Designing a Learning Progression about Micro-Evolution to Inform Instruction and Assessment in Elementary Science
This paper gives an example of how to address the challenge of designing a learning progression that describes student thinking, with the necessary specificity to align instructional opportunities and assessment tools. We describe the Conceptual Underpinnings of Evolution project and the iterative p...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-10-01
|
| Series: | Education Sciences |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/10/609 |
| _version_ | 1797514791496974336 |
|---|---|
| author | Amy Cardace Mark Wilson Kathleen E. Metz |
| author_facet | Amy Cardace Mark Wilson Kathleen E. Metz |
| author_sort | Amy Cardace |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This paper gives an example of how to address the challenge of designing a learning progression that describes student thinking, with the necessary specificity to align instructional opportunities and assessment tools. We describe the Conceptual Underpinnings of Evolution project and the iterative process of developing a novel learning progression theory, while critically testing that theory using structured interview data analyzed with Rasch models. We investigate elementary students’ capacities for reasoning in biology, specifically focusing on microevolution as a strategic core idea for students between the ages of seven and nine. The learning progression theory informed the design of two instructional modules which aimed to build on students’ intuitions. The modules provided opportunities for students to engage in scientific practices framed to develop more adequate explanations about how organisms may change over time, in accordance with environmental changes. Aligning the learning progression, instructional activities, and structured interview assessment was critical for meeting two of our underlying assumptions: that students’ reasoning capacities rely on instructional opportunities; and that students’ assessment scores must be interpretable in terms of learning progression levels. We share both initial and late-stage versions of the learning progression and describe how item-level information and Rasch analyses helped both to specify the learning progression levels and to define the two underlying dimensions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:36:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6decb430846d44779f224e2e20139561 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-7102 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:36:34Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Education Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-6decb430846d44779f224e2e201395612023-11-22T18:00:37ZengMDPI AGEducation Sciences2227-71022021-10-01111060910.3390/educsci11100609Designing a Learning Progression about Micro-Evolution to Inform Instruction and Assessment in Elementary ScienceAmy Cardace0Mark Wilson1Kathleen E. Metz2Center for Teaching Innovation, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14850, USAGraduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USAGraduate School of Education, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720, USAThis paper gives an example of how to address the challenge of designing a learning progression that describes student thinking, with the necessary specificity to align instructional opportunities and assessment tools. We describe the Conceptual Underpinnings of Evolution project and the iterative process of developing a novel learning progression theory, while critically testing that theory using structured interview data analyzed with Rasch models. We investigate elementary students’ capacities for reasoning in biology, specifically focusing on microevolution as a strategic core idea for students between the ages of seven and nine. The learning progression theory informed the design of two instructional modules which aimed to build on students’ intuitions. The modules provided opportunities for students to engage in scientific practices framed to develop more adequate explanations about how organisms may change over time, in accordance with environmental changes. Aligning the learning progression, instructional activities, and structured interview assessment was critical for meeting two of our underlying assumptions: that students’ reasoning capacities rely on instructional opportunities; and that students’ assessment scores must be interpretable in terms of learning progression levels. We share both initial and late-stage versions of the learning progression and describe how item-level information and Rasch analyses helped both to specify the learning progression levels and to define the two underlying dimensions.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/10/609learning progressionassessmentinstructioncognitionscienceevolution |
| spellingShingle | Amy Cardace Mark Wilson Kathleen E. Metz Designing a Learning Progression about Micro-Evolution to Inform Instruction and Assessment in Elementary Science Education Sciences learning progression assessment instruction cognition science evolution |
| title | Designing a Learning Progression about Micro-Evolution to Inform Instruction and Assessment in Elementary Science |
| title_full | Designing a Learning Progression about Micro-Evolution to Inform Instruction and Assessment in Elementary Science |
| title_fullStr | Designing a Learning Progression about Micro-Evolution to Inform Instruction and Assessment in Elementary Science |
| title_full_unstemmed | Designing a Learning Progression about Micro-Evolution to Inform Instruction and Assessment in Elementary Science |
| title_short | Designing a Learning Progression about Micro-Evolution to Inform Instruction and Assessment in Elementary Science |
| title_sort | designing a learning progression about micro evolution to inform instruction and assessment in elementary science |
| topic | learning progression assessment instruction cognition science evolution |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/11/10/609 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT amycardace designingalearningprogressionaboutmicroevolutiontoinforminstructionandassessmentinelementaryscience AT markwilson designingalearningprogressionaboutmicroevolutiontoinforminstructionandassessmentinelementaryscience AT kathleenemetz designingalearningprogressionaboutmicroevolutiontoinforminstructionandassessmentinelementaryscience |