Chapter 10
Assessing Active Science Learning
How to Read This Chapter
•
Assessment is presented from three
contexts: the classroom context,
assessment at the national level and
assessment at the international
level. If you are looking for
specific assessment strategies, then
you’ll want to focus on the first
part of the chapter. If you are
interested in national and
international assessments then the
sections on these reports will be of
interest. You will want to come
back to this chapter from time-totime to find examples of
assessment strategies that you can
integrate into your teaching plans.
Assessment
at Classroom
Level
A Model
Inquiry
8.1Designing
an Assessment
Plan
Multiple
Methods
Inquiry 8.2:
Designing
Performance
Tasks
Invitations to Inquiry
• What are some trends in the development of assessment strategies?
• What are the components of a comprehensive assessment strategy for
student learning and instruction?
• What the differences among diagnostic, formative, and summative
assessment?
• How can inquiry-based learning be assessed?
• What methods of assessment are effective in understanding student
learning?
• How can assessment items be classified?
• What are the trends in the national assessment of science progress?
• What are the trends in the international assessment of science
achievement?
Chapter 10 Map
Case to Consider: Mrs. Cronin’s
Whirlybird Project
• Read the case of Mrs.
Cronin’s whirlybird
project. Do you think
the project, as
described, is a valid
way to assess student
learning? Why do you
think so?
Example of a whirlybird
Model of Assessment
• Where are you trying to
go?
-identify and communicate
the learning and
performance goals.
• Where are you now?
-assess, or help the student
to self-assess current
levels of understanding.
• How can you get there?
-help the student with
strategies and skills to
reach the goal.
Inquiry Activity 10.1:
Developing an Assessment Plan
• Develop a plan for a miniunit of teaching
• Include:
– A diagnostic assessment
– 2-3 formative assessments
– A summative assessment
• What are the strengths of
your plan?
Using materials in the lab (newspapers, toothpaste, modeling
Clay, sand, water, flour, glue) make a model of the pattern of
You see in the rocks shown in the photograph. Write a brief
Story explaining how you think the pattern in the rocks was
Created.
Methods of Assessment
• Diagnostic
• Formative
• Summative
Formative Assessment: What effect would global
warming have on the range of Artic ice shown here?
Diagnostic Assessment
• Assessing students’
prior knowledge
• T-charts
• Pictorials
• Drawings
• Concept Mapping
• Probes
How could you use this graph as a diagnostic
assessment method with a group of ninth-graders?
Examples: Diagnostic Methods
What we have heard
about ozone?
What questions we
do we have about
ozone?
It makes us burn up. What causes ozone?
It’s smog and it’s
How can we tell if
harmful to us.
there is ozone in the
Makes the earth heat air?
up.
Is it different in the
Air pollution can
center of a city
cause ozone
compared to the
It’s caused by
suburbs?
chemicals in the air. What effect does it
It can be dangerous have on humans?
to people with
Do cars cause it?
breathing problems. What will happen if
There is good and
the ozone in the air is
bad ozone.
all gone?
The T-Chart: A Pre-Assessment Strategy.
Here students in a small group work
together to make a T-chart by answering the
two questions at the the top of each column.
• Pre-assessment--used to
find out student’s prior
knowledge. Three
methods are presented,
including:
– The T-Chart
– Pictorials & Drawings
– Concept Maps
• How would these preassessment strategies help
you in planning lessons
and designing units of
study?
Formative Assessment
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Asking questions
Conferencing
Monitoring/observing
Alternative paper and
pencil
Web-Based Formative
Assessments
Student Writing
Open-Ended Questions
Content-Specific Tasks
Science Journals
Formative assessment: Is it true that the green color in leaves masks
other pigments? If so, why are some trees in this picture green, and
others showing reds, browns, and yellows?
Examples: Formative Assessment
Interpersonal Group 1
skill
Active
Listening
Group 2
Staying on
Task
Asking
Questions
Contributing
Ideas
Interpersonal Skill Observation Form
Group 3
Group 4
• Formative methods can
involve direct interaction
of the teacher with
students, during class or
nonclass time. Which of
these methods would use,
and why?
–
–
–
–
Observing Students
Asking Questions
Student Questions
Conferencing
Summative Methods of
Assessment
• Several formal methods
are presented, including:
– Traditional Paper-andPencil Tests
– Traditional Short Answer
– Student Writing
– Open-Ended Questions
– Content-Specific Tasks
– Science Journals
– Written Reports or
Multimedia Presentations
1.Some changes in the earth's surface are
abrupt (such as earthquakes and volcanic
eruptions) while other changes happen
very slowly (such as uplift and wearing
down of mountains).
2.The earth's surface is shaped in part by
the motion of water and wind over very
long times, which act to level mountain
ranges
These are two Earth Science outcomes from the
Benchmarks for Scientific Literacy for middle and
high school students. Create a formal assessment for
each outcome selecting a different formal method for
each from the list to the left. Consult the Art of
Teaching Science for details on each method, pp.
307-308
Inquiry 10.2: Designing Performance
Assessment Tasks and Rubrics
• In this inquiry you are going to
design a performance task that
would assess student
understanding of a big idea or
concept. Select big
ideas/concepts from the
Standards and the Benchmarks.
Using these statements, you
will be asked to create a
performance task that will
assess learners on the idea.
• An example of a performance
task is shown here.
Performance Task:
The Paper Tower Project
In this asses sment, the teacher is interested
in finding ou t how well teams can work
together to solve a problem and explain
what they have built and the rationale for
their design. Each team is given a sheet of
paper measuring 8.5 x 11 inches, scissors,
and 50 cm of masking tape. The students
are told that the task is to build the tallest
freestanding tower using one sheet of paper.
They will be given 30 minutes to complete
the task. The masking tape can only b e used
to connect pieces of paper; it cannot be used
to fasten the tower to a desk or other
structure. When the towers are built, each
team must present its tower to the class and
explain the rationale for the structure design.
The other groups of students are given a
rubric (see Table 8.4 in the Art of Teaching
Science), which they will use to assess the
presenting team. The teacher also completes
a rubric.
Paper Tower Assessment Project
Science teacher-education students collaborating on
The paper tower project.
Rubric for paper tower
CATEGORY
4
3
2
1
Plan
Plan is neat with
clear
measurements
and labeling for
all components.
Plan is neat with
clear
measurements
and labeling for
most
components.
Plan provides
clear
measurements
and labeling for
most
components.
Plan does not
show
measurements
clearly or is
otherwise
inadequately
labeled.
Function
Structure
functions
extraordinarily
well, holding up
under atypical
stresses.
Structure
functions well,
holding up under
typical stresses.
Structure
functions pretty
well, but
deteriorates
under typical
stresses.
Fatal flaws in
function with
complete failure
under typical
stresses.
Construction Materials
Appropriate
materials were
selected and
creatively
modified in ways
that made them
even better.
Appropriate
materials were
selected and
there was an
attempt at
creative
modification to
make them even
better.
Appropriate
materials were
selected.
Inappropriate
materials were
selected and
contributed to a
product that
performed
poorly.
Construction - Care
Taken
Great care taken
in construction
process so that
the structure is
neat, attractive
and follows plans
accurately.
Construction was
careful and
accurate for the
most part, but 12 details could
have been
refined for a
more attractive
product.
Construction
accurately
followed the
plans, but 3-4
details could
have been
refined for a
more attractive
product.
Construction
appears careless
or haphazard.
Many details
need refinement
for a strong or
attractive
product.
Rubric Design
• Rubistar
• Use Rubistar to design
rubrics for:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
Building a structure
A lab report
Science fair project
Scientific drawings
Group projects
Essay writing
Research report
Portfolios
• Study the sample portfolio
provided in the Science
Teacher Gazette of this
chapter, and use it as a
model to develop a
portfolio based on your
mini-unit, or a chapter
from a middle or high
school science textbook.
Zoology Portfolio
Overview
For the zoology unit you will be required to
develop a portfolio. This portfolio is a collection
of your work that shows what you have learned
during this unit on animal biology. The portfolio
allows you to demonstrate your maturity as an
independent learner who is willing and able to
pursue some personal learning interests. It will
also provide a format in which you will organize
some lab and activity work, which we do during
class time. Your portfolio should be organized
in either a small three-ring binder, or a threeclasp folder with divided sections.
This is the introductory material excerpted from a
complete Zoology portfolio (See Table 8.6 in the Art
of Teaching Science. The portfolio is the major
organizing tool used by the teacher not only to assess
the students, but to describe the syllabus of a unit on
zoology in a biology course. The portfolio is a
creative approach to assessment, and puts greater
responsibility on the part of the students to organize
their work, be involved in small group and individual
work, and make decisions about the activities they
choose.
Assessment at the National Level
• The National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) is
a federally mandated
organization that administers
assessments to measure
educational progress in science,
and other content areas.
• Review the material on NAEP
in the Art of Teaching Science
(pp. 311-320).
• How can the NAEP contribute
to the improvement of
education in U.S. school
districts?
Long-Term Trends in Science
• Find out how the
following have changed
over time based on NAEP
results (science):
Trends in Average Scale Scores for the Nation in Science
•
•
•
•
•
Achievement
Age
Race/Ethnicity
Gender
Parental Education Level and
achievement
• Type of School
• Science Curriculum
• Attitudes
International Assessments
•
•
•
The International Association for
the Evaluation of Educational
Achievement (IEA) has conducted
comparative studies since the
1960s. Known as the Trends in
International Mathematics and
Science Study (TIMSS), students in
more than 40 nations at the fourth,
eighth and final year of high school
have been tested.
PISA--Program for International
Student Assessment
ROSE--Relevance of Science
Education