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Responses of some primary school students in TIMSS performance tasks
Author
Tan, Godberg Kok Heong
Supervisor
Toh, Kok Aun
Boo, Hong Kwen
Abstract
There is a continual need to learn about the world around us. This has also been reflected in Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's vision for the nation when he spoke at the 7th International Conference on Thinking held in Singapore from 1 - 6 June 1997. The vision "Thinking Schools, Learning Nation" lead to a review of the educational syllabuses (Quah & Ho, 1998). A result of this review was the reduction in content knowledge and the implementation of new teaching methods and assessment modes such as paper-and-pencil test, performance assessment, and portfolios amongst others. Arising from the latter is the general feeling that assessment in schools has predominantly been of the paper-and-pencil type. There is very little information on students' abilities in carrying out hands-on practical activities.
This exploratory study serves to fill the information gap by administering a hands-on performance-based science assessment to gauge students' abilities in such activities. This information gap would have been filled if Singapore had participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS-95) Performance Assessment sub-study for science for Population 1 (Primary 4). Even though Singapore took part in TIMSS-95, it was not involved in this sub-study. This study hopes to provide classroom teachers with a better understanding of students' practical process skills and problem-solving abilities.
The study involved a group of 504 Primary 4 students from five different schools and took place in November 2002. These students work on seven out of the original twelve performance assessment tasks. Five of these were science-related tasks while the remaining two were science and mathematics-related tasks. These tasks were adopted from TIMSS-95 Performance Assessment sub-study and assessed the students in some content areas of science such as pulse rate, magnetism, temperature, elasticity, light and shadow formation. These tasks were designed to engage the students in using apparatus, defining strategies, testing hypothesis, recording and explaining their findings.
Generally, the students were able to out-perform the average student who made up the international community in the TIMSS-95 Performance Assessment sub-study except for the Magnets and Shadows tasks. The students achieved a performance average of 48.6% when all the seven Performance Assessment tasks (i.e Pulse, Magnets, Batteries, Rubber Band, Containers, Shadows and Plasticine) were considered and increasing to 53.2% with only the five science-related tasks (i.e. Pulse, Magnets, Batteries, Rubber Band and Containers). The students found Shadows task (29%) to be the hardest to complete and Magnets task (76%) to be the easiest. Despite such a high percentage for Magnets task, the students' performances were not significantly better than students from the international community (72%).
The students also out-performed the average student from the international community in two of the three areas of performance expectations examined through the tasks. They had less difficulty in the first area of performance expectation that is "using scientific procedures" (67.5%) than the second that is "scientific problem-solving and applying concept knowledge" (33.1%). For the third area of "scientific investigating", the students' performance average of 43.7% was not significantly different from the international community at 43.4% (refer to page 42 in this study). The study found that the students had varying degrees of difficulties in handling the performance assessment tasks.
This exploratory study serves to fill the information gap by administering a hands-on performance-based science assessment to gauge students' abilities in such activities. This information gap would have been filled if Singapore had participated in the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS-95) Performance Assessment sub-study for science for Population 1 (Primary 4). Even though Singapore took part in TIMSS-95, it was not involved in this sub-study. This study hopes to provide classroom teachers with a better understanding of students' practical process skills and problem-solving abilities.
The study involved a group of 504 Primary 4 students from five different schools and took place in November 2002. These students work on seven out of the original twelve performance assessment tasks. Five of these were science-related tasks while the remaining two were science and mathematics-related tasks. These tasks were adopted from TIMSS-95 Performance Assessment sub-study and assessed the students in some content areas of science such as pulse rate, magnetism, temperature, elasticity, light and shadow formation. These tasks were designed to engage the students in using apparatus, defining strategies, testing hypothesis, recording and explaining their findings.
Generally, the students were able to out-perform the average student who made up the international community in the TIMSS-95 Performance Assessment sub-study except for the Magnets and Shadows tasks. The students achieved a performance average of 48.6% when all the seven Performance Assessment tasks (i.e Pulse, Magnets, Batteries, Rubber Band, Containers, Shadows and Plasticine) were considered and increasing to 53.2% with only the five science-related tasks (i.e. Pulse, Magnets, Batteries, Rubber Band and Containers). The students found Shadows task (29%) to be the hardest to complete and Magnets task (76%) to be the easiest. Despite such a high percentage for Magnets task, the students' performances were not significantly better than students from the international community (72%).
The students also out-performed the average student from the international community in two of the three areas of performance expectations examined through the tasks. They had less difficulty in the first area of performance expectation that is "using scientific procedures" (67.5%) than the second that is "scientific problem-solving and applying concept knowledge" (33.1%). For the third area of "scientific investigating", the students' performance average of 43.7% was not significantly different from the international community at 43.4% (refer to page 42 in this study). The study found that the students had varying degrees of difficulties in handling the performance assessment tasks.
Date Issued
2004
Call Number
Q183.4.S55 Tan
Date Submitted
2004