Formative Assessment

Abstract

Students who enter the physics classroom hold a wide range of ideas about physics phenomena that they have established from their everyday experiences: Forces can be transferred to an object and are consumed, while the object is moving, current is used up in a bulb, and atoms enlarge when an object is heated. Research has demonstrated that students are more likely to learn if teachers elicit their ideas about these phenomena and adapt instruction accordingly. Teachers should furthermore monitor students’ learning during, and as a result of, instruction to promote further learning. Assessment is, therefore, an important teacher activity aiming at improving student understanding of physics. Within this chapter, formative assessment—also called assessment for learning—how such assessment can inform teaching and learning processes. Based on a literature review, the chapter offers an overview about the different theoretical perspectives on assessment, focusing particularly on key characteristics of formative assessment. The process of formative assessment and its components are presented. Furthermore, feedback as a means for promoting students to make further progress is unpacked. Within the chapter, theoretical concepts and empirical results are related to examples from the physics classroom and some practical guidelines are also offered.