Harnessing the Power of STEAM Education: How Exemplary Teachers Leverage Assessment to Drive Integrated Learning

• In Event: Understanding, Supporting, and Improving STEM Teachers' Work

Abstract

Despite trends towards STEAM education within North America, teachers often report feeling unprepared to teach in integrated ways, with assessment identified as a central barrier. The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate the ways in which exemplary teachers used assessment within integrated classrooms. Through an in-depth qualitative methodology drawing on interview and artifact data from 14 purposefully selected exemplary teachers, this study identified 11 codes representing areas of synergy and tension related to teachers’ planning for assessment, formative assessment, and grading. Results highlight the significance of formative assessment as a key driver of STEAM education and how assessment negotiated a balance and connection between interdisciplinary and disciplinary learning, demonstrating how assessment can be used to support integrated learning.

Authors

• Michelle Dubek, OISE/University of Toronto

• Christopher DeLuca, Queen's University - Kingston

• Nathan H. Rickey, Queen's University - Kingston