; this response ranked third. Interestingly, only 27 percent reported that they learned from credit courses, despite the fact that 80 percent held a bachelor's degree or higher.
Smith and Hofer (2003) hypothesized that "isolation, part-time job structure, and limited opportunities for professional development may require teachers to rely more on learning from self-study or from their own experience" (p. 2). However, the findings from this survey dispel this hypothesis. The findings reveal that part-time job structure does not influence how educators learn about assessment. Eighty-seven percent of educators who work between 31 to 40 hours and87 percent of educators working between 10 to 30 87 percent of educators working between 10 to 30 hours learn about assessment from their own experience-through "doing it." As well, educators who lived in urban areas have greater access to professional development activities; interestingly, they relied on learning from practice to the same extent as those who lived in remote areas. In fact, a higher percentage of educators who lived in urban areas (92 percent) than those who lived in remote areas (82 percent) learned from their own experience.