Assessment Study

1. Assessment Study Miss Sarah Ramp & Mrs. Jodie Ellenwood’s 3rd Grade Class 2009

2. Overview of Class • Mrs. Ellenwood’s 3rd grade class consists of a diverse group of 24 students • Gender: There is an even distribution of boys and girls • Race: There is a good mix of Caucasians and African Americans • Intellect: There is an advanced reading group (6 students), advanced math group (3 students), special education group (4 students), and students everywhere in between

3. Overview of Selection • I selected 4 students to assess that represented the full range of diversity: • A upper-level, white female (in both advanced reading and math group) • A medium to upper-level, white male (neither advanced nor special ed. group) • A medium to lower-level, black female (neither advanced nor special ed. group) • A lower-level, black male (special education group)

4. Assessment 1 Overview • For the first assessment, I used my introduction lesson to my unit Helpful Bugs so I could establish an understanding of where the students were with their knowledge and perspective of bugs being helpful with three different kinds of data • Work Samples: Pictures I had them draw based on the prompt: “What do you think of when you hear the word ‘Bugs’?” and writing based on the prompt: “What do you think you know about bugs?” • Evidence of Thinking: Interpreted from short discussions with the students while they were working and from their work samples • Classroom Benchmarks: Students’ progress at achieving the 5 criteria I previously established according to my definition of what it means to achieve the overall goal of “gaining a better understanding of helpful bugs” (progress determined from the other two data types)

5. Assessment 1: Student 1 Work Sample Prompt: Draw a picture showing what you think of when you hear the word: ‘Bugs’

6. Assessment 1: Student 1 Work Sample Prompt: Write what you think you know about ‘Bugs’ and What you want to know about ‘Bugs’

7. Assessment 1: Student 1 Evidence of Thinking • Direct Discussion: She said she knew some stuff about bugs and that she wrote down pretty much what she knew, but not everything. By “some stuff,” I believe she means general information, and by “not everything,” I also believe that she knows more specific information than she wrote down, but because of the space and time limit she was unable to write everything she knew and as a result she just gave a general overview. • Picture: Her picture shows she has an accurate grasp of the actual size of ladybugs by the scale of the bug and everything else, that she knows ladybugs are red and black, and that she sees bugs as tiny creatures- she is not thinking about bug as having specific parts. By the scenery, I know she thinks of bugs as creatures who live outside and are part of the environment, but because there is only one ladybug she shows a lack of thinking about bugs as part of a community. • Writing: She knows a lot of general information about bugs, and she probably knows more specific information, but because of the time constraint she decided to list general things in order to incorporate as much of her knowledge as possible. She has a misunderstanding of what I am considering a bug- considers “bugs” to be insects (have 6 legs), yet by listing “some bugs are [this]. Some bugs are [that],” it shows she understands that there is a wide variety of insects which is a specific category of bugs- so she knows more about bugs than she thinks. Her question shows that she thinks bugs are amazing and that she recognizes that there are many ways bugs are amazing that she does not yet know.

8. Assessment 1: Student 1 Benchmarks • Goal: Gain a better understanding of ‘Helpful Bugs’ • Be able to label specific parts of bugs accurately • See bugs as part of a cooperating community • Know that there are a variety of bugs (4+) • Recognize that bugs can be helpful • Understand specifically how • Butterflies are helpful • Bees are helpful • Worms are helpful • Ants are helpful

9. Assessment 1: Student 2 Work Sample Prompt: Draw a picture showing what you think of when you hear the word: ‘Bugs’ • and • Write what you want to know about ‘Bugs’

10. Assessment 1: Student 2 Work Sample Prompt: “Write what you think you know about ‘Bugs’?

11. Assessment 1: Student 2 Evidence of Thinking • Direct Discussion: Unprompted, she concernly told me she “[didn’t] know anything about bugs” and didn’t have anything to write down. After being encouraged to write about her drawing of bugs, she wrote some incorrect facts about spiders, but was able to realize that she did know more than she originally thought. • Picture: She focuses more on the scenery than the bug, expressing her “lack of knowledge” of bugs, but her picture shows she knows more than she thinks. She stated that spiders have 4 legs but the one in her drawing has 8. She knows spiders are bugs, that some are black, they make webs, that they live outside as part of our environment, etc. but does no realize it. The facial expression on the girl (her) portrays her dislike for spiders, and bugs in general, since a spider is “all she knows” about bugs. • Writing: She does not have much of a background of knowledge when it comes to bugs. She knows more than she realizes (apparent by her picture), but does not recognize this probably because she has never been formally taught about “bugs.” She does have some confusion and some incorrect understandings which show specifically her limited knowledge and way of thinking about bugs.

12. Assessment 1: Student 2 Benchmarks • Goal: Gain a better understanding of ‘Helpful Bugs’ • Be able to label specific parts of bugs accurately • See bugs as part of a cooperating community • Know that there are a variety of bugs (4+) • Recognize that bugs can be helpful • Understand specifically how • Butterflies are helpful • Bees are helpful • Worms are helpful • Ants are helpful

13. Assessment 1: Student 3 Work Sample Prompt: Draw a picture showing what you think of when you hear the word: ‘Bugs’

14. Assessment 1: Student 3 Work Sample Prompt: “Write what you think you know about ‘Bugs’?

15. Assessment 1: Student 3 Evidence of Thinking • Direct Discussion: At the beginning when I asked him what he drawing, he told me a spider eating a fly. When I asked why he picked that, he told me “because spiders are cool. They eat other bugs.” He views spiders, a specific kind of bug, as “cool” and interesting, but really shows no interests in the other kinds of bugs that spiders eat or anything else spiders do besides eat other bugs. • Picture: His original picture idea of a spider eating a fly changed by the end. When I came by later he had two spiders, a bee, and a fly that was not being eaten, and he had started labeling the different parts of the bugs in pencil overtop of his coloring. I believe his picture changed because his ideas were influenced by the person sitting across from him, since his looked fairly similar to theirs who had labeled the body parts from the start. His picture still shows that his primary focus is on spiders since he drew two of them, and it shows that acknowledges that there are at least three different kinds of bugs and that they have specific parts, but he is not quite labeling them accurately yet. • Writing: His written description matches his picture labeling very well, showing that he is acknowledging that bugs have specific body parts, but not quite accurately. His questions than don’t have anything to do with his picture, referencing beetles and leeches. These two, in addition to his picture that has three bugs, shows he knows there are a wide variety of bugs.

16. Assessment 1: Student 3 Benchmarks • Goal: Gain a better understanding of ‘Helpful Bugs’ • Be able to label specific parts of bugs accurately • See bugs as part of a cooperating community • Know that there are a variety of bugs (4+) • Recognize that bugs can be helpful • Understand specifically how • Butterflies are helpful • Bees are helpful • Worms are helpful • Ants are helpful

17. Assessment 1: Student 4 Work Sample Prompt: Draw a picture showing what you think of when you hear the word: ‘Bugs’

18. Assessment 1: Student 4 Work Sample Prompt: “Write what you think you know about ‘Bugs’?

19. Assessment 1: Student 4 Evidence of Thinking • Direct Discussion: He asked if I liked his picture, and then proceeded to tell me that this was an evil bug. He didn’t remember the exact name, but this is what the exact bug that stung one of his distant relatives in Africa and it pumped so much venom into her that she died. This shows that he apparently had a traumatizing experience with a bug and because of it, his initial thought when he hears the word “bugs” is of a poisonous, killing bug. • Picture: His picture is very colorful and detailed according to what he has imagined this deadly bug to be. He recognizes that it is over in Africa, and that this bug is part of the wild, but he did not label any general or specific parts of the bug. He is focused on the general picture and that this bug is poisonous. • Writing: He specifically says that this is one of the diseased bugs in the world. There is a hint that maybe some might not be diseased or poisonous, but he never specifically states this so he is clearly focused on the venomous kinds. He thinks of bugs as being deadly and something to stay away from.

20. Assessment 1: Student 4 Benchmarks • Goal: Gain a better understanding of ‘Helpful Bugs’ • Be able to label specific parts of bugs accurately • See bugs as part of a cooperating community • Know that there are a variety of bugs (4+) • Recognize that bugs can be helpful • Understand specifically how • Butterflies are helpful • Bees are helpful • Worms are helpful • Ants are helpful

21. Assessment 2 Overview • For the second assessment, I used an introduction activity at the start of my 3 day focus on worms. This allowed me to assess their specific Phase 2 knowledge gained about pollinating bugs from the previous 6 lessons on butterflies and bees, and a the same time, assess their Phase 1 background knowledge of worms before we learned about them by collecting 3 different kinds of data. • Work Samples: Venn diagrams comparing Pollinators (butterflies and bees) to worms and a written explanation of “how well the think they did” • Evidence of Thinking: Interpreted from short discussions with the students while they were working and from their work samples • Classroom Benchmarks: Students’ progress at achieving the 5 criteria I previously established according to my definition of what it means to achieve the overall goal of “gaining a better understanding of helpful bugs” (progress determined from the other two data types)

22. Assessment 2: Student 1 Work Sample Prompt: Compare pollinators (butterflies and bees) to worms based on what you know

23. Assessment 2: Student 1 Work Sample Prompt: How well do you think you did, or how much do you think you know?

24. Assessment 2: Student 1 Evidence of Thinking • Direct Discussion: When I asked her how she was doing, she told me, “O.K. I don’t know as much about worms. I know more about butterflies and bees because we just learned about them.” Although she probably did know more about the pollinators, she was still busy listing lots of information in all three categories, so she knew more than she gave herself credit for, especially compared to the rest of the class. • Venn Diagram: She ended up with eight things under both pollinators and worms, and then two things in the middle. The eight things paralleled each other; what she thought of for pollinators she listed a corresponding fact under worms. So by just her Venn Diagram, it appears that she knew just as much information about worms as she did pollinators even though she didn’t think she did. She also had more than most of her classmates under worms and was one of the few that had anything in the middle section. She already knew that worms are not insects, that worms are helpful by improving the soil, and that all three bugs help the environment before we even talked about worms at all. • Writing: Her written expression of how she thought she did was followed exactly what she had told me in person. Again, I think she knew more than she thought and definitely did better than she realized. I’m sure she knew more about pollinators than she put down, especially because she said she did better on them than worms, but all of her worm information paralleled the facts under her pollinators so it appears that she knew the same amount.

25. Assessment 2: Student 1 Benchmarks • Goal: Gain a better understanding of ‘Helpful Bugs’ • Be able to label specific parts of bugs accurately • See bugs as part of a cooperating community • Know that there are a variety of bugs (4+) • Recognize that bugs can be helpful • Understand specifically how • Butterflies are helpful • Bees are helpful • Worms are helpful • Ants are helpful

26. Assessment 2: Student 2 Work Sample Prompt: Compare pollinators (butterflies and bees) to worms based on what you know

27. Assessment 2: Student 2 Work Sample Prompt: How well do you think you did, or how much do you think you know?

28. Assessment 2: Student 2 Evidence of Thinking • Direct Discussion: As I approached her, she exclaimed, “Ms. Ramp I can’t think of anything for the middle!” I reassured her that was okay and she just had to try her best, and she said, “I did. I can’t think of any more!” I told her to keep thinking, and we went over what she already had down to see if that would trigger some other ideas, but she had already convinced herself that she couldn’t do it. She knows more than she thinks or realizes and gives up early. If she were able to relax more and not get frustrated and shut down as soon as she gets stuck she would be able to get more done. • Venn Diagram: Her thinking about bugs is still pretty broad- her lists were limited to what butterflies and bees make and what worms do. If she would have not shut down and listened to my coaching, she would have been able to put some corresponding things down from what she had for the opposite side (like the pollinators fly, that worms are not insects, etc.). She did recognize how bees and butterflies were helpful and that they are both insects, which was an improvement. • Writing: She obviously over exaggerated and thought she did worse than she really did and is not stupid; she got one of the main points I was looking for: how the bugs are helpful. She got stuck, got flustered, and just gave up, which is a pretty common thing for her. If she can’t get something right away, then she’s stupid, and nothing you can tell her will change her mind even if her work is perfectly fine. She knows more than she thinks and never gives her self a change to show it.

29. Assessment 2: Student 2 Benchmarks • Goal: Gain a better understanding of ‘Helpful Bugs’ • Be able to label specific parts of bugs accurately • See bugs as part of a cooperating community • Know that there are a variety of bugs (4+) • Recognize that bugs can be helpful • Understand specifically how • Butterflies are helpful • Bees are helpful • Worms are helpful • Ants are helpful

30. Assessment 2: Student 3 Work Sample Prompt: Compare pollinators (butterflies and bees) to worms based on what you know

31. Assessment 2: Student 3 Work Sample Prompt: How well do you think you did, or how much do you think you know?

32. Assessment 2: Student 3 Evidence of Thinking • Direct Discussion: When I came around to this student, he was just sitting at his desk. I asked if he was stuck, and he said, “I’m just thinking.” I told him to try and think back to what we had learned about butterflies and bees, and then left him alone to think. I know that he knew more than he had down, and he knew that too, or he would have told me he was done or that he didn’t know anymore. For some reason, he must have just been having a hard time remembering specific characteristics of bees and butterflies at that time. After I left he filled in “insect,” “alive,” and “eat” in his Venn Diagram. • Venn Diagram: He had very broad things down in all three categories, but it showed that he was thinking and at making a good effort to fill in all of the categories. It is obvious that all three are alive and eat, but he was still able to come up with them as things they had in common where most students weren’t able to list anything. He was making a conscious effort and trying his best, and even though some of his points were very broad, they all worked and made sense for the most part. • Writing: I would agree with his written statement of “I did ok.” It appears that originally he had down “good,” then he switched it to “bad,” and lastly decided on O.K.” The student next to him was not taking things seriously and shouted out and wrote down “I did great” after I asked them to flip over their papers and write how they think they did, so he probably put down “Good.” Then some girls started talking out loud how they were stupid and did really bad, so he probably switched it to “bad.” Ultimately, he ended up at “Good,” which shows that he was honest, even though it seems like he often looks at his peer’s work around him and is easily influenced by others.

33. Assessment 2: Student 3 Benchmarks • Goal: Gain a better understanding of ‘Helpful Bugs’ • Be able to label specific parts of bugs accurately • See bugs as part of a cooperating community • Know that there are a variety of bugs (4+) • Recognize that bugs can be helpful • Understand specifically how • Butterflies are helpful • Bees are helpful • Worms are helpful • Ants are helpful

34. Assessment 2: Student 4 Work Sample Prompt: Compare pollinators (butterflies and bees) to worms based on what you know

35. Assessment 2: Student 4 Work Sample None Prompt: How well do you think you did, or how much do you think you know?

36. Assessment 2: Student 4 Evidence of Thinking • Direct Discussion: When I approached him, he wanted me to listen to all he had written, and proceeded to read me all of his facts about bees. He obviously was paying attention and retained much more than I would have guessed he did from the previous days. He must have made some sort of connection with bees and found them really fascinating for some reason, perhaps the “Queen, Drone, Worker Bee” game since most of what he wrote down related to the lesson from that day. • Venn Diagram: He did not quite fill out the Venn Diagram out correctly, basically writing a story and putting all of his focus on bees instead of listing things that bees and butterflies had in common. He did put what he knew about worms though, and did include a little bit about butterflies when I reminded him not to forget about them. His memory and the amount of things he produced did surprise me though because he did a lot more work than he normally does or is able to with his other work. • Writing: He did not get to this part because he spent so much time writing about bees and works at a slower pace than most of the students. It shows that he has really found bees interesting and learned a lot about them since he is able to reproduce so much information from what we learned. Judging from my discussion with him though I believe he thinks he did fairly well.

37. Assessment 2: Student 4 Benchmarks • Goal: Gain a better understanding of ‘Helpful Bugs’ • Be able to label specific parts of bugs accurately • See bugs as part of a cooperating community • Know that there are a variety of bugs (4+) • Recognize that bugs can be helpful • Understand specifically how • Butterflies are helpful • Bees are helpful • Worms are helpful • Ants are helpful

38. Assessment 3 Overview • For the third assessment, I gave the students a test at the request of Mrs. Ellenwood. It was a fairly simple test covering the basic things that were I emphasized over the entire 3 week period. This allowed me to directly compare their progress in work, confidence, and knowledge from the beginning of the Helpful Bugs unit to the end • Work Samples: Fairly simple test involving 5 multiple choice, 4 picture labeling, 1 sequencing, 4 short answer, and then the same drawing activity that they had for the 1st assessment since the students enjoyed the activity so much. • Evidence of Thinking: Interpreted from comparative differences from the original picture and the final picture. I was unable to conference with them after looking over and grading the tests due to a lack of time. • Classroom Benchmarks: Students’ progress at achieving the 5 criteria I previously established according to my definition of what it means to achieve the overall goal of “gaining a better understanding of helpful bugs” (progress determined from the other two data types)

39. Assessment 3: Student 1 Work Sample

40. Assessment 3: Student 1 Work Sample Prompt: Draw a picture showing what you think of when you hear the word: ‘Bugs’

41. Assessment 3: Student 1 Evidence of Thinking • Assessment Test: She got a perfect score, showing that she is able to label specific parts of bugs accurately, know there are a variety of bugs and that they can be helpful. Her short answer on the third page also clearly illustrates that she knows how butterflies, bees, worms, and ants are helpful and that they are part of a cooperating community. She had met most of the bench marks before this final assessment, but this reassures that she has been able to meet all of my goals for them in the three weeks. • Picture Comparison: Her first and second pictures are very similar at first glance, but her second one has more detail in the background and she has included a butterfly, bee, and ants and an anthill in addition to her ladybug. Even though the second one has more detailed labels for the landscaping items, she still did not go into more detailed labeling with the bug parts. Her initial idea of bugs has expanded to include more than just ladybugs while still maintaining a lot of her initial background things making it somewhat of a garden scene. She has been able to learn new things, and apply it and add it to previous knowledge.

42. Assessment 3: Student 1 Benchmarks • Goal: Gain a better understanding of ‘Helpful Bugs’ • Be able to label specific parts of bugs accurately • See bugs as part of a cooperating community • Know that there are a variety of bugs (4+) • Recognize that bugs can be helpful • Understand specifically how • Butterflies are helpful • Bees are helpful • Worms are helpful • Ants are helpful

43. Assessment 3: Student 2 Work Sample

44. Assessment 3: Student 2 Work Sample Prompt: Draw a picture showing what you think of when you hear the word: ‘Bugs’

45. Assessment 3: Student 2 Evidence of Thinking • Assessment Test: She only got one point off on the entire test, and that was because she said that worms are helpful because they “loosen water,” which I think is a misprint. She had down that worms decompose, and I believe she meant that worms loosen the dirt which lets water. This assessment shows she is capable of labeling specific parts of bugs accurately, that she knows there are a variety of bugs, and that they can be helpful. Her short answer on the third page also clearly illustrates that she knows how butterflies, bees, worms, and ants are helpful, and her answer of “making [the] world clean and being a team!” shows she sees them as part of a cooperating community despite her one slightly off answer. This final assessment, demonstrates that she has been able to meet all of my goals for them in the three weeks. • Picture Comparison: Her first and second pictures are very different. Her first picture showed her firth though of bugs was a dislike of spiders, and this picture shows a much happier picture of a colorful butterfly. She also correctly labeled the specific butterfly body parts on her own. She has come a long way from her initial thinking and view of bugs. A comparison of these two pictures proves she has been able to learn many new things about bugs over the three weeks and that she now sees bugs as possibly being a positive, helpful part of our environment.

46. Assessment 3: Student 2 Benchmarks • Goal: Gain a better understanding of ‘Helpful Bugs’ • Be able to label specific parts of bugs accurately • See bugs as part of a cooperating community • Know that there are a variety of bugs (4+) • Recognize that bugs can be helpful • Understand specifically how • Butterflies are helpful • Bees are helpful • Worms are helpful • Ants are helpful

47. Assessment 3: Student 3 Work Sample

48. Assessment 3: Student 3 Work Sample Prompt: Draw a picture showing what you think of when you hear the word: ‘Bugs’

49. Assessment 3: Student 3 Evidence of Thinking • Assessment Test: He got 26 points out of 30, mixing up some of the multiple choice in the beginning and two of the life cycle stages on the third page. But the rest of his test was very good, and it illustrated his ability to label specific parts of bugs accurately, know there are a variety of bugs, that they can be helpful, and how specifically butterflies, bees, worms, and ants are helpful. His short answers hinted at the idea that they work cooperatively work together, but never directly state it. Overall, his final assessment demonstrates that he has made great improvement over the three weeks and been able to clearly meet all but one of my goals for them. • Picture Comparison: His first and second pictures are also very different. His first picture had spiders, a fly, and a bee with incorrectly labeled body parts. His second explicitly portrays his gained knowledge of bugs with his greater variety, accurate labeling of bogy parts, and little blurbs about whether or not the bugs are insects. He even expresses some humor and fun creativity with his little guy and word bubbles. He has come a long way in his accuracy and knowledge from his initial thinking. A comparison of these two pictures proves he has learned many new things over the three weeks about bugs and insects and that he now sees bugs as possibly being a positive, helpful part of our environment.

50. Assessment 3: Student 3 Benchmarks • Goal: Gain a better understanding of ‘Helpful Bugs’ • Be able to label specific parts of bugs accurately • See bugs as part of a cooperating community • Know that there are a variety of bugs (4+) • Recognize that bugs can be helpful • Understand specifically how • Butterflies are helpful • Bees are helpful • Worms are helpful • Ants are helpful