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Examining Science Teachers' Conceptions of Student Interest as a Consideration in Designing Assessments

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Title: Examining Science Teachers' Conceptions of Student Interest as a Consideration in Designing Assessments
Language: English
Authors: William R. Penuel (ORCID 0000-0001-7096-6669), Keelin O'Connor, Anna-Ruth Allen, Jennifer K. Jacobs, Abraham S. Lo
Source: Journal of Science Teacher Education. 2025 36(5):643-663.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 21
Publication Date: 2025
Sponsoring Agency: National Science Foundation (NSF), Division of Research on Learning in Formal and Informal Settings (DRL)
Contract Number: 2010086
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Secondary Education
Descriptors: Science Teachers, Secondary School Teachers, Student Interests, Summative Evaluation, Student Evaluation, Evaluation Methods, Rural Schools, Online Courses, Inservice Teacher Education
DOI: 10.1080/1046560X.2024.2435747
ISSN: 1046-560X
1573-1847
Abstract: A key goal of science education articulated in "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" is to create opportunities for students to answer questions about the world that connect to their interests, experiences, and identities. Interest can be seen as a malleable relationship between a person and object (such a phenomenon students might study). In this paper, we analyzed data from a design study of an online course focused on preparing 11 secondary teachers to design three-dimensional tasks that align to the Next Generation Science Standards and that connect to students' interests. Our data sources were teachers' descriptions of their design decisions about what phenomena to use to anchor assessment, designed assessment tasks, and interviews with them about those decisions. We found that interest was an important consideration for assessment design, but teachers considered student interests in different ways. Some teachers shifted their views of what it meant to engage student interests in the context of assessment design over the course of their participation in professional learning. Most teachers made decisions about what they believed their students were interested in based on their knowledge of students or beliefs about their students' interests. In supporting teachers to design summative assessments that link to students' interest, it is critical to assume teachers bring a range of conceptions of interest and to consider the feasibility and utility of task design tools from teachers' point of view.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1493698
Database: ERIC
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22William+R%2E+Penuel%22">William R. Penuel</searchLink> (ORCID <externalLink term="https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7096-6669">0000-0001-7096-6669</externalLink>)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Keelin+O'Connor%22">Keelin O'Connor</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Anna-Ruth+Allen%22">Anna-Ruth Allen</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Jennifer+K%2E+Jacobs%22">Jennifer K. Jacobs</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Abraham+S%2E+Lo%22">Abraham S. Lo</searchLink>
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  Data: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
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  Data: A key goal of science education articulated in "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" is to create opportunities for students to answer questions about the world that connect to their interests, experiences, and identities. Interest can be seen as a malleable relationship between a person and object (such a phenomenon students might study). In this paper, we analyzed data from a design study of an online course focused on preparing 11 secondary teachers to design three-dimensional tasks that align to the Next Generation Science Standards and that connect to students' interests. Our data sources were teachers' descriptions of their design decisions about what phenomena to use to anchor assessment, designed assessment tasks, and interviews with them about those decisions. We found that interest was an important consideration for assessment design, but teachers considered student interests in different ways. Some teachers shifted their views of what it meant to engage student interests in the context of assessment design over the course of their participation in professional learning. Most teachers made decisions about what they believed their students were interested in based on their knowledge of students or beliefs about their students' interests. In supporting teachers to design summative assessments that link to students' interest, it is critical to assume teachers bring a range of conceptions of interest and to consider the feasibility and utility of task design tools from teachers' point of view.
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      – SubjectFull: Secondary School Teachers
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      – SubjectFull: Student Interests
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      – SubjectFull: Summative Evaluation
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      – SubjectFull: Online Courses
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      – SubjectFull: Inservice Teacher Education
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