Assessing Science Understanding: A Human Constructivist View / Edition 1

by Joel J. Mintzes, James H. Wandersee, Joseph D. Novak

Overview

Recent government publications such as Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy and Science for All Americans have given teachers a mandate for improving science education in America. What we know about how learners construct meaning—particularly in the natural sciences—has undergone a virtual revolution in the past 25 years. Teachers, as well as researchers, are now grappling with how to better teach science, as well as how to assess whether students are learning. Assessing Science Understanding is a companion volume to Teaching Science for Understanding and explores how to assess whether learning has taken place. The book discusses a range of promising new and practical tools for assessment, including concept maps, vee diagrams, clinical interviews, problem sets, performance-based assessments, computer-based methods, visual and observational testing, portfolios, explanatory models, and national examinations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780124983656
Publisher:	Elsevier Science
Publication date:	12/20/1999
Series:	Educational Psychology
Pages:	386
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

J. Mintzes and J.H. Wandersee, Learning, Teaching, and Assessment: A Human Constructivist Perspective.
K.M. Edmondson, Assessing Science Understanding Through Concept Maps.
J.J. Mintzes and J.D. Novak, Assessing Science Understanding: The Epistemological V Diagram.
S.A. Southerland, M.U. Smith, and C.L. Cummins, "What Do You Mean by That?": Using Structured Interviews to Assess Science Understanding.
K. Hogan and J. Fisherkeller, Dialogue as Data: Assessing Students' Scientific Reasoning with Interactive Protocols.
J.H. Wandersee, Designing an Image-Based Biology Test.
E. Trowbridge and J.H. Wandersee, Observation Rubrics in Science Assessment.
M.R. Vitale and N.R. Romance, Portfolios in Science Assessment: A Knowledge-Based Model for Classroom Practice.
K.M. Fisher, SemNet^R Software as an Assessment Tool.
A.B. Champagne and V.L. Kouba, Writing to Inquire: Written Products as Performance Measures.
P.M. Sadler, The Relevance of Multiple-Choice Testing in Assessing Science Understanding.
P. Tamir, National and International Assessment.
R.J. Shavelson and M.A. Ruiz-Primo, On the Psychometrics of Assessing Science Understanding.
R.G. Good, Cautionary Notes on Assessment of Understanding Science Concepts and Nature of Science.
J.J. Mintzes, J.H. Wandersee, and J.D. Novak, Epilogue: On Ways of Assessing Science Understanding.
Subject Index.

Editorial Reviews

"This is a timely and useful book for science educators or anyone training to use construct-based assessment in an educational setting. Each chapter has references, advanced organizers, and appropriate figures and adequately discusses the cognitive model used with the assessment device and the logic of its use. This high-quality contribution would be a good addition for libraries of schools offering undergraduate and graduate teacher education degrees, and would be particularly useful for science education programs. The companion volume, Teaching Science for Understanding (1998) by the same editors, should also be considered." —CHOICE "It is difficult to imagine that a reflective teacher who is interested in improving one's practice would not find something of value in these pages...The success of this project will depend on the extent to which the intended audience is willing to dig into the references, reflect on the lessons within the book, and also reflect on teaching practice as they experiment with ways to improve it. If these books, and others like them, have their intended impact, science education will have a bright future." —THE AMERICAN BIOLOGY TEACHER "...a source of excellent information on new and potentially very powerful, research-based assessment strategies for probing student understanding of science." —PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF SCIENCE "If one is interested in "constructivist" assessment in science, this book is a good resource..." —CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGY

From the Publisher

If one is interested in "constructivist" assessment in science, this book is a good resource...

Contemporary Psychology

It is difficult to imagine that a reflective teacher who is interested in improving one's practice would not find something of value in these pages...

American Biology Teacher

In a companion to educators and scholars in specific disciplines explore how to assess whether students are actually learning the science they are being taught. They discuss a range of tools, including concept maps, vee diagrams, clinical interviews, problem sets, performance-based assessments, computer-based methods, visual and observational testing, portfolios, explanatory models, and national examinations. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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