Formative assessment probes – starting points for responsive teaching in KS2

Our starting point was to state three key findings from research: 

• Learners of all ages apply effort to make sense of concepts and phenomena 

• Learners  initially construct their own explanations with ideas that originate from many different places and make sense to them 

• Misconceptions can be tenacious and learners need to articulate their ideas, compare them with others and reconcile differences 

The ASE published a book called Understanding Children’s Ideas in Science which offers a way of addressing this challenge.  The book contains a comprehensive series of purposefully designed questions called probes, each of which provides a way of identifying children’s ideas about a particular concept or phenomenon without making them feel they are being tested.  The evidence can then be used to support responsive teaching, providing insights into misconceptions and how to help students work through them. 

Each of the probes is in two parts.  They present the pupil with a context and ask for their best idea.  They then ask the child to explain their answer.  Each probe is accompanied by teacher notes which include guidance on the interpretation of responses, a summary of the research base on commonly held ideas and implications for teaching, suggesting ideas as to how the teacher can respond. 

The workshop then shared a number of examples of probes followed by some sample pupil responses from a practising teacher. It finished by emphasising key points about the use of the probes, including the idea that they should ideally be used with pupils not just once but twice, to reveal the extent to which teaching has been effective in developing their understanding. 

The publication can be ordered from Millgate House at: Understanding Children's Ideas in Science - Millgate and includes a digital download of the materials.