Knowledge of Assessment In addition to providing me with some insight into the subject matter knowledge of my students, Just-In-Time Teaching also provided me with an opportunity to use a new assessment strategy to probe students’ prior experiences and how these influenced their reasoning. In activity one, for example, the focus was on buoyancy and density, as illustrated by raisins that were dropped into a glass of carbonated soda (see the Appendix). When asked to explain their prediction as to what would happen, many students discussed previous encounters with similar scenarios. This is illustrated in the following postings of two students:
I recall doing something similar to this when I was in grade school. I think they called it “dancing raisins.” The air bubbles in the soft drink push some of the raisins to the top and some to the bottom. (Student X, activity one posting)
I remember observing a piece of food in my glass of soda once, and it was covered in bubbles and eventually made it to the top of the drink and just floated there at the top. I am not sure how this happens. (Student F, activity one posting)
Postings such as these allowed me to assess students’ prior experiences and understandings of the particular topics we were discussing. “I was better equipped to answer student questions and was able to make changes to my planning so as to target common misconceptions and build on students’ prior knowledge and experiences” (Journal Entry, 6 February 2009). This aligns with constructivist principles and provided students with an enhanced learning opportunity. This sentiment was also echoed in the post-study student surveys:
JiTT allowed me to draw on the existing knowledge I already have while also expanding on it. (Student R, Post survey)
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It was helpful because it made me assess what I already knew before class. Therefore, I was more interested in learning about the concept to see if I was right or where I went wrong. (Student I, Post survey)
Another significant finding was the extent to which the use of the JiTT illustrated the importance of assessing prior understanding. For instance, after activity two, I commented in my journal, “I can really see the need for assessing student knowledge prior to teaching concepts in class. I always knew that it was important but using the JiTT has really allowed me to see the benefits of pre-assessment” (Journal entry, 3 March 2009).