Designing Everyday Assessment In The Science Classroom

This book describes how middle school science teachers, in collaboration with a team of researchers, tried to improve their everyday assessment practices to enhance student learning. It discusses the challenges they faced, the differences among the teachers, and the personal nature of deep educational change. A product of CAPITAL (Classroom Assessment Project to Improve Teaching and Learning), a research effort supported by the National Science Foundation, this book: Uses classroom stories to show how teachers can use a variety of formative assessment techniques to answer questions they have about their teaching.; Provides real-life examples of teachers grappling with new practices at a personal level, in their own settings and in light of their own values and beliefs; Offers suggestions for designing professional development efforts that recognize the significant variation among teachers in how they go about changing their assessment practices ; Outlines principles and practices that must accompany change in the classroom if it is to be more than superficial.

This vol is crafted around the design cycle as it relates to research on everyday, classrm, & professnl science. Individual chs & bk as a whole will appeal to educators, cognitive scientsts, & those who study the process of scientific thinking in practic

The National Science Education Standards address not only what students should learn about science but also how their learning should be assessed. How do we know what they know? This accompanying volume to the Standards focuses on a key kind of assessment: the evaluation that occurs regularly in the classroom, by the teacher and his or her students as interacting participants. As students conduct experiments, for example, the teacher circulates around the room and asks individuals about their findings, using the feedback to adjust lessons plans and take other actions to boost learning. Focusing on the teacher as the primary player in assessment, the book offers assessment guidelines and explores how they can be adapted to the individual classroom. It features examples, definitions, illustrative vignettes, and practical suggestions to help teachers obtain the greatest benefit from this daily evaluation and tailoring process. The volume discusses how classroom assessment differs from conventional testing and grading-and how it fits into the larger, comprehensive assessment system.

Designed as a ready-to-use survival guide for middle school Earth science teachers, this title is an invaluable resource that provides an entire year's worth of inquiry-based and discovery-oriented Earth science lessons, including 33 investigations or labs and 17 detailed projects. This unique collection of astronomy, geology, meteorology, and physical oceanography lessons promotes deeper understanding of science concepts through a hands-on approach that identifies and dispels student misconceptions and expands student understanding and knowledge. In addition, this field-tested and standards-based volume is ideal for university-level methodology courses in science education.

What is understanding and how does it differ from knowledge? How can we determine the big ideas worth understanding? Why is understanding an important teaching goal, and how do we know when students have attained it? How can we create a rigorous and engaging curriculum that focuses on understanding and leads to improved student performance in today's high-stakes, standards-based environment? Authors Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe answer these and many other questions in this second edition of Understanding by Design. Drawing on feedback from thousands of educators around the world who have used the UbD framework since its introduction in 1998, the authors have greatly revised and expanded their original work to guide educators across the K-16 spectrum in the design of curriculum, assessment, and instruction. With an improved UbD Template at its core, the book explains the rationale of backward design and explores in greater depth the meaning of such key ideas as essential questions and transfer tasks. Readers will learn why the familiar coverage- and activity-based approaches to curriculum design fall short, and how a focus on the six facets of understanding can enrich student learning. With an expanded array of practical strategies, tools, and examples from all subject areas, the book demonstrates how the research-based principles of Understanding by Design apply to district frameworks as well as to individual units of curriculum. Combining provocative ideas, thoughtful analysis, and tested approaches, this new edition of Understanding by Design offers teacher-designers a clear path to the creation of curriculum that ensures better learning and a more stimulating experience for students and teachers alike.

Formative assessment informs the design of learning opportunities that take students from their existing ideas of science to the scientific ideas and practices that support conceptual understanding. Science Formative Assessment shows K-12 educators how to weave formative assessment into daily instruction. Discover 75 assessment techniques linked to the Next Generation Science Standards and give classroom practices a boost with: Descriptions of how each technique promotes learning Charts linking core concepts at each grade level to scientific practices Implementation guidance, such as required materials and student grouping Modifications for different learning styles Ideas for adapting techniques to other content areas

Critical Pedagogy addresses the shortcomings of mainstream educational theory and practice and promotes the humanization of teacher and student. Where Critical Pedagogy is often treated as a discourse of academics in universities, this book explores the applications of Critical Pedagogy to actual classroom situations. Written in a straight-forward, concise, and lucid form by an American high school teacher, drawing examples from literature, film, and, above all, the everyday classroom, this book is meant to provoke thought in teachers, students and education activists as we transform our classrooms into democratic sites. From grading to testing, from content area disciplines to curriculum planning and instruction, from the social construction of knowledge to embodied cognition, this book takes the theories behind Critical Pedagogy and illustrates them at work in common classroom environments.

The Handbook of Formative Assessment in the Disciplines meaningfully addresses current developments in the field, offering a unique and timely focus on domain dependency. Building from an updated definition of formative assessment, the book covers the integration of measurement principles into practice; the operationalization of formative assessment within specific domains, beyond generic strategies; evolving research directions including student involvement and self-regulation; and new approaches to the challenges of incorporating formative assessment training into pre-service and in-service educator training. As supporters of large-scale testing programs increasingly consider the potential of formative assessments to improve teaching and learning, this handbook advances the subject through novel frameworks, intersections of theory, research, and practice, and attention to discernible disciplines. Written for instructors, graduate students, researchers, and policymakers, each chapter provides expert perspectives on the procedures and evaluations that enable teachers to adapt teaching and learning in-process toward student achievement.

Creating a Classroom Community of Young Scientists helps teachers - both pre-service and in-service - to develop exciting science programs in their classrooms. This book provides the groundwork for designing and implementing a science program that takes into account the latest research in teaching and learning. It provides an approach that will capture children's imaginations, stimulate their curiosity and create a strong foundation for their continued interest in, and appreciation of, science and the world in which they live. The book is designed to be user-friendly, and offers an approach to teaching science that is exciting for teachers as well. This thoroughly revised, second edition focuses on making inquiry more explicit both in terms of the process of inquiry and teaching in ways that capitalize on children's curiosity and questions. New material has also been added on U.S. and Canadian science standards, as well as professional standards for teachers.

The Art of Teaching Science emphasizes a humanistic, experiential, and constructivist approach to teaching and learning, and integrates a wide variety of pedagogical tools. Becoming a science teacher is a creative process, and this innovative textbook encourages students to construct ideas about science teaching through their interactions with peers, mentors, and instructors, and through hands-on, minds-on activities designed to foster a collaborative, thoughtful learning environment. This second edition retains key features such as inquiry-based activities and case studies throughout, while simultaneously adding new material on the impact of standardized testing on inquiry-based science, and explicit links to science teaching standards. Also included are expanded resources like a comprehensive website, a streamlined format and updated content, making the experiential tools in the book even more useful for both pre- and in-service science teachers. Special Features: Each chapter is organized into two sections: one that focuses on content and theme; and one that contains a variety of strategies for extending chapter concepts outside the classroom Case studies open each chapter to highlight real-world scenarios and to connect theory to teaching practice Contains 33 Inquiry Activities that provide opportunities to explore the dimensions of science teaching and increase professional expertise Problems and Extensions, On the Web Resources and Readings guide students to further critical investigation of important concepts and topics. An extensive companion website includes even more student and instructor resources, such as interviews with practicing science teachers, articles from the literature, chapter PowerPoint slides, syllabus helpers, additional case studies, activities, and more. Visit http://www.routledge.com/textbooks/9780415965286 to access this additional material.