PSPH 228 Assessment in K-12 Science Education Fall 2010

1. PSPH 228 Assessment in K-12 Science EducationFall 2010 Dr. RUSSELL G. WRIGHT russ@gwu.edu 301-806-7252

2. Agenda Introductions Pretest Syllabus and Course Schedule Textbook Distribution To Know vs. To Understand(Activity) Can We Believe Our Eyes? (Video) What do you understand well? How do you know you understand it? 2

3. Introductions Russ Wright Science Teacher Retired from MCPS Program Coordinator The George Washington University Award-Winning Author Event-Based Science Grading and Motivation Guru Success for All: The Median is the Key

4. Pretest

5. Textbooks Understanding by Design Educative Assessment Assessment, Equity, and Opportunity to Learn … Benchmarks for Science Literacy 5

6. To Know vs. To Understand Follow the directions on To Know vs. To Understand

7. Can We Believe Our Eyes? Before we see the video, I want you to draw a diagram showing how you could light a bulb with one battery and one wire.

8. Can We Believe Our Eyes? Watch video…

9. Can We Believe Our Eyes? Work in pairs to summarize any lessons you have learned from watching this video.

10. What do you really understand? There must be at least one thing that you really understand. Select one concept or skill (besides lighting a light bulb) that you understand well…

11. What do you really understand? How do you know that you really understand it?

12. Homework • Read Chapter 2 in Understanding by Design • Go to the Annenberg Foundation Web Site and Watch Workshop 1: • http://www.learner.org/resources/series93.html • You will have to register, but the site is free.

13. Understanding Understanding Up until now we assumed that we all shared a common understanding of the meaning of the word understanding. But what are you really aiming for when your goal is understanding?

14. Understanding Understanding My students will… have thorough knowledge of have a critical grasp of internalize knowledge of really understand grasp the essence of

15. Understanding Understanding My students will… What does understanding really mean?

16. Understanding Understanding Teachers want their students to understand the concepts they are teaching. …a slippery goal without definitions. Also, are there different levels of understanding?

17. Benjamin Bloom1913-1999 his Taxonomy of Educational Objectives was …an attempt to classify different degrees of understanding. 17

18. Bloom’sContributions • Bloom’s Taxonomy • Research on early childhood; testified on behalf of Head Start • International influence • Mastery learning • Gifted students; all students have innate potential

19. Bloom’sBiography • Born 1913, in Lansford, PA • BA & MS in 1935 from Penn State University • PhD in 1942 from University of Chicago • Lived in Chicago at time of death in 1999

20. Career Beginnings • Staff member of Board of Examinations at the University of Chicago, 1940-43 • Under mentorship of Ralph W. Tyler • Growing interest in organizing educational objectives by cognitive complexity • Became University Examiner in 1943(In this position, he developed tests to determine if undergraduates had mastered material necessary for them to receive their bachelor’s degrees.)

21. Developing the Taxonomy • Bloom attended the American Psychological Association convention in 1948… • His discussions with other university examiners lead to the • utility of a hierarchical classification system for various educational goals

22. Developing the Taxonomy • They wanted to: • clarify language about educational objectives • have convenient system for describing test items, exam techniques, and instruments for assessment • be able to compare and study educational programs • show a real order among educational objectives

23. Developing the Taxonomy • Continued to meet after convention • Defined three “domains” or classifications for educational objectives: • Cognitive • Affective • Psychomotor • Formed committees of study for each

24. The Cognitive Domain • 1956 book, Bloom as editor with Engelhart, Furst, Hill + Krathwohl • Focus on students’ thought processes • Taxonomy: • Hierarchical according to cognitive levels of difficulty • Each level encompasses, builds on and is more difficult than that at the levels below it

25. The Cognitive Domain • There are three low-level orders: • Knowledge • Recognition/recall of information • Remember just as learned • Comprehension • Organize and arrange information • Rephrase (describe in own words) • Application • Apply information to find answer to problem • Apply rule or process to new situation

26. The Cognitive Domain • There are three higher-level orders: • Analysis • Think critically, in depth; no rule of thought • Identify reasons, uncover evidence, make conclusions • Synthesis • Perform original and creative thinking • Produce new material, predict, problem-solve • Evaluation • Judge merit, offer an opinion, assess • Not careless critique: according to a standard

27. The Cognitive Domain Source: http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/bloomtax.htm

28. Using Bloom’sTaxonomy in the Classroom • How do you use Bloom’s Taxonomy? • Classify educational objectives • Plan to help students achieve higher levels of mastery • Structure questioning and assessments

29. Critizing Bloom’s Taxonomy • Synthesis and evaluation are one and the same • Synthesis and evaluation should be switched • No past history or context • Some knowledge is harder to retain; some knowledge is harder to restate in ways that prove comprehension

30. A New Taxonomy Source: http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/bloomtax.htm

31. Using Bloom’sTaxonomy in the Classroom Practicing Levels of the Cognitive Domain • Remembering: Ask a classmate a question assessing their memory of Bloom.

32. Using Bloom’sTaxonomy in the Classroom • Understand: Ask a classmate a question assessing their understanding of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

33. Using Bloom’sTaxonomy in the Classroom • Application: What kind of homework might I give to test your ability to apply what you’ve learned today about Bloom’s Taxonomy?

34. Using Bloom’sTaxonomy in the Classroom • Analysis: Write a question that will require a classmate to analyze Bloom’s Taxonomy?

35. Using Bloom’sTaxonomy in the Classroom • Evaluation: Based on your knowledge and experience, would you recommend Bloom’s Taxonomy to other teachers? Why or why not?

36. Using Bloom’sTaxonomy in the Classroom • Creating: Any ideas on how to ask a class to create a product related to Bloom’s Taxonomy?

37. Benchmark Authors Describe the Problem On page 312 of Benchmarks for Science Literacy its authors describe the problem they faced in framing benchmarks for science teaching and assessing… (see page 36 of UBD)

38. Understanding Understanding Understanding and Apparent Understanding What would you find if you dug a hole in the earth? John Dewey (See page 48 of Understanding by Design.) If students have trouble answering this question, is it the wrong question?

39. Understanding Understanding What evidence of understanding is adequate? Is knowing facts and doing well on a test of knowledge the same thing as understanding?

40. Understanding Understanding Apparent Understanding Delivery of the right word, the right definition, the correct formula. Real Understanding …using learning in new ways. (Bloom’s Taxonomy) …the ability to think and act flexibly with what one knows. (David Perkins)

41. Understanding is About Transfer When we understand something we can use it in new settings. We can take what we know and use it in numerous ways! Understanding is about Transfer! 41

42. Understanding is Not About Inert Ideas! What are inert ideas? (p. 41) 42

43. To Know vs. To Understand To Know vs. To Understand 43

44. Misunderstanding Provides Insight Misunderstanding Is Not Ignorance Misunderstandings are ideas that are mapped on plausible but incorrect frameworks. Students often think that experimental error happens because of avoidable mistakes in procedure and/or measurement. It takes a fair amount of knowledge to misunderstand something.

45. Misunderstanding Provides Insight Howard Gardner (1991) sums up the research on misconceptions: Read quote on page 52 of Understanding by Design.

46. Misunderstanding Provides Insight Why is it colder in the winter and warmer in the summer? 46

47. Misunderstanding Resist Change Audrey Champagne StateUniversity of New York, Albany Difficulty inchanging students’ misconceptions.

48. Misunderstanding Provides Insight Conventional testing reveals the problem: Most US teenagers study and pass Algebra 1. Yet, NAEP results show that only 5 percent of our students perform at a proficient level on tasks that require higher-order use of Algebra 1 knowledge (NAEP, 1988).

49. Six Facets of Understanding • Explanation • Interpretation • Application • Perspective • Empathy • Self Knowledge

50. Six Facets of Understanding • Group Activity – • Fellows will work together in small groups (3 or 4) to develop 10 – 15 minute presentations on one of the six facets of understanding. • Groups will present their findings using PowerPoint or other visual aid. • Each group will provide a handout describing one facet of understanding, with examples, and 2 exam questions. • Groups will divide the task into explicit responsibilities for each person in the group.