Establishing a Validity Argument for the Bilingual Teaching Observation Protocol for Taiwanese Schools

The Bilingual Teaching Observation Protocol for Taiwanese Schools (BTOPTS) is designed to facilitate reflective dialogue between teacher educators and teachers surrounding bilingual lesson observations and microteaching demonstrations. This presentation first outlines the interpretation/use argument (IUA) for the BTOPTS and presents empirical data supporting the domain definition inference within the broader validity argument. The study was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, seventeen teacher educators from various Taiwanese universities and academic disciplines evaluated the relevance of 13 proposed indicators for bilingual instruction in primary and junior high schools and offered recommendations for additional indicators. Furthermore, the teacher educators were asked to provide feedback on proposed performance descriptions (three levels) for each indicator. Analysis of the collected feedback resulted in the inclusion of seven indicators, along with their corresponding revised performance descriptions, to be incorporated into the BTOPTS. In the second stage, the BTOPTS was presented to a focus group of experienced Taiwanese bilingual teachers to provide further stakeholder backing for the domain definition inference. The insights gained from this project lay a foundational basis for the validity argument supporting the BTOPTS. The final section of the presentation describes future research directions, grounded in the IUA, that aim to further substantiate the validity argument and enhance the effective use of the BTOPTS in Taiwanese bilingual schools and teacher training programs.