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

Tsedeke Abate; Kassa Michael; Carl Angell

doi:10.29333/ejmste/9353

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

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¹ Department of Science and Mathematics Education, Addis Ababa University, P. O. Box 1176, Addis Ababa, ETHIOPIA
² Department of Natural Sciences, Hossana College of Teachers Education, P.O. Box 94, Hossana, ETHIOPIA
³ 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

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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

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

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

Publication date: 31 Dec 2020

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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

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

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