Floating Orange Unit
Developing students role in formative assessment
using the inquiry unit ‘floating orange’
Background:
Rationale:
• class of 30 students
aged 12/13 y.o.,
inexperienced in
working in an open
inquiry way
• groups of 4 similar
attainment working in
mixed gender pairs
• Inquiry skills focus for
assessment ‘raising
questions’
‘collaboration’ ‘self
assessment’
• easy to resource
• appreciate how real
scientists work in
collaboration within a
team
• captures the students
interest
• raise scientific
questions that they
wanted to investigate
Getting going:
• Explain inquiry lesson
• Providing basic laboratory
equipment
• Decide student groups
• Value all questions raised
• Probe student reasoning
through teacher higher
order thinking questions
• Promote group discussion
• Encourage practical
exploration
Example of students’
questions:
‘Does the waxy skin help it
float?’
‘Does the heavier orange float
lower in the water?’
Assessment: Teacher observation, coupled with students self review contributes to the teacher final assessment
judgment. The rubric below is a work in progress. Students were generally at the ‘crafting’ stage.
Inquiry Skill Assessed
Rubric to
support self
assessment
raising
inquiry
questions
Emerging
Novice
can discuss a number
of questions to test
within your group.
can agree as a group
which is the most
appropriate to test and
describe how and why
you came to that
decision.
can raise a number
of testable
questions and have
views on how to
gather the data to
test them.
can give an
explanation for
questions based on
scientific ideas.
Impact on Teacher:
•
Using a rubric for peer/self
assessment alongside teacher
observation provides two
effective assessment
opportunities.
• Sharing the success criteria with
students enabled them to
understand how they were being
assessed and supported them to
structure their practical inquiry.
Progression
Crafting
Experienced
can raise a
number of
testable questions
and provide a
hypothesis.
resolve
differences
through systems
like voting
can raise a number of
testable questions and
provide a hypothesis
supported by a well
thought through
explanation.
can explain what
results to look for to
prove or disprove the
hypothesis.
decisions taken are
well explained well
Impact on students:
• Their confidence grew quickly, no longer seek
guidance every step
• Quickly realised that there are no ‘correct’
question to ask.
• Greater student engagement
“I like it more than usual as we don’t have to watch the
teacher – we spend more time doing the practical work.”
“It’s good because we can see how we are doing in the
practical work.”
SAILS project C3 undertaken by Zara Patrick, Hinchingbrooke School, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire.
Email: zep@hinchbk.cambs.sch.uk
Expert
can raise a number of
testable questions and
provide a hypothesis
which draws on sound
scientific principles and
understand what data you
will be seeking.
can explain what results
to look for to prove or
disprove the hypothesis.
can highlight difficulties
with proving or disproving
your hypothesis
Impact on Department:
• Inquiry approach used in
all practical science
• Development of
independent learners
• Rubric grids used as part
of our assessment
process during all
practical sessions across
KS3