Assessment Practices in Interactive Physics Class: Explicating Theories and Applications

Abstract

When it comes to educational assessment, what distinguishes interactive engagement physics classes from traditional ones is the greater extent to which formative assessment practices are carried out in the former. In this chapter, we reexamine interactive physics instruction through the lens of formative assessment, which we consider as a goal-oriented practice aimed at improving learning by eliciting, interpreting and responding to the evidence of student needs. In interactive physics classes, various forms of formative tools are used as a vehicle to draw out information on student learning. The implementation of formative practices can be instructor-guided or student self-guided. Regardless, their goals invariantly include improving student conceptual learning of physics content and, in some cases, supporting students in developing a robust knowledge structure, general problem-solving and scientific process abilities, metacognition and epistemological sophistication. Because formative assessment is conventionally packaged as instructional practices, it often finds its antecedents in learning and pedagogical theories. In this board perspective, we discuss formative practices in interactive physics instruction by revisiting some commonly referenced but easily misunderstood theories related to constructivism, social constructivism and cultural historical activity theory in physics education.