SAVE Science proposes to create an innovative system for evaluating learning in science, consistent with research and policy-based recommendations for science learning that are focused around the big ideas of science content and inquiry for middle school years. The motivation for this comes not only from best practices as outlined in the National Science Education Standards and AAAS' Project 2061, but also from the declining interest and confidence of today's student in science. One source of data for students on whether they can succeed in science comes from tests, but do these tests accurately measure students' knowledge of both content and processes in science? According to the National Research Council, science processes are more often assessed by asking students to define words such as "hypothesis" and "scientific method." However, knowing the definitions of these words is not synonymous with understanding how to do the processes that underlie scientific inquiry. What are needed are classroom assessments that not only assess inquiry as well as content but do so authentically.
SAVE Science will design and implement a series of virtual environment situated assessment modules for assessing both science content and inquiry in grades 7 and 8 in the School District of Philadelphia (SDP). These will generate knowledge to inform teachers and students about student understanding, while increasing interest and confidence. The modules will make use of a novel assessment rubric based on student interactions within an authentic context-based science curriculum, embedded in a virtual environment. This project will also investigate how best to help students make sense of the complex virtual environments, and how to help teachers integrate technology into their pedagogy.
Broader impacts from this study will be in helping students better understand their own knowledge and learning process thus promoting increased efficacy in science and interest in science careers, and in directing teacher practices by providing them with more detailed data to inform meaningful differentiated instruction which could contribute to closing the achievement gap.
In terms of intellectual merit, the project will contribute to the burgeoning field of collaborative, game-based STEM education. The project will develop innovative assessments of student understanding of science content and inquiry and relate these assessments to standardized test achievement. The project will lead to recommendations for how researchers can design virtual environments with rich immersion in authentic inquiry practices without overwhelming students.
