With the support of a from the , Erin Furtak has been investigating how a long-term professional development program centered on a learning progression for natural selection can support high school teachers in iteratively designing, enacting, and revising formative assessments.聽
Furtak co-authored the recently published book,聽The Feedback Loop: Using Formative Assessment Data for Science Teaching and Learning, which explores alternative ways聽to gather and use student data besides聽standardized test scores. Step by step, the chapters:
- introduce the Feedback Loop framework;
- highlight ways to set goals, develop tools, analyze data, and draw inferences;
- tell how to close the loop by connecting inferences and goals through feedback; and
- explain techniques for using the full loop to inform instruction.
Erin Furtak is聽Associate Professor of Education specializing in Science Education.聽Her work focuses on how to support secondary science teachers in improving their everyday formative assessment practices.
Overview:
What really helps your students learn science: Labs? Group work? Certain types of problems or test questions? Something you never even thought about? Find out with data that go way beyond what standardized test scores tell you.聽The Feedback Loop聽describes a process by which you design formative assessments of what you do and collect a variety of forms of data. Then, the book shows you ways to actually use the information to improve your teaching.
Drawing on research-based findings and the experiences of both new and veteran classroom teachers, the guide offers practical ideas for middle and high school teachers, regardless of discipline. The first chapters introduce the Feedback Loop framework; highlight the four elements of goals, tools, data, and inferences; and explore how to close the loop by connecting inferences and goals through feedback. Later chapters show how to use the full loop to inform your instruction. The book supports the聽Next Generation Science Standards聽and includes classroom vignettes that ground the ideas in real-life situations. Meant to illuminate without overwhelming you,聽The Feedback Loop鈥檚聽data-driven approach will support student learning and help strengthen your teaching practice in your very next lesson or unit.
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Related Faculty: Erin Marie Furtak