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Supporting Optimal Student Assessment Practices in Science as a Core Subject Area

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Leadership of Assessment, Inclusion, and Learning

Part of the book series: The Enabling Power of Assessment ((EPAS,volume 3))

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Abstract

This chapter discusses assessment in inquiry-based science classrooms. Three classroom scenarios are examined for ways that they support assessment for learning. Implications are provided for teachers and school leaders to consider when seeking to implement effective assessment approaches in science classrooms. We suggest that school leaders can enable assessment for learning by having focused conversations with teachers about their science lessons. Teachers, who are encouraged to create learning environments where students take ownership and control of their learning, open up their classrooms in ways that allow them to engage in meaningful conversations and observations with their students. Classroom teachers will then be better able to carry out the kinds of assessment that provide the most powerful feedback for students and help them develop accurate interpretations of their students’ science learning. We argue that teaching science through an inquiry-based approach offers substantial opportunity for enacting assessment for learning strategies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, University of New Brunswick, 3 Bailey Drive, Fredericton, NB, Canada, E3B 5A3

    Ann Sherman

  2. Faculty of Education, St. Francis Xavier University, 5000, Antigonish, NS, Canada, B2G 2W5

    Leo MacDonald

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  1. Ann Sherman
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  2. Leo MacDonald
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Correspondence to Ann Sherman .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    Shelleyann Scott

  2. Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    Donald E. Scott

  3. Faculty of Continuing Education and Extension, Mount Royal University, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

    Charles F. Webber

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Sherman, A., MacDonald, L. (2016). Supporting Optimal Student Assessment Practices in Science as a Core Subject Area. In: Scott, S., Scott, D., Webber, C. (eds) Leadership of Assessment, Inclusion, and Learning. The Enabling Power of Assessment, vol 3. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23347-5_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23347-5_7

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-23346-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-23347-5

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