Abstract:

The information society and accelerated life are increasingly questioning the adequacy of formal education to the expectations of our time. There is a critical view of some elements of education, and predicting needs for changes, e.g. in the disciplinary subject structure of education, in the extent of the content of the curriculum, in the review of individual topics at a given level of education, in the structure of education divided into age groups, etc.

At the same time, from the perspective of lifelong learning, there is an unquestionable need for a classroom-learning environment that focuses on learning effectiveness and supports meaningful and deep learning.

In STEM subjects, since they fundamentally require different thinking, we usually use strategies to support scientific learning, while the emphasis on mastering concepts is not so a priority.

More emphasis is placed on acquiring concepts through meaningful concept learning in language education. Foreign language teachers, therefore, have always had a more extensive set of teaching tools supporting conceptual knowledge.

However, we should not forget that STEM disciplines dispose of specific terminology subject-specific and may have a completely different meaning in another context. While logic and scientific skills are fundamental in advancing scientific knowledge, on the other hand, pupils also need to be mastered the terminology of science.

This article deals with classroom-learning strategies from the point of view of the learning as mentioned above aspects and the perspective of assessment.

Our primary focus is on the assessment for learning, where we deal with formative assessment tools supporting conceptual learning and conceptual knowledge in science. The study presents a review of theoretical studies focused on selected techniques of formative assessment, their characteristics and methodological aspects with regard to the support of conceptual learning. The paper introduces examples of formative assessment tools that support the acquisition of concepts and professional terminology (conceptual knowledge) and help pupils´ conceptual changes (conceptual learning) in science learning.

Keywords:

Assessment for learning, formative assessment techniques, conceptual knowledge, meaningful learning, science education.