PERC 2015 Abstract Detail Page
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| Abstract Title: | Formative Assessment Efficacy As Affected By Teachers' Conflicting Conceptual Models |
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| Abstract: | We have studied a group of middle school teachers as they modified curriculum and developed common formative assessments on force and motion concepts. While discussing assessment goals for student understanding of acceleration, two of the teachers held opposing models about the implications of the sign of acceleration on the direction of an object's motion and whether it is speeding up or slowing down. Failing to resolve the inconsistency between their individual models, the resultant assessment item was such that both models would provide the same correct response, albeit for different reasons. The potential for correct answers for incorrect reasons perpetuated ambiguity into its classroom use as a formative measure of student understanding. More specifically, the item had limited ability both to accurately inform teacher instruction, interventions, and feedback that would support students in identifying their mistakes and refining their thinking. |
| Abstract Type: | Contributed Poster Presentation |
Author/Organizer Information | |
| Primary Contact: |
Gregory D. Kranich University of Maine 307 Husson Ave Apt I Bangor, ME 04401 Phone: 5857399616 |
| Co-Author(s) and Co-Presenter(s) |
Michael C. Wittmann Carolina Alvarado |
Contributed Poster | |
| Contributed Poster: | Download the Contributed Poster |
