Teacher Resources - Chapter 10 - Agenda Strategies
SECTION 1: ASSESSING ACTIVE LEARNING
This chapter presents assessment from three vantage points: the classroom level, the national level, and the international level. This approach will provide your students with specific strategies to use to assess classroom instruction, as well as inform them about recent emphases on national and international comparisons of science progress. To augment the constructivist approach advocated in previous chapters, this chapter presents assessment tools for an active learning environment.
Initial Case to Consider: Mrs. Cronin's Whirlybird Project: Assessment in Action?
How should student learning be assessed by classroom teachers? This case study helps raise this question by having your students assess an evaluation procedure used by a classroom teacher--namely performance assessement. In the case, a group of preservice science teachers observe a teacher in action doing the "Whirlybird project" with her students. It's a hands-on activity, and the teacher explains that she is using it as a "test" or assessment procedure.
Use this case study to begin the chapter, because it will help you preview the prior experiences your students have with assessment, and their attitude toward performance assessement.
A Model for Assessment
The NSES and the Benchmarks presents a vision of a scientifically literate populace as the goal of science education. You might use the questions posed on page 302 to discuss with your students their views on a model for assessment. The questions guiding a model would include:
- 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.
Assessing Classroom Learning
We've organized the section of classroom assessment into three categories of methods: diagnostic, formative, and summative, and you might use them to organize a brief overview of assessment in the classroom. They include:
Diagnostic Methods of Assessment
Assessing Students' prior knowledge is explored in this category, and we've included a number of ways that pre-service teachers can use to diagnose students' ideas about the topics and concepts they are teaching including: Group T-Charts, Pictorals and Drawing, Concept Mapping, ande Probing Activities.
The T-chart is a strategy that can be used to assess students' prior knowledge. The chart below shows a T-chart developed by a team of 7th grade students on the topic of ozone.
Formative Methods of Assessment
We've provided a number of strategies that teachers can use to assess and provide feedback on student understanding. Here are a few of them.
- Observing Students
Table 10.1. Observing student informally in small groups can be accomplished by using a chart such as the one shown here. - Asking Questions
- Student Questions
- Conferencingc
- Monitoring Classroom Practice
- Homework
- Alternative Paper and Pencil Tests
- Traditional Paper-and-Pencil Tests
- Traditional Short Answer
- Web-Based Formative Assessments
- Student Writing
- Open-Ended Questions
- Content-Specific Tasks
- Science Journals
- Written Reports, Video or Multimedia Presentations
Summative Methods of Assessment
- Performance-Based Assessment---There are several performance examples in the text. Here is another one for your use with your students.
Portfolios--We've included material on the development of portfolios for secondary students. A powerful example is included for your use with your students and you will find in the Gazette of this chapter.
Inquiry Activities
There are two Inquiry Activities in this section that you can use to organize the content of this section, and they are:
Inquiry Activity 10.1: Designing an Assessment Plan
This inquiry activity is designed to be used in conjunction with a miniunit or unit of teaching that your students have developed. The students will have to make use of the content presented on the types of assessement methods: diagnostic, formative, and summative.
Inquiry Activity 10.2: Designing Performance Assessment Tasks and Rubrics
In this inquiry you are going to lead the students in the development of a performance assessment. You might have the students read the section in the text on performance assessment, and note the examples. We recommend that you have students work in teams to develop the performance assessment, and then present to their peers.
In the inquiry, students should select a Big Idea from Table 10.8 in the text which was developed by identifying one idea from the 8 content areas from the National Science Education Standards.
Assessing Science Learning at the National Level
We recommend that you preview the Nation's Report Card website which will provide information and graphics that you can use with your students to explore the Federal Government's program of long- and short-term assessment of educational progress.
You can examine the year 2000 results online, as well as read abouit them in The Art of Teaching.
Long-term Trend Assessment
Since 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has conducted a series of assessments involving students at various grade levels every 3 - 5 years (in science). The assessments looked at achievement, attitudes, and experiences in science.
Proficiency Levels and Test Items
To examine trends and make comparisons, the NAEP established five levels of proficiency, and designed test items for each level, and used these levels to design tests at various age levels, e.g. 9, 13 & 17.
Figure 10.1: Trends in Average Scale Scores for the Nation in Science
Urban Science Assessment. NAEP has also begun to design assessments for the nation's largest school districts. We've reported on this, and you might find this interesting to discuss with your students.
State Wide High Stakes Assessment. The number of states that use high stakes "graduation" asessments has grown, and so have the problems and issues associated with this trend. We've reported on this, and also cited authors who criticize this trend with data.
Assessing Science at the International Level
We have featured and reported on three international assessment projects. We have provided specific information about each type of assessment.
TIMSS--Trends in Mathematics and Science
PISA--Program for International Student Assessment
ROSE: The Relevance of Science Education
Issues of Concern: There are controversies surrounding the use of large scale international (and national) assessments. We discuss some of the issues, which you will want to discuss with your own students.
SECTION 2: SCIENCE TEACHER GAZETTE
Think Pieces
The think pieces for this chapter provide questions that focus on a range of issues regarding assessment, from the classroom level, to the national and international level.
Case Study: The False Crisis in Science Education
In this case, which is described on the Companion Website, a reporter challenges the status quo that there is a crisis in science education. Her comments are used to engage your students in a debate about the status of science education.
An excellent article published in Scientific American (October, 1999) related to this case is "The False Crisis in Science Education," by W. Wayt Gibbs and Douglas Fox.
Research Matters: Science Literacy: Lessons from the First Generation by Marlene M. Hurley (Please go to the Companion Webiste)
This paper provides a brief overview of the concept of science literacy through its conceptual lineage and current research. A few websites mentioned in the article include:
Problems and Extensions
You might want to use Problem and Extension #4 to link with the countries featured in Chapter 5 (Australia, Chile, China, Ghana, Japan, Russia, Turkey) in terms of international assessment results.
Readings
You will find several key books on the recent trends in assessment listed here.
On the Web
The Web contains a multitude of resources on assessement. I've included a few for quick links.