Assessment+of+Science+Inquiry+Resource+BL

=“Assessment of Science Inquiry” by George E. Hein and Sabra Lee=

science inquiry and the assessment of science inquiry are now seen as crucial in schools

the records children keep of their work, as well as other assessments developed by the teacher, can form the basis for determining what children have learned

the teacher has to look at assessments that demonstrate the methods children used, rather than the results they obtain

any discussion of assessment of inquiry must start with a clear statement of how inquiry is defined…(because) definitions of inquiry vary widely

inquiry requires both physical and mental activity and this means that performance assessments need to be used they should address how well students carry out the physical processes as well as the level of students’ thinking and reasoning skills it’s also important to look at students’ knowledge of science concepts and content

formative assessment makes use of all the normal activities of a classroom any instructional activity is turned into an assessment by the explicit intention to use it for that purpose

there are many challenges to creating satisfactory systems for assessing inquiry science “We need more research describing the physical and mental capabilities of children of different ages before valid age appropriate assessments of science skills can be implemented.” (p.105)

“Assessing inquiry science at the national level is still in its infancy.” (106)

“End Paper: The Value of Knowing What You Do Not Know” by Mark St. John

“…in order to use inquiry to answer your question, you have to become good at knowing what you don’t know.” (p.109)

to do an inquiry well know what to focus on how to address what isn’t understood continually discover what the next step should be discern what is likely to be productive inquiry and what is not