CRPP - Conference Papers

Science education researchers have shown considerable interest in student interpretations of science phenomena. Results of their research make it evident that many students hold shared views of science quite different from those generally accepted by the scientific community and that these personal constructed views are often retained into adulthood. This paper reports on the assessment of pre-service primary teachers’ constructed views on selected physical science concepts. Data were gathered from Singapore, Taiwan and the U.S. using a two- tier test. Comparisons are drawn between countries and in the case of US data, over time.

The issues related to adopting concept map assessment to complement traditional assessment in a secondary 3 physics classroom in Singapore were examined. The 65 participants in the study were all high ability students. Training in concept mapping techniques was integrated into classroom lessons. Students sat for a traditional test before the concept map test on the same lesson units. The construct-a-map task was given with a concept list. The test maps were scored using a scoring method based mainly on the quality of propositions. The results suggest that concept map assessment may be used to complement traditional assessment in the physics classroom. The measured achievement and analysis of the concept maps suggested that concept map assessment is a valid measure of student learning. Correlations of map scores with traditional test scores suggest that concept maps and traditional tests do not measure exactly the same aspect of knowledge and may have benefits of directing students to learn more meaningfully. The researcher posits that the construct-a-map task presented the high ability learners with the appropriate complexity and challenge. The training procedure, though effective, may not have been adequate to give all the students sufficient comfort in concept mapping.