Integrating formative assessment and feedback into scientific theory-building practices and instruction

ABSTRACT

The importance of engaging students in disciplinary practices of science is widely acknowledged and well researched. What is less understood is how to assess students’ development of these practices. In particular, there is a need for understanding how formative assessment and feedback practices can be integrated into classroom instruction in ways that are linked to science practices and aligned with theories of learning. This paper examines the question with regards to scientific theory-building practices. It presents an approach to integrating formative assessment and feedback into science instruction and illustrates it with a narrative account of its implementation in one classroom. It describes changes in assessment results over the course of one unit and relates those changes to the feedback activities.

KEYWORDS:

• Science education
• science practices
• formative assessment
• feedback
• middle school

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Spencer Foundation (Grant 201100101) and the National Science Foundation (Grant 1842375). We thank Allan Collins for his thoughtful review of this work, and Andrea diSessa and the Patterns research group at U.C. Berkeley for their help with the design and implementation of the study.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation [1842375]; Spencer Foundation [201100101].

Notes on contributors

Hillary Swanson

Hillary Swanson is an Assistant Professor of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences at Utah State University. She studies how students' everyday thinking can be leveraged in their science learning through engagement in scientific practices. She holds a PhD in Science and Mathematics Education from the University of California at Berkeley.

Jody Clarke-Midura

Jody Clarke-Midura is an Associate Professor of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences at Utah State University. Her research explores learning and assessment with digital media, toys, and games in the context of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Computer Science (STEM+C). She earned a masters and doctorate from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.