Collaborative Learning and Formative Assessment in Astronomy

Abstract

Collaborative learning is students working together to solve a problem or complete a task. Assessments are formative if they occur while learning is still in progress, when knowledge can still be added to or revised. Individually, these are both forms of active learning; in both, a student is actually doing something, engaged in learning, and not passively listening to a lecture. Together, collaborative learning and formative assessment can be a basis for active learning pedagogies and powerful instructional tools.