What Do Teachers Find Problematic With Non-traditional Scientific Test Content?

Author(s):

Maria Åström(presenting / submitting)

Conference:

ECER 2014

Network:

09. Assessment, Evaluation, Testing and Measurement

Format:

Paper

Session Information

09 SES 13 C, Evaluating Science Education

Paper Session

Time:

2014-09-05

11:00-12:30

Room:

B009 Anfiteatro

Chair:

Marjeta Doupona

Contribution

This paper deals with teachers’ statements about assessing students’ results from items with non-traditional science content in the national science assessments in Sweden. Non-traditional science content in this case is items that concerns social and scientific issues (SSI). The content deals with use of science in society. This content has emerged in the curriculum in several countries in an effort to improve students’ interest for science, to implement meaningfulness in learning and train students to learn science for adults use (Sadler, Barab, & Scott, 2007; Sadler & Zeidler, 2009; Dana L. Zeidler, Sadler, Applebaum, & Callahan, 2009; Dana L. Zeidler, Sadler, Simmons, & Howes, 2005). Sweden has shown descending results in international studies, particularly PISA (Skolverket, 2013) so voices are raised how to improve teaching. Curriculum reform is a common way to change premises in school (Fensham, 2008). Swedish students get accurate results from PISA on items concerning traditional curriculum content, but items with non-traditional curriculum content show lower students’ results (Skolverket, 2010). When looking into teachers’ statements of test items with unfamiliar content that mirrors the curriculum content the question raises; what do teachers think of SSI content? In teacher surveys attached to the tests more than half of answering teachers state that they use SSI in their own tests (Åström, 2013). This study focuses on what teacher write in own words about test items.

1) what do teachers find troublesome concerning social and scientific issuescontent in national tests?

2) what expectations and apprehensions do teachers have to SSI items?

3) do teachers comments concerning SSI content in tests develop between years?

Method

Science tests were implemented in Sweden year 2009 by policy decision (Nyström & Åström, 2008). Tests are constructed centrally and administered by teachers at schools. Teachers score students answers according to a scoring guide. Students’ results are reported by teachers where teachers also are asked for opinions of test qualities in a survey. In this study teachers’ view about SSI test items from surveys in year 2009, 2010 and 2011 are reported. The data is free-response statements that teachers give in accordance to questions about test qualities (Åström, 2013). Teachers’ statements are analysed per year. Teachers’ responses were treated as text and thematic analysed to answer the research questions. The statements where read by the researcher and themes were found as within case statements (Miles & Huberman, 1994). Those themes were sorted in two main areas, domain and assessment. Domain deals with statements about content and alignment to the curriculum, question form, students’ apprehension about the question etc. Assessment deals with statements about the evidence model, scoring rubrics, and different judgments about the appropriateness what gives credits. The documents with teachers’ statements were uploaded in the program software MAXQDA and coded with the two main codes, domain and assessment. Statements were re-read and additional themes were found in this reading. Those new themes were question format, item content, alignment to the curriculum and student engagement. The results in the presentation are arranged in those themes. Specific statements were carefully selected to illustrate the themes in the results part. The teachers’ statements used in the results part in this article are translated from Swedish to English with Google translator, but slightly modified by the researcher.

Expected Outcomes

The results in this study show that there are both technical issues concerning tests format and policy question about content that worry teachers in commenting the tests. Teachers’ worries about policy questions are often grounded in the lack of understanding why a particular content is used in tests or how to motivate students that this content is a part of the science curriculum. Results show a development of teachers’ statements from year 2009 until 2011 so that statements given 2011 are more exact in the critics teachers have about specific items. This preciseness appears in that more teachers in year 2009 than years 2010 and 2011 are troubled about what they find is lack of science content in the particular SSI items. In 2011 deficiency of science content is not mentioned but instead that too much social science content and too little of science content is noted

References

Fensham, P. J. (2008). The Link between Policy and Practice in Science Education: Where does research fit in? Paper presented at the 2008 Annual International Conference, NARST Baltimore, Maryland, US. Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis (Second edition ed.). Thousand Oaks, London, New delhi: SAGE Publications, Inc. Nyström, P., & Åström, M. (2008, Okt 20-21). Nationella ämnesprov i biologi, fysik och kemi för år 9 i grundskolan. Paper presented at the FND2008. Nationell konferens för lärarutbildare i naturvetenskapliga ämnen, Stockholm. Sadler, T. D., Barab, S. A., & Scott, B. (2007). What Do Students Gain by Engaging in Socioscientific Inquiry? Research in Science Education, 37, 371-391. doi: 10.1007/s11165-006-9030-9 Sadler, T. D., & Zeidler, D. L. (2009). Scientific Literacy, PISA and Socioscientific Discourse: Assessment of Progressive Aims of Science Education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 46(8), 909-921. Skolverket. (2010). Rustad att möta framtiden? PISA 2009 om 15-åringars läsförståelse och kunskaper i matematik och naturvetenskap. Stockholm: Skolverket. Skolverket. (2013). PISA 2012 15-åringars kunskaper i matematik, läsförståelse och naturvetenskap. Stockholm: Skolverket. Zeidler, D. L., Sadler, T. D., Applebaum, S., & Callahan, B. E. (2009). Advancing Reflective Judgment through Socioscientific Issues. Journal of research in science teaching, 46(1), 74–101. Zeidler, D. L., Sadler, T. D., Simmons, M. L., & Howes, E. V. (2005). Beyond STS: A Research-Based Framework for Socioscientific Issues Education. Science Education, 89, 357-377. Åström, M. (2013). How confident are teachers with non-traditional curriculum content? Teacher survey from national science tests in Sweden. Paper presented at the NoFa, Trondheim.

Author Information

Maria Åström (presenting / submitting)

Umeå university

Applied education

Umeå

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