Formative Assessment for 3D Science Learning: Supporting Ambitious and Equitable Instruction

The current wave of science education reforms emphasizes more equitable opportunities for students as they learn disciplinary core ideas and apply crosscutting concepts by engaging in the practices of scientists. Formative assessment—the assessment teachers and students conduct while learning is in progress—also needs to shift to support this vision. This book combines three-dimensional science learning, sociocultural theories of learning, and science for justice and equity to provide a comprehensive picture of formative assessment for today's K–12 science classroom. Using practical examples and strategies, the author provides guidance for classroom teachers around formative assessment task design that centers students' interests and builds on the resources they bring to school. The text explores the different enactment approaches teachers can use to prioritize and respond to students' ideas as they are learning. It also offers approaches to, and resources for, professional learning that support teachers as they engage in formative assessment for ambitious science instruction. Book Features: Provides a framework for designing and enacting 3D science assessments that support both rigorous and equitable instruction. Advocates for formative assessment that evaluates the practices of scientific inquiry, as opposed to measuring the memorization of science content. Includes assessment tasks, samples from classroom practice, and transcriptions of classroom conversations with students. Offers guidance for providing students with helpful feedback to advance their learning, as well as suggestions for collaborating with colleagues. Shows how formative assessment can be enacted across classrooms to create opportunities to coordinate practice at a larger scale.

Table of Contents:
Preface My History in Science and Formative Assessment Why I Wrote This Book Scope To Whom This Book Is DirectedAcknowledgments PART I: FRAMING 1. It's Time to Rethink Formative Assessment in Science Education What Is Formative Assessment in Science? New Understandings About Learning That Influence Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Formative Assessment for Ambitious and Equitable 3D Science Learning Example: What Can We Do to Keep Our Community Healthy? Initial Drawings Family Activity How to Read This Book 2. Broadening Our View of Science Formative Assessment Formative Assessment in a System of Classroom Activity Defining Elements of a Formative Assessment Activity System How Activity Systems Work to Support Learning Through Formative Assessment Looking Ahead 3. Formative Assessment as a Vehicle for Equity and Justice in Science Learning Structural Influences on Science Formative Assessment Constraints on Formative Assessment Formative Assessment as a Vehicle for Equity and Justice Self-Reflection for Ambitious and Equitable Teaching Centering Equity and Justice in Formative Assessment: Examples Equity and Justice: Connective Threads for Formative Assessment Design and Enactment PART II: TASKS AND PRACTICES 4. Questions Worth Answering: The Role of Phenomena in Formative Assessment Considerations for Phenomena Types of Phenomena for Formative Assessment How Different Phenomena Support Formative Assessment Across an Instructional Unit Resources for Identifying Phenomena for Formative Assessment Putting It All Together: Framing Formative Assessment Tasks With Phenomena 5. Formative Assessment Tasks: Artifacts and Material Representations of Student Thinking What Do We Mean by "Tasks"? The Role of Formative Assessment Tasks Integrating the Three Dimensions in Formative Assessment Tasks Elements of Multicomponent Formative Assessment Task Design: Supporting Learners to Show What They Know Putting It All Together: Redesigning a Multicomponent Formative Assessment Task Beyond Paper and Pencil: Technology-Assisted Formative Assessment Tasks Looking Ahead: The Importance of Practices and Feedback 6. Norms, Routines, and Community: Classroom Enactment of Formative Assessment What Do We Mean by "Enactment"? Participation Structures Norms and Routines Talk Moves: Essential Elements of Formative Assessment Classroom Practices Putting It All Together: A Formative Assessment Conversation to Support the Development of Student Thinking 7. Feedback Feedback to Support Science Learning A Model of Feedback Technology Feedback Within and Across Lessons: Short, Medium, and Long Cycles A Challenging, but Key Practice to Support Student Learning PART III: BEYOND THE CLASSROOM 8. Tools and Routines for Professional Learning: Collaborative Formative Assessment Design   Teacher Professional Learning Through Formative Assessment Design Steps for Collaborative Formative Assessment Design Increasing Opportunities for Teachers to Learn Through Collaboration and Formative Assessment Co-Design 9. Learning Progressions: Tools for Formative Assessment Defining Learning Progressions Learning Progressions for Three-Dimensional Assessment Three Uses for Learning Progressions in Formative Assessment Features of Learning Progressions That Support Formative Assessment Potential to Guide Formative Assessment, With Caution 10. Conclusion: Formative Assessment for Ambitious and Equitable Science Learning: Toward a New Horizon Main Arguments What Can We Do? Closing Appendix A. Phenomenon Planner Appendix B. Coffee Cup Task Appendix C. Formative Assessment Task Design Checklist Appendix D. Weather in Three Places Task Appendix E. Snowmelt Task Appendix F. High Elevation Task Appendix G. Enactment Planning Guide Appendix H. Skateboarder Modeling Task Appendix I. Sample Meeting Agendas for Collaborative Formative Assessment Design Appendix J. Learning Progression Unit Planner References Index About the Author

About the Author :
Erin Marie Furtak is professor of STEM education at the School of Education, University of Colorado Boulder. Dr. Furtak received the 2011 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and the German Chancellor Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (2006).