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Summary: Making Connections: Using Classroom Assessment to Elicit
Students' Prior Knowledge and Construction of Concepts
Sarah Schwarm and Tammy VanDeGrift
Computer Science and Engineering
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195
sarahs, tammyˇ @cs.washington.edu
Abstract
Students bring prior knowledge and experiences to the class-
room. According to the constructivist learning theory, stu-
dents incorporate new knowledge into their existing knowl-
edge frameworks. We used Classroom Assessment Tech-
niques in an information technology course to elicit the con-
struction of knowledge process. We found that CATs and
instructor feedback can help shape and reveal this construc-
tion process. Some students claimed that the CATs helped
put new ideas into their own words and helped them sim-
plify the concepts.
1 Introduction
Students do not enter a course with a blank slate; rather, they
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