Enhancing young children's science learning through science teachers' formative assessment practices

This study aimed to find out how science teachers use formative assessment to enhance children's learning. Data were collected through observing 45 male and female teachers in the classroom using an observation checklist based on international standards to assess teachers' practices in som...

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Main Authors: Rommel Mahmoud AlAli, Ali Ahmad Al-Barakat
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1503088/full
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author Rommel Mahmoud AlAli
Ali Ahmad Al-Barakat
author_facet Rommel Mahmoud AlAli
Ali Ahmad Al-Barakat
author_sort Rommel Mahmoud AlAli
collection DOAJ
description This study aimed to find out how science teachers use formative assessment to enhance children's learning. Data were collected through observing 45 male and female teachers in the classroom using an observation checklist based on international standards to assess teachers' practices in some aspects, such as planning the learning objectives, gathering evidence from activities, providing feedback, self-assessment, peer assessment, and promoting classroom collaboration. The results revealed that teachers' performance in applying formative assessment practices was at a low level across all criteria, as there were weaknesses in planning learning objectives and aligning them with lesson content, as well as a lack of effective use of educational activities to assess student progress. The feedback provided by teachers was insufficient to motivate students to improve their performance, and classroom interaction was limited. Furthermore, there was a lack of opportunities for students to assess themselves and their peers, indicating weaknesses in organizing self-assessment activities. In addition, there were no statistically significant differences in teachers' formative assessment practices based on gender and teaching experience, highlighting the importance of professional development for all teachers to enhance their teaching practices. These results suggest a significant need to improve teachers' skills in applying formative assessment and providing appropriate training.
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spelling doaj-art-4f53cec8c4c0459898ad9cda5147c4dc2025-08-20T02:34:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Education2504-284X2025-06-011010.3389/feduc.2025.15030881503088Enhancing young children's science learning through science teachers' formative assessment practicesRommel Mahmoud AlAli0Ali Ahmad Al-Barakat1The National Research Center for Giftedness and Creativity, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa, Saudi ArabiaFaculty of Educational Sciences, Yarmouk University, Irbid, JordanThis study aimed to find out how science teachers use formative assessment to enhance children's learning. Data were collected through observing 45 male and female teachers in the classroom using an observation checklist based on international standards to assess teachers' practices in some aspects, such as planning the learning objectives, gathering evidence from activities, providing feedback, self-assessment, peer assessment, and promoting classroom collaboration. The results revealed that teachers' performance in applying formative assessment practices was at a low level across all criteria, as there were weaknesses in planning learning objectives and aligning them with lesson content, as well as a lack of effective use of educational activities to assess student progress. The feedback provided by teachers was insufficient to motivate students to improve their performance, and classroom interaction was limited. Furthermore, there was a lack of opportunities for students to assess themselves and their peers, indicating weaknesses in organizing self-assessment activities. In addition, there were no statistically significant differences in teachers' formative assessment practices based on gender and teaching experience, highlighting the importance of professional development for all teachers to enhance their teaching practices. These results suggest a significant need to improve teachers' skills in applying formative assessment and providing appropriate training.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1503088/fullformative assessmentscience learninglearning environmentspracticeschildren
spellingShingle Rommel Mahmoud AlAli
Ali Ahmad Al-Barakat
Enhancing young children's science learning through science teachers' formative assessment practices
Frontiers in Education
formative assessment
science learning
learning environments
practices
children
title Enhancing young children's science learning through science teachers' formative assessment practices
title_full Enhancing young children's science learning through science teachers' formative assessment practices
title_fullStr Enhancing young children's science learning through science teachers' formative assessment practices
title_full_unstemmed Enhancing young children's science learning through science teachers' formative assessment practices
title_short Enhancing young children's science learning through science teachers' formative assessment practices
title_sort enhancing young children s science learning through science teachers formative assessment practices
topic formative assessment
science learning
learning environments
practices
children
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feduc.2025.1503088/full
work_keys_str_mv AT rommelmahmoudalali enhancingyoungchildrenssciencelearningthroughscienceteachersformativeassessmentpractices
AT aliahmadalbarakat enhancingyoungchildrenssciencelearningthroughscienceteachersformativeassessmentpractices