Perspectives on Facet-based Diagnostic Assessments: Lessons Learned in Four Instructional Contexts

This session presents recent implementation findings from four projects, each applying facet-based approaches to formative assessment in different instructional contexts.

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This session will describe recent findings from four projects, each applying the facet-based perspective in different instructional contexts: force and motion and waves (middle and high school), properties of matter and particulate nature of matter (middle school), Earth science (middle school), and chemistry (high school). Based on a synthesis of quantitative and qualitative findings from classroom implementations, the presentation will offer new perspectives about articulating facets that frame student thinking and also the value-added of facet-based diagnostic assessments as an instructional approach. Presenters will include findings about how to support teachers in using evidence from these assessments to inform whole-class and individual student instruction about complex science concepts.  Facet-based assessments are one innovative approach to helping teachers diagnose students’ science understanding (Minstrell, 1992; Minstrell, 2001; Minstrell, Anderson, Kraus, & Minstrell, 2008). Beginning with the research on misconceptions and conceptual change, the term “facets of students’ thinking” acknowledges that not all of students’ thinking can be considered a “misconception” or error. This perspective assumes students possess some strengths to build on, possibly in addition to problematic thinking that can be revised through additional learning opportunities. A facet is a construction of one or more pieces of knowledge by the learner in order to solve a problem or explain an event. Facets of students’ thinking can be organized into clusters around a key idea (e.g., determining or using average speed) or event (e.g., explaining the constant velocity motion of an object). Facet clusters serve as the interpretive framework for analyzing student responses and adapting  curriculum activities to promote learning. In doing so, they provide critical information about whether students understand the targeted concepts and, if not, what problematic or partial understandings are present. Teachers can use this evidence to decide how to help students progress from partial or incorrect understandings toward targeted learning goals.  

Each project applied multiple methods for developing, validating, and analyzing the impact of facet-based assessments. Three projects (Improving the Effectiveness of Teachers’ Diagnostic Skills, Chemistry Facets, and Teacher Competency in Formative Assessment) examine the design and impact of formative assessment opportunities using the online Diagnoser system (www.Diagnoser.com). In Diagnoser, teachers have access to resources including facet clusters, questions to elicit student ideas, questions with response options aligned to facets, automatically generated reports on the distribution of facets in a class, and activities to address specific problematic understandings. The Contingent Pedagogies project applies the facet-based perspective to promote whole-class discussions with classroom network technology. Professional development for teachers is a core component of all of the projects, but the Teacher Competency in Formative Assessment project focuses specifically on using the facet-based resources to develop instruments to evaluate and support teachers’ formative assessment knowledge and strategies.  By analyzing findings across projects, participants can draw conclusions about (1) the facet development process; (2) the impact of  curriculum and technology resources on formative assessment design; (3) validation processes for facet-based assessments; (4) strategies for designing feedback to promote student self-reflection; and (5) professional development in using facet-based assessments formatively.