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

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.

Automated summary

The paper discusses how formative assessment and feedback practices can be integrated into classroom instruction in ways that are linked to science 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. The changes in assessment results over the course of one unit are described and related to the feedback activities.