The Art of Formative Assessment When Engaging in STEAM Learning

Framework

This research study on teacher self-efficacy using arts integration is framed using Bandura’s (1997) Self-Efficacy Theory is rooted in understanding that self-efficacy can come from distinct sources: mastery experiences, verbal persuasion, vicarious experiences, and physiological arousal. Mastery experiences result from teaching and first-hand experience of a teaching accomplishment. Verbal persuasion influences efficacy in the form of encouragement, which can result in the teacher feeling capable of trying a new teaching strategy. Vicarious experiences address a teacher analyzing their own capabilities through observing another teacher. Depending on whether the observers see themselves in the modeling often determines the effect of this source. Physiological states impact self-efficacy because if a teacher feels excited or anxious about facilitating a teaching strategy, self-efficacy will be affected. These four sources of efficacy were used to frame the existing literature on arts integration and the analysis of the data collected for the study.

Methods

For this phenomenological study, eight elementary schools in one large metro school district receiving district support in the area of STEAM and arts integration were selected. Eights participants from each of the eight elementary schools in the district’s arts integration program have been purposefully selected and asked to participate. Selecting eight teacher participants for this study reflects the need for a variety of schools to be represented. Purposive sampling is required to ensure teachers possess self-efficacy in arts integration and the phenomenon of arts-based formative assessment can be closely observed.

The different methods used for this study include an in-depth, semi-structured interview, a classroom observation, and a follow-up interview. The first interview includes a set of planned questions intended to guide the discussion. The questions address the tenets of arts integration: instructional design, instructional strategies, assessment methods, collaboration, and learning environment. The questions intentionally address where the source of teacher efficacy resonates and provides context for these experiences. A classroom observation occurs when teachers are actively engaging in an arts integration. A follow-up interview with participants occurred after the observation.

Results

The study revealed that teachers with high self-efficacy using arts integration most often engaged in the art forms visual arts and drama. The teachers' experiences emphasized that mastery of arts integration did not depend on formal arts training but rather on strong pedagogical beliefs and confidence in using the arts as a formative assessment tool.

Differentiating for Diverse Learners-
Participants shared stories about struggling students who finally spoke or finally lit up when using the arts. With equal enthusiasm, teachers shared stories of using the arts to stretch their gifted learners to think in new ways. When teachers described this appeal, the mastery experience of reaching diverse learning styles was tangible and left teachers feeling capable. Participants discussed the flexibility the arts bring to the process of assessment by emphasizing that not all students learned the same way, reiterating the point that arts integration implements teaching strategies in a variety of forms and is not prescriptive (Hipp & Sulentic Dowell, 2019).

Using the Arts during Guided Instruction-
The teachers who had arts-based formative assessment embedded into the whole group instruction could clearly determine next steps based on student understanding before releasing students to work independently. The visible thinking that occurred when demonstrating understanding through the arts provided teachers with a pulse on the class’s understanding. This was exemplified by moments of guided instruction when participants leveraged the arts as a guided instructional approach. Participants expressed this guided instruction having the potential to inform student grouping, identify what concepts need reviewing, determine additional differentiation needed, and allowing students to receive guided practice with the artform introduced.

Role of Rubrics and Checklists-
Rubrics or checklists were referenced by participants when creating arts-based formative assessments that could guide instruction for both the student and the teacher. Kennedy Center’s CETA framework for the formative assessment process lists included (a) establishing criteria; (b) observing behaviors, conversations, and products; (c) clarifying student understanding through questioning and feedback; and (d) directing students with next steps (Silverstein, 2020). This study provided tangible examples of arts-based formative assessments that could be used within this framework.

The data also revealed that the most effective rubrics provided a measurable objective evaluation tool for assessing student learning. The participants for this study were in different places with their comfortability with designing arts integrative instruction, but they were all unified on the importance of the criteria being objective. When determining criteria that are arts integrated, participants expressed criteria should represent a co-equal approach addressing both the arts and core content standards. Challenges were experienced by some participants who said that their lack of planning time sometimes played a factor in whether they included a rubric in their instruction. Regardless of time playing a factor, all participants discussed the need for arts-based formative assessment to include clear and measurable criteria for students to reference as they engaged in an art form. Three participants discussed putting the criteria on the board in the form of a checklist or students jotting it down in their journals to reference while they were working on a task. This formative practice of students referencing their checklists leading to self-assessing as they worked through the creative process.

Backwards Design for Assessment-
Backwards design is an instructional design principle (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998) and also a subtheme that developed when exploring how teachers design arts-based formative assessment. When designing instruction, all of the teachers referenced a backwards design approach that began with the standard and the task that demonstrated mastery of that standard. The process of starting with the end in mind when designing instruction (Wiggins & McTighe, 1998) is fundamental to the creative processes (Silverstein & Layne, 2020) described in this study.

Teachers stressed that sometimes the arts were used to leverage assessing students along the way, rather than solely assessing the end-product. Participants emphasized that teachers who were new to arts integration should go through the process of all of the steps in an arts-integrated checklist as the artist before using it with students. Clarity in the directions and criteria leads to a more objective assessment tool.

Designing the Learning Environment-
The learning environment emerged in the discussion of mastery experiences for teachers when designing and implementing arts-based formative assessment. The learning environment refers to not only the physical space in a classroom but also the routines and rituals present. Examples of rituals evident in this study included self-reflection routines, daily warm-ups, and peer feedback protocols. As these rituals unfold in classrooms, it was evident that these activities were routine and specific to this learning environment. The arts-integrative learning environment must allow for students to feel connected to one another in the learning process (Hodson, 2018), and the physical environments in this study provided opportunities for this connection to happen.

Teacher Collaboration and Professional Learning-
The data illustrated that teacher collaboration affected how teachers designed arts-based formative assessment. Participants described seeing colleagues model arts integration ideas during their collaborative planning time, and this modeling usually resulted in an increased confidence to try something new.

Most of the participants referenced their experiences with professional learning workshops. Teachers described having the opportunities to observe the arts-based assessment ideas modeled by the trainers. The teacher feedback loop based on these vicarious learning experiences is especially critical, which reemphasizes that teacher self-efficacy is dependent on more follow-up support than a single vicarious experience such as a strong teacher training (Burnaford, 2009; Corbisiero-Drakos et al., 2021; Duma & Silverstein, 2014; Garrett, 2010; Southern et al., 2020; Wilcox et al., 2010).

Teacher-Peer Interactions-
Grade-level planning meetings, friendships among peers, and professional learning workshops emerged as points of contact where verbal persuasion appeared in the data. When teachers designed and implemented arts-based formative assessments, it required a thought partner to exchange ideas and receive validation or encouragement that a proposed idea could work. The study’s data highlighted how verbal persuasion among teachers led not only to generating effective arts-based ideas but also to overcoming challenges that teachers might be facing with a particular class or student. Participants also discussed how verbal persuasion during teacher collaboration generally led to overcoming challenges that without the collective brain power would be difficult to solve.
The data revealed that teacher planning was intentional and implemented by their school administration team school wide. The existing literature in the field linked the lack of intentional collaboration to having a negative impact on teacher self-efficacy using arts integration (Hipp & Sulentic Dowell, 2019; Purnell, 2004). This intentional planning time set aside to verbally discuss how the arts can be used to instruct and assess is a vital component that must be included in understanding the phenomenon of arts-based formative assessment.

Teachers’ Growth Mindset-
During the study’s data collection procedures, the majority of the physiological examples described by participants discussed past failures integrating the arts. Teachers’ openness to admitting times when their teaching and assessing failed was surprising because participants brought it up unprompted throughout the interviews. Instead of giving up when an instructional strategy did not work, teacher participants used this as an opportunity to adjust their teaching approach. These adjustments demonstrated more instances in which formative assessment and teachers’ self-efficacy intersect. The data suggest that the phenomenon of arts-based formative assessment requires a growth mindset on behalf of the teacher when designing and implementing assessments.

Conversely, the data also revealed positive physiological responses that revealed teachers feeling “confident,” “excited,” “proud,” and “happy” when they viewed their facilitation of arts-based instruction as being successful. It was surprising that these positive emotions were used, especially after the participants reflected on a time an arts-based assessment failed. For example, when participants described their lessons that failed, they all discussed how excited they were about improving the lesson next time. Teachers’ resiliency and willingness to reflect led them to redesign their instruction. Participants described failures as opportunities, rather than pitfalls, and the positive physiological arousal that resulted was palpable. Participants also expressed experiences when boredom and lack of engagement in students were motivating factors for selecting an arts-based formative assessment over a more traditional assessment method.

Importance

The educational importance of this study is highlighted when considering the implications. Arts integration engages diverse learners, including struggling and gifted students, which makes it a powerful tool for fostering inclusion in the classroom. This aligns with the growing emphasis on differentiated instruction and reaching students with varying learning needs.

The findings of the study elevate teacher confidence and pedagogical beliefs over formal arts training. School leaders and administrators can staff a school and equip all teachers with access to arts integration training, no matter what their initial background is in the arts. Realizing that this type of teaching does not require specialized art expertise shifts the conversation toward empowering educators to sharpen and grow their assessment practice by including arts-based performance tasks to their existing assessment methods.

By incorporating arts-based strategies into formative assessments, teachers can gain real-time insights into student understanding. This contributes to more dynamic and responsive teaching methods, allowing for immediate instructional adjustments and deeper student engagement. Additionally, the use of rubrics and backward design for arts-based formative assessments supports the trend toward more transparent, objective, and measurable evaluation tools in education. These practices foster clearer expectations and self-assessment opportunities for students. A defined formative assessment approach is needed in the field of STEAM/ interdisciplinary learning.

A final key implication that resulted from the findings was defining the role of teacher collaboration and professional learning in effective arts integration. The data stresses the importance of a supportive learning community when developing/ designing arts-based formative assessments. It is important that teachers value peer collaboration and school leaders create opportunities for collaboration to occur routinely with a cadence that supports arts integrated classroom instruction.

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