STEM Education Seminar: Dr. David Hammer
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Dr. David Hammer, Tufts University, Professor of Education and Physics, Director of STEM Education Program
Title: “Challenges and possibilities of meaningful assessment in large introductory STEM classes”
Abstract: Much of the difficulty with the topic of assessment in education is that assessment itself is disciplinary substance students should learn. Science, for example, is much about assessing ideas for explanatory and predictive power. Unfortunately, for a variety of practical and societal reasons, most assessment in STEM courses happens by authority, e.g. checking students’ answers against the established canon, which can be at odds with the values and practices we would like students to develop. In this seminar, I’ll discuss the importance, challenges and possibilities of assessment more closely aligned with practices within the discipline, focusing on my own attempts in introductory physics. I’ll show video examples from lectures and written examples from exams and problem sets, and I’ll argue that meaningful pedagogical assessment demands attention and responsiveness to students’ thinking.
The STEM Education Seminar & Journal Club Series is sponsored by the Helmsley Charitable Trust.