Self-assessment of chemistry laboratory basic skills using performance scoring rubrics at the chemistry teacher training

Abstract

This student self-assessment of chemistry laboratory basic skill performances is intended to overcome the heavy time-consuming and very intensive involvement of lecturer as the only performance assessor, promote and accelerate the skill improvement based on learner self-performance assessment. The study involved 26 students undertaking Basic Chemistry subject at Chemistry Education Department of Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha in Bali. The self-assessment applied the scoring rubric developed by Sudria and Sya’ban. Each item of the 22 assessment items applies five-scaled grading performance indicators as very good, good, sufficient, poor, and very poor. Every skill item was assessed at least three time along the semester and analyzed twice namely at the middle of the semester as data S1 and near the end of the semester as data S2. The same performance assessment was also conducted by a lecturer team as the laboratory work examination at the end of the course as reference data of S3. This study showed significant correlation of S1 and S2 toward S3 with score correlation amounts of 0.520 for r1-3 and 0.588 for r2-3 which were above the critical value of 0.374 at 95% confidence. Guidance and monitoring during laboratory work supported to the success of the self-assessment study.

Measuring and Fostering Preservice Chemistry Teachers’ Scientific Reasoning Competency

“…The former two skills seem to be not only relevant to inquiry experiments exclusively but also to cook-book experimentation. For example, Sudria and colleagues included observing in a set of practical laboratory skills [78].…”

“…For example, Atzert and colleagues demonstrated that self-concept of ability can be measured regarding science experimentation [77]. Sudria and colleagues [78] compared self-assessment and objective assessments of preservice chemistry teacher students' practical skills in a chemistry labora-tory. Their findings suggest that both students' self-assessed skills at the beginning and during the course correlate with objective assessment of their performance by the lecturer.…”

“…Self-concept of ability usually is assessed with regard to three different norms: individual (i.e., development of abilities over time), social (i.e., own ability in relation to others), and criterial (i.e., own ability with regard to an objective measure) [79]. However, in agreement with the criterial rubric Sudria et al used, Atzert et al showed that only the criterial norm informs school students' self-concept of ability regarding science experimentation [77,78].…”

Laboratory Skills Assignments as a Teaching Tool to Develop Undergraduate Chemistry Students’ Conceptual Understanding of Practical Laboratory Skills

“…However, the disadvantage of using such skills–lab approaches as a method of evaluating student skill development is often the time-consuming nature of evaluating individual student performances within a short period of time. To maintain the ability to monitor student skill development, but with a lower time commitment for the course instructor, a recent study described the use of student self-assessments for basic laboratory skills developed in a general chemistry course . To evaluate the development of more than one chemical laboratory skill, significant support from instructors and teaching assistants (TAs) is required.…”

“…To maintain the ability to monitor student skill development, but with a lower time commitment for the course instructor, a recent study described the use of student self-assessments for basic laboratory skills developed in a general chemistry course. 22 To evaluate the development of more than one chemical laboratory skill, significant support from instructors and teaching assistants (TAs) is required. Naturally, the reliance on a large number of teaching assistants has the potential to introduce grading inconsistencies into the evaluation method, especially if teaching assistants themselves are not properly trained to recognize the subtleties of performing the selected skills.…”