Assessment of an interdisciplinary project in science and mathematics: Opportunities and challenges

Limited empirical research has investigated the impact of interdisciplinary STEM approaches on students' learning with a particular dearth in the area of assessment. A lack of alignment between interdisciplinary approaches in STEM teaching and its assessment strategies is notable. In this study...

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Published inTeaching science (Deakin West, A.C.T.) Vol. 68; no. 1; pp. 13 - 25
Main Authors Hubber, Peter, Widjaja, Wanty, Aranda, George
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Deakin, A.C.T Australian Science Teachers Association 01.03.2022
Subjects
21st Century Skills
Analysis
Attitudes
Distance education students
Educational evaluation
Evaluation Criteria
Foreign Countries
Interdisciplinary Approach
Interdisciplinary approach in education
Interdisciplinary aspects
Learning
Mathematics Education
Mathematics Instruction
Pedagogical content knowledge
Problem-solving therapy
Science Education
Science Instruction
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education Society
Sciences education
Scoring Rubrics
Secondary Education
Secondary School Teachers
Social aspects
STEM Education
Student Evaluation
Students
Teachers
Teaching
Team Teaching
Australia
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Summary:Limited empirical research has investigated the impact of interdisciplinary STEM approaches on students' learning with a particular dearth in the area of assessment. A lack of alignment between interdisciplinary approaches in STEM teaching and its assessment strategies is notable. In this study, we adopt an inquiry approach to the ways in which interdisciplinary learning of science and mathematics impacted on student learning through the use of a STEM challenge that involved a real-world task. Two secondary school teachers, one who teaches science and the other mathematics, participated in the study and jointly planned and taught a sequence of science and mathematics lessons using an interdisciplinary approach to their Year 8 class of 24 students over several weeks. Data of students' project reports, video of their project presentation, and teacher interviews were analysed to identify the intersection of disciplinary specific and generic skills in assessment practice of an interdisciplinary task. Our findings highlight the importance of having an assessment rubric with criteria that addressed both disciplinary specific skills as well as generic STEM skills.
Bibliography:Teaching Science, Vol. 68, No. 1, Mar 2022, 13-25
Informit, Melbourne (Vic)
ObjectType-Article-2
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
content type line 23
ObjectType-Report-1
ISSN:1449-6313
1839-2946