Erin Furtak - Böcker

This book presents the results of a four-year, National Science Foundation-funded project that engaged nine high school biology teachers at three public high schools in long-term, on-site professional development program centered on a learning progression. It explores the influence of teacher participation in this professional development experience on their learning about student thinking, formative assessment task design, classroom practices, and student learning. Taking an in-depth look at the multiple sources of data gathered as part of the study, this volume reflects on the emergence of professional communities focused on formative assessment design and enactments and associations between teacher participation in learning progression-centered professional development and student learning.

This book presents the results of a four-year, National Science Foundation-funded project that engaged nine high school biology teachers at three public high schools in long-term, on-site professional development program centered on a learning progression. It explores the influence of teacher participation in this professional development experience on their learning about student thinking, formative assessment task design, classroom practices, and student learning. Taking an in-depth look at the multiple sources of data gathered as part of the study, this volume reflects on the emergence of professional communities focused on formative assessment design and enactments and associations between teacher participation in learning progression-centered professional development and student learning.

"This book places students center stage in the discussion of how we know what students know. Using formative assessment to understand student learning is a theme grounded in good teaching and good assessment!"—Jo Topps, Regional DirectorthK–12 Alliance/WestEd"This book incorporates current research and not only provides an explanation of the necessity of formative assessment, but offers a system for planning lessons and a variety of tools to implement formative assessment in the classroom."—Susan Leeds, Science Department Chair and Gifted Studies TeacherHoward Middle School, Winter Park, FLUse this powerful tool to enhance science teaching and learning!Research has shown that when teachers use formative assessments effectively, they have a clearer understanding of what students know and are better able to design instruction that meets learners′ needs. This practical guide shows teachers how to create and implement formative assessments in their middle and high school science classrooms. Grounded in extensive and solid research, this guide covers all science content areas—physics/physical science, life science/biology, earth and space science, and chemistry—as well as five types of formative assessments: big idea questions, concept maps, evidence-to-explanation, predict-observe-explain, and multiple choice. Teachers will find additional support in: Richly detailed, concrete examples of the five types of assessments In-depth guidelines for implementing the assessmentsBrief case studies with transcript excerpts that demonstrate how teachers have used formative assessmentsEasy-to-use templates to help analyze lessons in current units and identify places for inserting formative assessmentsWith this easy-to-use, hands-on guide, any teacher can learn how to use formative assessment strategies to improve student achievement in science!