Assessment, Science, and Learning Theory

When thinking about science and how you assess student, it seems that many people (teachers, parents, administrators, politicians) are still focused on vocabulary and breadth of surface knowledge instead of that student's depth of understanding.  Content knowledge is sought instead of critical thinking.  However, because people are worried about student grades, assessment has become spotlighted in recent years, especially after NCLB.

Assessment should be considered carefully and done with purpose.  When thinking about your science goals for students, you must consider your assessments to ensure that you are assessing your goals and not just your content.  You must provide authentic opportunities for students to demonstrate the skills you are wanting them to learn.  Assessment is a part of teaching and should reflect the teacher's philosophy of teaching as well as learning theory.

In learning theory I tend to lean more toward the cognitive side of things.  Behaviourism has it's points, but has ethical implications that I would rather not delve into. 

With cognitive learning theory, there are three main branches.  Social, constructivist, and developmental.  Each theory has a different focus, so how you assess should mesh with the theory that you teach by.  If you believe in a blend of theories, blend, but develop or choose your assessment with purpose instead of personal convenience. 

Social Learning Theory - Children learn through communication.  They learn through interactions with peers, family, teachers, etc.  There is a focus on building knowledge through a relationship between the student and a more knowledgeable mentor.  Vygotsky was a social learning theorist and also pushed the idea of the zone of proximal development.  If social learning theory holds weight with you as a teacher then assessment should be about that communication of knowledge though discussion.  SLT also means that the should use formative assessment so that they know where a student is and how much that student should be pushed while staying within their ZPD.

Constructivist Learning Theory - Everything is built on prior knowledge.  If a student's mind was a house then new information is furniture.  When learning, the student either fits that information into a pre-existing room (assimilation) or the student builds a new room for that information to go into (accommodation).  If a teacher believes in CLT then they must also use formative assessment so they know how to teach their students.  The teacher must determine if they are building upon old information, introducing new (but related ideas), or fighting misconceptions (conceptual change). 

Developmental Learning Theory - Children develop in stages that limit understanding.  The younger a child the more concrete examples of subject matter must be.  With young students, content may developmentally appropriate but assessment must also be concrete.  The teacher must think about making the questions more accessible or must make the test less abstract.  Have students demonstrate their knowledge through action and problem solving instead of pen and paper.