EDUC557

Advanced Methods of Teaching Math and Science

Assignment 1

Prepared by

Nivin El Dorra - ID 31930734

Raneem Awad - ID 31130734

Abdul Razzak Hammoud - ID 32010008

Zeinab Saffieddine - ID 72010042

Batoul Kawtharani - ID 11310164

Instructed to: Hosam Kasti

Fall 2020-2021

PISA stands for “Program for International Student Assessment”; it is a competency-

based assessment that aims to evaluate educational systems worldwide every three years. PISA
tests the real life skills and knowledge of 15-year old students in order to aid governments in

assessing the effectiveness of their educational systems and enhance them. Through constructing

critical thinking, problem solving and conceptual understanding, PISA will empower and help

prepare students for their future. An extensive procedure is used for this cognitive assessment to

measure reading, mathematical and scientific literacy of students.

Scientific literacy framework comprises four interrelated aspects: the contexts in which tasks

are embedded, the competencies that students need to apply, the knowledge domains involved,

and students’ attitudes towards science. Only a sample of students’ knowledge of science can be

assessed in any one PISA assessment. The assessed knowledge could be selected from the major

fields of physics, chemistry, biology, Earth and space science, and technology.

In order to enhance student’s support for scientific enquiry, teachers must contribute to make

students comprehend the general and personal value of science. In order to achieve a strong

positive association between the students and scientific literature, teachers should assess the self-

efficacy in science to measure understanding, along with students’ self-concept. In order to

improve learning, students should have a positive attitude toward science, and equipped with

scientific literacy in order to be responsible towards resources and the environment.

Since the unproductive methodology in teaching constrains the students ability to relate

science to real life, a new paradigm of science teaching is adopted that focuses on using multiple

intelligences and facilitates self learning and self actualization. Teachers along with governments

can adopt various activities in order to enhance scientific literacy and develop positive scientific

attitudes.
 Scientific literacy is explained through different question formats such as multiple choice

questions, open responses, binary choices among others, where each type serves to measure a

certain aspect of the student's knowledge system, competency, content, context and cognitive

demand.

Assessment of scientific skills is integral to the teaching-learning process, facilitating

student learning and improving instruction. Traditional testing such as formative and summative

assessments provides a quantitative measure of achievement level of learning outcomes, yet it

does not reflect on actual learning. A more systematic approach in assessing the learner’s ability

in constructing and applying the knowledge and skills in the real world is “Authentic

assessment”. A more student- centered approach is adopted to construct skills through tasks that

are analogous to real life challenges. Rubric for assessment is a tool designed to evaluate

authentic tasks in order to enhance learning through implementation of different strategies for

learning from authentic assessment.

Upon the participation of different countries in PISA to measure students’ skill level

promoting them as global citizens, governments can understand the effectiveness of their

educational systems. PISA helps in reforming educational systems in order to ensure teacher

quality enhancement, curricular refinement and attainment of desired learning outcomes.