A comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of two types of formative assessment

Understanding a student's prior knowledge is a significant issue for teachers as it assists in individualising and implementing effective teaching strategies to ensure that knowledge is processed for the long-term benefit of the student. For the students, understanding their prior knowledge enables them to become aware of the gaps in their knowledge, providing them with the opportunity to consolidate their learning. This thesis explores the use of Concept Cartoons and Concept Maps in the classroom. When students are presented with the opportunity to reflect upon their prior knowledge they reveal information regarding their understanding and misconceptions which contribute to their learning. In this thesis I focus on using these two types of formative assessment to elicit the prior knowledge of students in decimals and fractions. Two Year 7 girls mathematics classes were included in the research to explore to what extent Concept Cartoons and Concept Maps assisted in eliciting prior knowledge, highlighting misconceptions and challenging the acceptance of new knowledge. Each class completed the topics of fractions and decimals. When undertaking fractions students either created a Concept Map or completed a Concept Cartoon. The classes were then reversed for the topic of decimals and those who had previously worked with Concept Cartoons began working with Concept Maps. Concept Cartoons were developed for this research to highlight specific misconceptions in a student's prior knowledge. This thesis presents evidence that Concept Cartoons and Concept Maps can both assist in uncovering a student's prior knowledge and misconceptions, allowing the teacher the opportunity to tailor an effective learning program for them. Evidence was collected through diagnostic testing, student work samples, student interviews and a teacher reflective journal. The overall aim of this research was to compare the strengths and weaknesses of two types of formative assessment.