Assessment for learning (AfL) is generally understood as teachers’ use of assessment information to promote students’ academic success. It involves teachers’ communication and implementation of assessment criteria and continuous adjustments to meet students’ diverse needs. While AfL's value has been shown across various subjects and settings, its implementation isn't always timely or straightforward, requiring constant teacher adjustments. Students may be hindered by contextual factors (e.g., limited knowledge) from keeping pace with the teacher's assessment practices. Teacher patience, involving calmly dealing with challenges and delayed outcomes, is crucial in bridging the gap between a teacher's actions and their goals. However, the role of teacher patience in AfL implementation is under-researched. This study explores the patterns of teacher patience in AfL implementation, how it changes over time, and its interactions with assessment practices, aiming to shed light on its role and advocate for its inclusion in teacher education programs.

Research on AfL emphasizes the use of assessment information to support student learning, with studies exploring various implementation strategies such as teacher-student dialogues and peer feedback across different educational settings. However, factors affecting AfL's success or failure have also been highlighted. These include teachers' professional knowledge, sociocultural factors (external assistance, policies, high-stakes exams, technology), psychological factors (beliefs, emotions), and national policies. While studies have addressed teachers' beliefs, emotions, and pedagogical knowledge in AfL contexts, the role of teacher patience has been largely overlooked. The time-consuming and complex nature of AfL makes teacher patience a vital yet under-researched element. This study aims to fill this gap by examining teacher patience's specific role in assessment practices, particularly within the context of AfL.

This study employed a qualitative case study approach to explore the role of teacher patience in assessment practices within a Chinese university English writing classroom. The researcher gained ethical approval and informed consent from participants. The participants included one teacher, Corey (pseudonym), with approximately 3 years of experience, who believed in AfL but also recognized the challenges it presented. There were 18 second-semester university students who were accustomed to more traditional writing instruction. Data collection involved three sources: Corey's weekly teaching reflections (approximately 16 reflections, 1800-2500 words each), the researcher's field notes on Corey's instructional practices, and student data (four reflection papers averaging 300 words each, and 30-minute end-of-semester interviews). Data analysis used a hybrid approach of inductive and deductive thematic analysis, incorporating codes related to patience (e.g., frustration, endurance, tolerance, perseverance) from both the literature and the data itself. The analysis yielded themes on the emergence, fluctuation, and overall impact of teacher patience on AfL implementation.

The study revealed that teacher patience wasn't immediately present but emerged midway through the semester, triggered by students' repeated failure to meet expectations despite the teacher's efforts. Initially, Corey's actions were driven by a sense of responsibility rather than patience. His disappointment at student performance, coupled with their seemingly positive classroom participation, led to a temporary loss of patience. However, this was followed by a renewed resolve, fueled by past experiences, professional identity, and a belief in the cyclical nature of learning. Corey's patience became a driving force behind his intensive feedback and persistence across multiple rounds of revision. It also enabled him to engage in individual student discussions, gaining insights into their difficulties and adjusting his teaching and feedback accordingly. Later in the semester, however, Corey's patience waned due to factors like increased workload, student struggles with a new, more challenging aspect of the assignment (citations), and the cumulative exhaustion of the intensive assessment process. Although this resulted in a less passionate, more passive approach to grading, he didn't abandon his assessment practices. His reduced patience reflected a contextually sensitive nature.

This study's findings contribute significantly to our understanding of teacher patience as a context-sensitive and dynamically changing construct in AfL implementation. Unlike previous research that primarily focused on statistical analyses or theoretical discussions of teacher patience, this qualitative case study illuminates its intricate relationship with the dynamic classroom context. The study reveals that teacher patience, although valuable in sustaining AfL, is not a constant; its strength fluctuates. It also highlights the importance of understanding the multifaceted challenges teachers face in implementing AfL, extending beyond the typical focus on pedagogical methods and sociocultural factors to include the crucial role of the teacher's emotional resources. The dynamic relationship between teacher patience and assessment practices underlines the complexity of sustaining effective AfL.

This case study demonstrates the crucial, yet complex and fluctuating, role of teacher patience in successful AfL implementation. Teacher patience emerges contextually and can be a powerful force in sustaining the teacher's commitment to AfL, particularly in the face of student struggles. However, it's not a static construct, influenced by factors like workload and student performance. The implications suggest the necessity of incorporating patience training into teacher education programs, empowering teachers to self-regulate their patience, establish realistic goals, and foster open communication with students to address challenges effectively. Future research should investigate the broader context of patience, examining its genetic influences, and its connections to other sociocognitive constructs.

While this single case study offers valuable insights, its limitations must be acknowledged. The single-subject nature limits the generalizability of findings. Future studies should include a larger, more diverse group of teachers, across different subjects and with varied experience levels. The semester-long timeframe also limits the scope of observation of the dynamic nature of teacher patience; longitudinal studies would provide a more comprehensive perspective. Exploring the influence of genetic factors and the relationship between patience and other sociocognitive constructs are also important areas for future research.