Formative Assessment for Secondary Science Teachers

Covering physics/physical science, life science/biology, earth and space science, and chemistry, this research-based guide shows secondary teachers how to develop and use formative assessments to enhance learning in science.

Covering physics/physical science, life science/biology, earth and space science, and chemistry, this research-based guide shows secondary teachers how to develop and use formative assessments to enhance learning in science.

Erin Furtak worked as a high school biology and earth science teacher in the public schools on the west side of Denver, and has experiences in many other venues of education, including middle school, administration of professional development, and curriculum design. After getting involved with a national research project where she designed and implemented computational science assessments, Furtak decided to pursue a PhD so that she could have an impact on science teaching and learning beyond her own classroom. She studied curriculum and teacher education in the School of Education at Stanford University, writing a dissertation about teachers’ enactment of inquiry-based science lessons in middle school. She then received the competitive German Chancellor Fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation to study alongside educational researchers in Germany, and spent 18 months living and doing postdoctoral research on middle school instruction in Berlin and Kiel. Furtak is now assistant professor of education specializing in science education at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Her struggles to successfully implement inquiry-based teaching methods inspired her to pursue a career in educational research to make reforms more attainable for science teachers.