NSF Award
9731282
97-31282 Jones This project builds on earlier work funded by NSF to document evidence of student learning in primary science. Documentation enhances teachers' observations and understanding of young children's learning, evaluates instruction and assesses children's progress. This project addresses the following research questions: * How does the process of documentation broaden educators' awareness of the range of assessment options? * How does the process of documentation enhance teachers' understanding of young children's learning? How does it heighten teachers' understanding of the science in children's talk and work samples? * How does the process of documentation enhance teachers' reflection on their instructional practice? * What are effective classroom-based strategies to document young children's science understandings? Specifically, the project will develop multimedia documentation materials, create professional development study groups, and conduct working conferences for participants to explore ways in which documentation broadens educators' range of assessment options.
