Aligning Science Assessments to Your States Science AssessmentTesting Program using Understanding by

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Aligning Science Assessments to Your States
Science Assessment/Testing Programusing
Understanding by Design
Presented by East Bay Educational
Collaborative Warren, RI
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Goals

• To identify a process (Understanding by Design)
  whereby valued instructional outcomes can be
  measured in ways that are meaningful and
  consistent with the nature and purpose of science
  instruction.
• To assist teachers to improve their ability to
• identify student understanding
• measure student progress
• maximize future performance. 
• To nurture the use of an electronic forum for the
  sharing of common science assessment tasks

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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
What should students know, understand, and be
able to do? What content is worthy of
understanding? What enduring understandings
are desired? What essential questions will be
explored? (Tomlinson McTighe, 2006)
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Established Goal(s) What relevant goals will
this design address? - Content Standards -
Course or program objectives - Learning
outcomes Share the goals with the students at
the start of the unit. (Tomlinson McTighe,
2006)
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Established Goals Example K-Marbles, Tracks,
Ramps PS3 (K-2) 7--Students demonstrate an
understanding of motion by 7a showing how
pushing/pulling moves or does not move an
object. 7b predicting the direction an object
will or will not move if a force is applied to
it. Students demonstrate an understanding of
force by 7c showing that different objects fall
to earth unless something is holding them up.
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Established Goals Example 4th Grade--Earth
Materials ESS1(3-4)-1 Students demonstrate an
understanding of earth materials by 1a
describing, comparing and sorting rocks, soils
and minerals by similar or different physical
properties (e.g., size, shape, color, texture,
smell, weight, temperature, hardness,
composition) 1b recording and analyzing
observations/data about physical properties
(e.g., within a grouping, some characteristics
are the same and others are different.) 1c
citing evidence (e.g., prior knowledge, data) to
support why rocks, soils or minerals are
classified/not classified together.
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Established Goals Kindergarten-Community Helpers
Determining Importance R14.4 Distinguishing
between literary and informational texts RK7
Demonstrate initial understanding of
informational texts read aloud (expository and
practical texts) by RK7.1 Obtaining
information, using text features (e.g., title and
illustrations) (Local) RK13 Uses
comprehension strategies (flexibly and as needed)
while listening to literary or informational
text. Social Studies - Readers know what a
community is, what a community helper is, and why
they are important and essential to our community.
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Established Goal(s) Independent Work Time 1 (30
minutes)
P 126
When you are done, ask yourself if only the goals
or content standards are directly relevant to the
unit and will be assessed in Stage 2 are listed.
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results

• Understanding(s)
• What are the big ideas?
• What specific understandings about them are
  desired?
• What misunderstandings are predictable?
• - What will the students need to understand to
  meet the goal?

P 30
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Two Types of Enduring Understanding -
Overarching Understandings - Topical
Understandings
Page 114
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Tips on Framing Understandings - Frame the
desired understanding as a full-sentence
generalization in response to the phrase,
Students will understand that - Beware of
stating an understanding as a truism or vague
generality. - Avoid the phrase, Students will
understand how to
Page 116
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Unpacking Goals Method 1 Unpacking Goals
Method 2
P 120-125
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results

• Understandings
• Independent Work Time 2
• (30 minutes)
• When you are done, ask yourself
• Are the understandings derived from or are
  aligned with appropriate goals?
• Are the understandings both overarching and
  topical?
• Are the understandings framed as full-sentence
  generalizations in response to the stem The
  students will understand that?
• Are the understandings not obvious or true by
  definition. They need to be uncovered in order
  for students to come to understand them.

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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Essential Question(s) - What provocative
questions will foster inquiry, understanding, and
transfer of learning? - What questions will the
students need to consider in order to understand
the established goal?
P 125
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Essential Question(s) --Teachers who regularly
use essential questions note that the line
between teaching and assessing becomes
blurred. --At the beginning it will serve as a
diagnostic purpose. - You will know what they
know as well as what misconceptions they
know. -Midway it can serve as a formative
assessment. -At the end it will show you the
students growth.
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Essential Question(s) 6 Practical Tips 1.
Less is more 2. Understanding of key
vocabulary 3. Use kid language 4. Post it
in the classroom 5. Keep engaging and deepening

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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Essential Question(s) 4th Grade
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Essential Question(s) 5th Grade
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Essential Question(s) Kindergarten
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Essential Question(s)
Unpacking Goals Method 1 Unpacking Goals
Method 2
P 120 - 124
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results

• Independent Work Time 3(30 minutes)
• When you are done, ask yourself
• Do the overarching essential questions clarify
  the Big Ideas and connect to other topics and
  contexts, while topical essential questions frame
  and guide inquiry into the topic?
• Are the essential questions thought provoking and
  arguable, rather than leading questions that
  point to the facts?
• Are the essential questions framed in appropriate
  kid language to make them accessible to
  students? (If needed)

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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results

• Knowledge Skills
• What key knowledge and skills will students
  acquire as a result of this unit?
• What should they eventually be able to do as a
  result of such knowledge and skill?
• In order to understand what will students need to
  know and be able to do? - List the important
  knowledge and skills to be learned.

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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Knowledge What we want students to
know -Vocabulary -Terminology -Definition -Ke
y factual information -Formulas -Critical
details -Important events and people -Sequence
and timelines
P 119
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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Skills What we want students to be able to
do -Basic skills -Communication -Thinking
-Research, inquiry, investigation skills -Study
skills -Interpersonal, group skills
P 119
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Vocabulary
Stage 1--Identify Desired Results

• Add vocabulary the teacher will be using and the
• students will be expected to learn throughout the
  
• unit.

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Stage 1--Identify Desired Results
Knowledge, Skills, and Vocabulary Independent
Work Time 4(30 minutes) When you are done,
ask yourself if the key knowledge and skills,
needed to meet the standards and enable the
desired understandings, are identified.
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Aligning Science Assessments to Your States
Science Assessment/Testing Programusing
Understanding by DesignDay 3
Presented by East Bay Educational
Collaborative Warren, RI
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• Roosevelt said that America must be the Great
  Arsenal of Democracy.
• What did Roosevelt mean by that?

Seinfeld Video from Saturday Night Live
www.metacafe.com/watch/175211/history_class/
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Webb, Norman L. and others, Web Alignment Tool
24 July 2005. Wisconsin Center of Educational
Research. University of Wisconsin Madison. 2 Feb
2006.
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Depth-of-Knowledge (DOK) Levels for Science
Webb, Norman L. and others, Web Alignment Tool
24 July 2005. Wisconsin Center of Educational
Research. University of Wisconsin Madison. 2 Feb
2006.
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Instructional Model for Scientific Explanation

• Three components of a scientific explanation
• Claim - the claim is a testable statement or
  conclusion that answers the original question.
• Evidence - the evidence is scientific data that
  supports the students claim.
• Reasoning- a justification that shows why the
  data counts as evidence to support the claim and
  includes appropriate scientific principles

Joseph S. Krajcik,University of
Michigan Katherine L. McNeill, Boston College
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Base Explanation Rubric
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Scientific Explanation Substance and Properties

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• If youre not serious about formative
  assessment, youre really not serious about
  improving student achievement.
• Dylan Wiliam

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Electric Circuits (Posttest)
Inv 4
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Stage 2--Assessment Evidence

• Determine acceptable evidence
• How will we know whether students have achieved
  the desired results?
• What will we accept as evidence of student
  understanding and proficiency?
• - Assessment will reflect desired results
  identified in Stage 1

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Stage 2--Assessment Evidence
Determine acceptable evidence -Through what
authentic performance task(s) will student
demonstrate the desired understandings? -By what
criteria will performances of understanding be
judged?
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Stage 2--Assessment Evidence
Teachers should -At the start of a new unit,
present to the students the types of assessments
that will show evidence of learning (and
understandings) by the end of the unit. -Share
the culminating performance tasks and
accompanying rubric(s) so student will know what
will be expected and how their work will be
judged. -Show models of student work on similar
tasks so students can see what quality work looks
like.
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Stage 2--Assessment Evidence
A Collection of Assessment Evidence Topic________
___________ Performance Tasks Other
Evidence (e.g., tests, quizzes, prompts, work
samples, observations, science notebooks Student
Self-Assessment and Reflection
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Stage 2--Assessment Evidence
Independent Work Time 5 (60 minutes)
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Stage 3--Learning Plan
- Explicitly connect for the students the
learning experiences and the direct instruction
during the unit with the desired results,
essential questions, and expected
performances. - Have students regularly reflect
on what they are learning and how it will help
them with upcoming performance tasks as well as
in life and later in school.
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Stage 3--Learning Plan
Independent Work Time 6 (60 minutes)
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Day 3 Strand Wrap up

• Peer review
• Website sharing
• www.ebecri.org/custom/scienceassessments.html
• scienceassessments_at_ebecri.org
• Evaluation How did you feel about the balance
  between work time and time when we did the
  talking?

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Goals

• To identify a process (Understanding by Design)
  whereby valued instructional outcomes can be
  measured in ways that are meaningful and
  consistent with the nature and purpose of science
  instruction.
• To assist teachers to improve their ability to
• identify student understanding
• measure student progress
• maximize future performance. 
• To nurture the use of an electronic forum for the
  sharing of common science assessment tasks