Guiding teaching with assessments: high school chemistry teachers’ use of data-driven inquiry

Abstract

Data-driven inquiry (DDI) is the process by which teachers design and implement classroom assessments and use student results to inform/adjust teaching. Although much has been written about DDI, few details exist about how teachers conduct this process on a day-to-day basis in any specific subject area, let alone chemistry. Nineteen high school chemistry teachers participated in semi-structured interviews regarding how they used assessments to inform teaching. Results are reported for each step in the DDI process. Goals – there was a lack in specificity of learning and instructional goals and goals stated were not conducive to informing instruction. Evidence – at least once, all teachers determined student learning based solely on scores and/or subscores, suggesting an over-reliance on these measures. Conclusions – many teachers claimed that students either did or did not “understand” a topic, but the teachers did not adequately describe what this means. Actions – very few teachers listed a specific action as a result of analyzing student data, while the majority gave multiple broad pedagogical strategies to address content deficiencies. The results of this study show the limitations of teachers' DDI practices and inform how professional development on DDI should have a finer grain size and be based in disciplinary content.