This conference proposal brings together researchers from the cognitive sciences and science education who are actively engaged in conducting research around learning progressions. The PIs argue that learning progressions represent a promising framework for developing organized curricula and meaningful assessments in science. For this reason, they are gaining popularity in the science education community. However, the PIs identify a number of issues that must be addressed around learning progressions and these issues form the strands for the conference. They include (1) the need for clearer definitions; (2) developing and validating assessments; (3) using statistical modeling to summarize students' level on a learning progression; and (4) implications of learning progressions for curriculum, teacher education and assessment.
The PIs propose a workshop format to discuss the above challenges, to identify concrete examples of how researchers are addressing these challenges and to develop where there is consensus to guide productive next steps.
