Assessing Student Scientific Expression Using Media: The Media-Enhanced Science Presentation Rubric (MESPR)

Abstract

The current study evaluated an assessment designed to dually promote student understanding of the experimental method and student ability to include digital and visual qualities in their presentations of scientific experiment results. The rubric, the Media-Enhanced Science Presentation Rubric (MESPR) focuses teacher-student dialogue along the educational objectives of the science method and science literacy required of students to be able to contribute to the scientific enterprise. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) recently advocated for K-12 educators to re-emphasize inquiry-based science in the curriculum to better prepare students for the workforce. The MESPR was evaluated for in-class value and utility to enable teachers to meet AAAS goals of increasing student science content and science literacy knowledge. Results indicated that the MESPR contains face validity (n=5) for increasing science literacy and content validity for focusing teacher-student dialogue on science methodology. Implications point to the clear educational value for enhancing classroom instruction and also identify the need for a large-scale technical evaluation of the reliability and validity qualities of the MESPR for a clear understanding of whether or to what degree results are suitable for informing science education policy-makers.