The role of teacher patience in the implementation of assessment for learning (AfL): Vignettes from a writing classroom

Abstract This article discusses a qualitative case study on the role of teacher patience in teachers’ implementation of assessment for learning (AfL). The study was conducted in a Chinese university English writing classroom. Data were collected throughout the semester and included the teacher’s reflections and assessment practices, the reflections and interview excerpts of 18 students, and field notes. The study found that teacher patience emerged at times when students failed to meet the teacher’s expectations, and actively conditioned and fortified the teacher’s implementation of AfL. However, in interacting with contextual variables inside and outside the classroom, teacher patience also demonstrated its dynamic features, waning and then recovering, with its mitigated power passively sustaining the teacher’s AfL. This study affirms the importance and acknowledges the complex fluctuation of teacher patience in sustaining AfL. Therefore, it is suggested that training in patience be made a part of teacher education programs so that student teachers could develop the patience needed to grapple with the complexity of teaching during assessment practices and in other teaching settings.