Assessment of Scientific Reasoning: Development and Validation of Scientific Reasoning Assessment Tool

Tsedeke Abate; Kassa Michael; Carl Angell

doi:10.29333/ejmste/9353

Full Text (PDF)

Tsedeke Abate ¹ ² ^* , Kassa Michael ², Carl Angell ³

More Detail

¹ Department of Science and Mathematics Education, Addis Ababa University, P. O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA² Department of Natural Sciences, Hossana College of Teachers Education, P.O. Box 94, Hossana, ETHIOPIA³ Department of Physics, University of Oslo, NORWAY^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Studies indicate that the failure of science education to meet the needs of the 21st century is to some extent due to the inability to incorporate scientific reasoning and higher order assessments in the school instruction. Though the outcomes of education seek higher-order thinking abilities there is a lack of high ability assessments in low-income nations. This study aimed to develop and validate Scientific Reasoning Progress Tool (SRPT) that measures students’ reasoning abilities. In this study, 40 items were developed, pilot-tested, and administered to 242 students from grade eight. The SRPT was a valid and reliable instrument. It was also found that the reasoning ability of grade 8 students’ is limited to the lower levels of reasoning. It is recommended that further study is essential through the adoption of the framework and the design to develop additional instruments and investigation of the progression of students’ scientific reasoning ability.

Keywords

Rasch analysis
reasoning progress
scientific reasoning
styles of scientific reasoning

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2020, Volume 16, Issue 12, Article No: em1927

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9353

Publication date: 31 Dec 2020

Article Views: 1528

Article Downloads: 1992

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Alemu, M., Kind, P. Tadesse, M., Atnafu, M., & Michael, K. (2017). Challenges of science teacher education in lowIncome nations - The case of Ethiopia. ESERA-17 conference proceedings, Dublin, Ireland.
Alfieri, L., Brooks, P. J., Aldrich, N. J., & Tenenbaum, H. R. (2011). Does discovery-based instruction enhance learning? Journal of educational psychology, 103(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021017
Anderman, E. M., Sinatra, G. M., & Gray, D. L. (2012). The challenges of teaching and learning about science in the twenty-first century: Exploring the abilities and constraints of adolescent learners. StudieS in Science education, 48(1), 89-117. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057267.2012.655038
Au, W. (2007). High-stakes testing and curricular control: A qualitative metasynthesis. Educational researcher, 36(5), 258-267. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X07306523
Bao, L., Cai, T., Koenig, K., Fang, K., Han, J., Wang, J., . . . Luo, Y. (2009). Learning and scientific reasoning. Science, 323(5914), 586-587. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1167740
Bond, T. G., & Fox, C. M. (2007). Applying The Rasch Model: Fundamental Measurement in the Human Science (2^nd Ed). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Boone, W. J., Staver, J. R., & Yale, M. S. (2014). Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences. Dordrecht, Netherlands: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6857-4
Butler, L. P., & Markman, E. M. (2012). Finding the cause: Verbal framing helps children extract causal evidence embedded in a complex scene. Journal of Cognition and Development, 13(1), 38-66. https://doi.org/10.1080/15248372.2011.567201
Carey, S., & Smith, C. (1993). On understanding the nature of scientific knowledge. Educational Psychologist, 28(3), 235-251. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326985ep2803_4
Chinn, C. A., & Malhotra, B. A. (2002). Epistemologically authentic inquiry in schools: A theoretical framework for evaluating inquiry tasks. Science Education, 86(2), 175-218. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.10001
Corcoran, T. B., Mosher, F. A., Rogat, A. D. (2009). Learning progressions in science: An evidence-based approach to reform. Philadelphia, PA: Consortium for Policy Research in Education. Retrieved from http://repository.upenn.edu/cpre_researchreports/53
Davies, M. (2013). Critical thinking and the disciplines reconsidered. Higher Education Research & Development, 32(4), 529-544. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2012.697878
DeBoer, G. E. (2011). The globalization of science education. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 48(6), 567-591. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20421
Dole, S., Bloom, L., & Kowalske, K. (2016). Transforming pedagogy: Changing perspectives from teacher-centered to learner-centered. Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 10(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.7771/1541-5015.1538
Duschl, R. A., & Grandy, R. E. (2012). Demarcation in science education: Toward an enhanced view of scientific method. In Epistemology and Science Education: Understanding the Evolution vs. Intelligent Design Controversy. Taylor and Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203839638
Edmondson, K. M., & Novak, J. D. (1993). The interplay of scientific epistemological views, learning strategies, and attitudes of college students. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 30(6), 547-559. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.3660300604
Embretson S. E., & Reise, S. P. (2000). Item response theory for psychologists. Maheah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Erlina, N., Susantini, E., Wasis, W., Wicaksono, I., & Pandiangan, P. (2018). The Effectiveness of evidence-based reasoning in inquiry-based physics teaching to increase students’ scientific reasoning. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 17(6), 972-985. https://doi.org/10.33225/jbse/18.17.972
Ford, M. J.,& Wargo, B. M. (2012). Dialogic framing of scientific content for conceptual and epistemic understanding. Science Education, 96, 369-391. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.20482
Gelman, S. A. (2003). Oxford series in cognitive development. The essential child: Origins of essentialism in everyday thought. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195154061.001.0001
Gelman, S. A., & Noles, N. S. (2011). Domains and naïve theories. WIREs Cognitive Science, 2(5), 490-502. https://doi.org/10.1002/wcs.124
Gott, R., Duggan, S., & Roberts, R. (2008). Concepts of evidence. School of education: University of Durham. Retrieved from http://www.dur.ac.uk/rosalyn.roberts/Evidence/cofev.htm
Greaney, V., & Kellaghan, T. (2007). Assessing national achievement levels in education: The World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-7258-6
Hacking, I. (2012). ‘Language, truth and reason’30 years later. Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A, 43(4), 599-609. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.shpsa.2012.07.00
Haladyna, T. M., Downing, S. M., & Rodriguez, M. C. (2002). A review of multiple-choice item-writing guidelines for classroom assessment. Applied measurement in education, 15(3), 309-333. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324818AME1503_5
Han, J. (2013). Scientific reasoning: Research, development, and assessment. (Electronic Thesis or Dissertation). The Ohio State University. Retrieved from https://etd.ohiolink.edu/
Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2015). The knowledge capital of nations: Education and the economics of growth: MIT press. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-4932.12298
Hewitt, P. G. (2006). Conceptual physics. 10th ed. San Francisco: Pearson Addison Wesley.
Joshi, R. D., & Verspoor, A. (2013). Secondary Education in Ethiopia: Supporting Growth and Transformation. Washington, DC: World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/978-0-8213-9727-5
Kambeyo, L. (2017). Scientific Reasoning Skills: A Theoretical Background on Science Education. NERA Journal, 14, 40-64. Retrieved from http://doktori.bibl.u/
Kind, P. (2013). Establishing A ssessment S cales U sing a N ovel D isciplinary R ationale for S cientific R easoning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 50(5), 530-560. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21086
Kind, P., & Osborne, J. (2017). Styles of scientific reasoning: A cultural rationale for science education? Science Education, 101(1), 8-31. https://doi.org/10.1002/sce.21251
Kuhn, D. (2002). What is scientific thinking, and how does it develop? The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of childhood cognitive development (p. 497-523). Blackwell Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470996652.ch17
Lamb, S., Jackson, J., & Rumberger, R. (2015). ISCY technical paper: Measuring 21st century skills in ISCY. Victoria University, Centre for International Research on Education Systems [report] https://doi.org/10.4226/80/57f2e5c7a9295
Lawson, A. E. (2004). The nature and development of scientific reasoning: A synthetic view. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 2(3), 307-338. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10763-004-3224-2
Lederman, N. G. (2006). Syntax of nature of science within inquiry and science instruction. In L. B. Flick, & N. G. Lederman (Eds.), Scientific inquiry and nature of science. Implications for teaching, learning, and teacher education (pp. 301-318). Dordrecht: Springer.
Lederman, N. G., Abd‐El‐Khalick, F., Bell, R. L., & Schwartz, R. S. (2002). Views of nature of science questionnaire: Toward valid and meaningful assessment of learners' conceptions of nature of science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 39(6), 497-521. https://doi.org/410.1002/tea.10034
Lehrer, R., & Schauble, L. (2006). Cultivating Model-Based Reasoning in Science Education. In R. K. Sawyer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of: The learning sciences (p. 371-387). Cambridge University Press.
Linacre, J. (2016). A user's guide to Winsteps Ministep Rasch-model computer programs 2016. Chicago: Winsteps. com.
Linacre, J. M. (2012). Winsteps® Rasch measurement computer program user’s guide. Beaverton.
Martin, D., & Jamieson-Proctor, R. (2019). Development and validation of a survey instrument for measuring pre-service teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge. International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/1743727X.2019.1687669
Martin, M., Mullis, I., Foy, P., & Hooper, M. (2016). TIMSS 2015 International Results in Science. Chestnut Hill, MA: TIMSS & PIRLS International Study Center, Boston College. In. Retrieved from http://timss2015.org/wp-content/uploads/filebase/full%20pdfs/T15-International-Results-in-Science-Grade-4.pdf
McNeill, K. L., Krajcik, J. S. (2011). Supporting Grade 5-8 students in constructing explanations in science: The claim, evidence, and reasoning framework for talk and writing. New York, NY: Pearson.
Meyer, X., & Crawford, B. A. (2011). Teaching science as a cultural way of knowing: Merging authentic inquiry, nature of science, and multicultural strategies. Cultural Studies of Science Education, 6(3), 525-547. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11422-011-9318-6
Nagaoka, J., Farrington, C. A., Ehrlich, S. B., & Heath, R. D. (2015). Foundations for Young Adult Success: A Developmental Framework. Concept Paper for Research and Practice. University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research.
Niaz, M. (2017). Evolving nature of objectivity in the history of science and its implications for science education (Vol. 46). New York, NY: Springer.
OECD (2016), Education at a Glance 2016: OECD Indicators. OECD Publishing, Paris. https://doi.org/10.187/eag-2016-en
Opitz, A., Heene, M., & Fischer, F. (2017). Measuring scientific reasoning-a review of test instruments. Educational Research and Evaluation, 23(3-4), 78-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/13803611.2017.1338586
Osborne, J. (2010). Arguing to learn in science: The role of collaborative, critical discourse. Science, 328(5977), 463-466. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1183944
Osborne, J. (2013). The 21st century challenge for science education: Assessing scientific reasoning. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 10, 265-279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2013.07.006
Osborne, J., Erduran, S., & Simon, S. (2004). Enhancing the quality of argumentation in school science. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 41, 994-1020. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20035
Osborne, J., Rafanelli, S., & Kind, P. (2018). Toward a more coherent model for science education than the crosscutting concepts of the next generation science standards: The affordances of styles of reasoning. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 55(7), 962-981. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.21460
Özdemir, G. (2007). The effects of the nature of science beliefs on science teaching and learning. Uludag University, Journal of the Faculty of Education, 20(2), 355-372. http://hdl.handle.net/11452/11377
Reckase, M. D. (1979). Unifactor latent trait models applied to multifactor tests: Resultsand implications. Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, 4, 207-230. https://doi.org/10.3102/10769986004003207
Sabanathan, S., Wills, B., & Gladstone, M. (2015). Child development assessment tools in low-income and middle-income countries: how can we use them more appropriately?. Archives of disease in childhood, 100(5), 482-488. https://doi.org/10.1136/archdischild-2014-308114
Senocak, E. (2009). Development of an instrument for assessing undergraduate science students’ perceptions: The problem-based learning environment inventory. Journal of Science Education and Technology, 18(6), 560-569. https://doi.org/10.1007/S10956-009-9173-3
Teshome, N. B. (2017). Classroom Participation and Development of Student Attitudes: A Study of Active Learning Practices in Ethiopian Primary Education. International Journal of Humanities Social Sciences and Education (IJHSSE), 4(3), 67-68. https://doi.org/10.20431/2349-0381.0403008
Tiruneh, D.T., De Cock, M., Weldeslassie, A.G., Elen. J., & Janssen, R. (2017). Measuring critical thinking in physics: Development and validation of a critical thinking test in electricity and magnetism. Int J of Sci and Math Educ, 15(4), 663-682. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-016-9723-0
Verspoor, A. M. (2008). At the crossroads: choices for secondary education in Sub-Saharan Africa: World Bank Publications, The World Bank, number 6537, Juni.
Wilson, M. (2004). Constructing measures: An item response modeling approach: New York, Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410611697
Wright, B. D., & Stone, M. H. (1979). Best Test Design: Rasch Measurement. Chicago, IL: Mesa Press.
Wright, B., & Tennant, A. (1996). Sample size again. Rasch Measurement Transactions, 9(4), 468.
Zeineddin, A., & Abd-El-Khalick, F. (2010). Scientific reasoning and epistemological commitments: Coordination of theory and evidence among college science students. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 47(9), 1064-1093. https://doi.org/10.1002/tea.20368
Zhou, S., Han, J., Koenig, K., Raplinger, A., Pi, Y., Li, D., Xiao, H., Fu, Z., & Bao, L. (2016). Assessment of Scientific Reasoning: the Effects of Task Context, Data, and Design on Student Reasoning in Control of Variables. Thinking skills and creativity, 19, 175-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2015.11.004
Zimmerman, C. (2000). The development of scientific reasoning skills. Developmental Review, 20(1), 99-149. https://doi.org/10.1006/drev.1999.0497
Zimmerman, C. (2007). The development of scientific thinking skills in elementary and middle school. Developmental Review, 27(2), 172-223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2006.12.001

How to cite this article

APA

Abate, T., Michael, K., & Angell, C. (2020). Assessment of Scientific Reasoning: Development and Validation of Scientific Reasoning Assessment Tool. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16(12), em1927. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9353

Vancouver

Abate T, Michael K, Angell C. Assessment of Scientific Reasoning: Development and Validation of Scientific Reasoning Assessment Tool. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2020;16(12):em1927. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9353

AMA

Abate T, Michael K, Angell C. Assessment of Scientific Reasoning: Development and Validation of Scientific Reasoning Assessment Tool. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2020;16(12), em1927. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9353

Chicago

Abate, Tsedeke, Kassa Michael, and Carl Angell. "Assessment of Scientific Reasoning: Development and Validation of Scientific Reasoning Assessment Tool". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2020 16 no. 12 (2020): em1927. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9353

Harvard

Abate, T., Michael, K., and Angell, C. (2020). Assessment of Scientific Reasoning: Development and Validation of Scientific Reasoning Assessment Tool. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16(12), em1927. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9353

MLA

Abate, Tsedeke et al. "Assessment of Scientific Reasoning: Development and Validation of Scientific Reasoning Assessment Tool". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 16, no. 12, 2020, em1927. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/9353