Expanding Opportunities to Learn in Secondary Science Classrooms Using Multiple Forms of Classroom Assessments

• In Event: Reimagining Classroom Assessment System for Creating Equitable Opportunities to Learn

Abstract

Purpose and Perspective. This study explored if and how multiple forms of assessments contributed to expanding minoritized students’ opportunities to learn (OTL) in a co-designed physics unit about momentum. Drawing upon sociocultural and situative perspective, the notion of OTL is conceptualized as a dynamic, relational and situative construct shaped through the interplay of a setting’s affordances and learners (Gee, 2008; Greeno & Gresalfi, 2008). The research questions were:
How did students from diverse backgrounds perform in traditional and non-traditional forms of assessment tasks (i.e., explaining the safety features of a car using a Claim-Evidence-Reasoning format vs. writing a letter to the loved one), respectively? Was there any statistically significant difference in student performances depending on student backgrounds?
How did two Latinx case study students narrate their experiences with the co-designed physics curriculum and assessments of the focal unit?

Methods
Employing a mixed-methods approach, we first statistically analyzed students’ performances in two assessment contexts (RQ1). We ran a paired sample t-test to compare the mean differences in students’ performance scores from the initial to final CER assessment plus MANOVA and Goodman Kruskal to examine differences in CER and Letter assessment based on the students’ demographics. Next, we conducted in-depth qualitative case analyses to examine two Latinx students’ experiences with the co-designed curriculum and assessment (RQ2).

Results
Students’ performances in different assessment contexts (RQ1): Students’ performance improved from initial and final CER assessments in favor of male students (M final - M initial: male=2.27, female=1.61). There was a gender and race main effect in the initial CER assessment in favor of female, Asian and White students. Notably, these effects disappeared in the final CER assessment. The analysis of the letters reflected rich stories about students’ loved ones connecting physics concepts to the needs of their loved ones explaining how car safety features ensure safety in collisions. Female students tended to explain car safety features better in writing a letter than CER assessment.
Case study students’ experiences (RQ2): The analysis revealed that two assessments created different OTLs for students who brought different historical relationships with the disciplines. Roger, a male student who had been successful in school sciences (i.e., receiving A’s) and expressed the Western, Eurocentric value toward science (e.g., neutrality, objectivity), was favorable toward the CER assessment that signified the normalized practices of doing science at schools. He thought of the Letter assessment as “pointless” or “a waste of time.” In contrast, Courteney, a female student who was “scared” to take physics that was known to be “related to math,” expressed her highly positive experience of the Letter assessment and asserted “Physics can help us.” While “not make a big deal out of CER assessment,” Courteney wrote a “simple” explanation about the proposed changes in Toyota Camry design in the final CER. However, in the letter she wrote a lengthy explanation about car safety features that protects her mom in collisions.

Significance. This study points to the role of well-designed curriculum-embedded assessments, in particular non-traditional ones, in expanding minoritized students’ OTL at schools.

Authors

• Hosun Kang, University of California - Irvine

• Hamideh Talafian, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Paul Tschida, Tustin High School