This research is funded by the Michigan Department of Education

1. The Nature of Formative Assessment Practices in Mathematics and Science LessonsJoanne Philhower, Steve Bennett, Dante Cisterna & Amelia WenkGotwalsDepartment of Teacher Education, Michigan State University This research is funded by the Michigan Department of Education Findings Findings PURPOSE Science Teachers Mathematics Teachers This poster highlights the formative assessment practices of primary and secondary mathematics and science teachers who participated in the Formative Assessment for Michigan Educators (FAME) Professional Development. FAME is a statewide and team-based program that aims to enhance teachers’ formative assessment knowledge and practice. “Formative assessment is a process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teachingand learning to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes” (CCSSO, 2008; p. 3). • Participants • 11 Teachers: 3 elementary, 5 middle school, 3 high school • 6 Teachers taught only math; 3 teachers only taught science • 2 Teachers taught both math and science • We observed 17 mathematics and 10 science lessons Formative Assessment Observation Protocol Drawing on learning progressions research, we used a classroom observation protocol to capture the levels of sophistication of formative assessment practice progressions (citation: Gotwals, et al., in press) Formative Assessment Dimensions and Practices Included in this Study Level 4 Type of Question and Elicitation Strategies General Findings Student subtracting 505 – 371 on the front board. Teacher (pointing to the 0): Why did you borrow for this one? Student: Because you have nothing; you have a zero, so you have to borrow from the neighbor on the other side. The results suggest that both mathematics and science teachers frequently use questioning to elicit student thinking. However, the nature of the questions and other formative assessment practices differed between mathematics and science classes. This sample of mathematics teachers tended to provide students with more in-the-moment feedback and more opportunities for students to self-assess. This sample of science teachers rarely demonstrated high proficiency levels with formative assessment practices. Limitations of the Study • Small sample of teachers • Exploratory study Teacher: (pointing to the 5 in the 1’s place): You had to borrow to subtract from zero, so why didn’t you borrow to subtract this from this? Student: Shrugs shoulders Teacher: Can you take one away from five? Student: (smiling) Yes, I can subtract one from five, so it works Implications & Future Work • Implications include possible connections between content area (and the epistemology of the discipline), formative assessment practices, and opportunities to use formative assessment practices • Teachers may show different levels and use different FA practices for different content areas: • Professional development can be designed and adapted for teachers. • Further exploration of the tendencies of science and mathematics teachers to favor specific formative assessment practices over others • Further examine these preliminary patterns with a larger sample of teachers