In Year 1 (Sept.1, 2013 – Aug. 31, 2014), secondary science teachers and researchers (from UQAM and McGill University) developed diagnostic tools specifically related to the 80-85 essential concepts and problem-solving competency in Québec Education Program (QEP) Cycle 1 Science and Technology program. These basic concepts provide an essential foundation for building students’ sophisticated understanding of advanced scientific concepts in accordance with the learning progression goals in Cycle 2.
In particular, we reviewed various existing conceptual inventories and items and construct a diagnostic item bank including the test items developed by the American Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS, n.d.), Biological Concepts Instrument (Klymkowsky, 2010), and Banque d'instruments de mesure (BIM, n.d.). Moreover, other existing assessments, such as the assessment items developed by Project MOSART (Sadler, n.d.) and Geosciences Concept Inventory (Libarkin, n.d.) were adapted in accordance with the QEP science content goals. Science and technology teachers were invited to use these tools before, during and after instruction to track students’ understanding of concepts and technology skills. Project team teachers from Anglophone and Francophone school boards worked together to study and adapt existing assessments from the relevant literature and organize them in accordance with the Progression of Learning (POL) and the 4 Worlds in the QEP. They developed, refined, translated, and pilot-tested the conceptual and technology tools in their classrooms.
Specific objectives of the project activities during Year 1 are:
- to seek teachers’ views and any concern about the relevance of the assessment items to the curriculum and its implementation in their own classrooms during the development and refinement of the instrument;
- to identify relevant assessment tools and teaching strategies; these assessment tools were developed in English and French.
Project activities includes:
- Orientation session on October 29, 2013;
- Instrument development sessions on February 18 and February 29, 2014;
- Feedback forms were sent to seek teachers’ views about how useful the instrument would be in providing information about students’ alternative ideas and informing their instruction;
- Focus group discussion were held to explore Anglophone and Francophone teachers’ perspectives on the efficacy of the conceptual assessments and technology rubrics in terms of gauging their students’ initial ideas and skills.