Fostering scientific literacy with self-evaluation: An intervention study with Chinese fifth graders

Studies on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education reveal that science concept learning is a challenging task for primary school students nowadays. On the other hand, self-evaluation is a promising instructional approach to support science learning with respect to the effectiveness of executive plan, the strategies used, and learning outcomes. Accordingly, we have designed a self-evaluation intervention study to test students’ science academic well-being performance by explicit astronomical concepts rubrics presentation. In our study, 103 primary school students were randomly assigned to two self-evaluation conditions. In the experimental classroom, we compared the standard self-evaluation rubric to standard assessment script. After 15 weeks intervention, results showed that the students in the standard self-evaluation rubric conditions show significantly better science learning motivation and scientific capabilities than the standard assessment script group students. Results also indicated that explicit and detailed requirements are essential factors to support astronomical concept learning task by self-evaluation. Finally, the findings support the engagement statements of the Marzano’s New Taxonomy of Educational Objectives theory (MNT) in science concept learning field. Copyright © 2023 Pixel.