Encouraging Students to Develop Scientific Thinking Skills: New Methods for Assessing Performance Elisa Stone Berkeley High School.

Encouraging Students to Develop Scientific Thinking

Skills: New Methods for Assessing Performance

Elisa Stone

Berkeley High School

Berkeley High School

• Public high school

• More than 3000 students

• Heterogeneous -

academic preparation & performance, socioeconomic status, race

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What Is “Teacher Research”?

• A systematic, data-based inquiry that teachers use to improve their professional practice

(Hatch, 2006. National Association for the Education of Young Children)

Question: What alternate forms of assessment are useful for measuring science learning, especially for students that do not perform well using traditional assessment methods?

Question: What alternate forms of assessment are useful for measuring science learning, especially for students that do not perform well using traditional assessment methods?

- Curriculum-specific science content - Cross-curricular scientific thinking skills

How Did I Get Started?

• Interest in computer-based curricula and the opportunities for innovative methods of assessment

• Cell Reproduction & Disease Unit Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE, www.wise.berkeley.edu)

WISE Curricula Link Students to Images, Animations & Web Activities

Opportunity for 1-on-1 Teacher-student interactions

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Students Use Graphics Tools to Model Cell Division & Cancer Treatment

“Knowledge Integration” Scoring Scheme for Models

3 - Fully integrated: connects spindle structure to its function

2 - Intermediate: represents both chromosomes and spindle

1 - Basic: represents nucleus, may contain chromosomes or spindle but not both

0 - No answer or irrelevant

0%

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model structure year1

model structure year2

modeling year 1 modeling year 2

Analysis of Models Shows Gains in Student Understanding

3- fully integrated2- intermediate1- basic0- none

More questions…

How can I promote good group collaboration in the science classroom?

How do I encourage students to see themselves as developing scientists, who practice specific skills for doing science?

Pre-test

• Name 3 skills that you think are important for doing science well, and explain why you picked them.

• What are your strengths in doing science?

Why focus on collaboration in a science classroom?

• Student learning increases when they

– work in groups to solve complex problems– build on ideas of their peers in group projects

• Scientists collaborate to

– share different areas of expertise– synthesize ideas & challenge conclusions

Successful Scientific Collaboration

• Contributing & Listening to Ideas

• Sharing in Work Equally

• Using Time Efficiently

• Making Decisions

• Discussing Science

Exemplary

Developing

Beginner

Contributing &

Listening to Ideas

All members of our team contributed ideas about the project with each other. All members of our team listened well when someone else was contributing an idea.

Some members of our team contributed more ideas than others. Some members of our team did not listen to others.

On our team, we did not discuss many ideas about the project with each other. On our team, we did not listen well to each other.

Sharing in Work Equally

All members of our team did an equal share of work to get the final product finished.

Some members of our team did more work than others.

Some people on our team did all the work, and other people on our team did almost nothing.

Using Time Efficiently

We worked at a good pace so that we easily finished our project to meet the deadline.

We were not efficient with our time, so that we were rushed to meet the deadline.

We worked so inefficiently that we did not finish on time.

Making Decisions

Our team made decisions about our different ideas together. Everyone was open to considering alternatives.

Some members were not open to changing their mind, and decisions were difficult. Or, some members didn’t say what they were really thinking just to avoid conflict.

It was almost impossible to make decisions together as a group, so one person just ended up making the decisions that needed to be made.

Discussing Science

Our team had a lot of productive discussions about science that helped make our work the best quality possible.

Our team had some discussions about science, but we were off task more than we should have been.

Our team talked mostly about things that were not science.

How can instructors measure effective collaboration in the school setting?

Group Collaboration Rubric

• Students circle level: Exemplary, Developing or Beginner

• Students describe:- how they reached each level- their plan for improving next time

Student responses

1. Contributing Ideas: Developing. Everyone had ideas but kept them to themselves.

2. Sharing in Work Equally: Developing. We worked well, but some people did more work than others.

3. Using Time Efficiently: Developing. We could have worked harder in the beginning so we wouldn’t have to rush in the end.

Student responses (cont.)4. Making Decisions: Exemplary.

We didn’t argue about the project, and any decisions were easily made.

5. Discussing Science: Exemplatory.We clarified our research on the neurons and how to visualize it. I think we could even communicate more next time.Discussing Science: Beginner.Our team mostly talked about other things than science. If we talked more about science then our work would have been better quality.

Helping Students Develop Additional Science Skills

• Hands-on Experimental Work

• A to Z Science Skills

• Science Skills Quiz

AA t t o o Z SZ S ccii eennce Skce Sk illill ss AAnalyzing, BB uilding in controls, CC ollaborating,

DD escribing, EE xperimenting, FF ocusing, GG raphing, HH ypothesizing, II nterpreting data,

JJ ustifying conclusions, acKK nowledging, LL isting, MM odeling, NNaming variables, OObserving,

PP redicting, QQuantifying, RR epeating a test, SS ummarizing, making TT ables, UU sing eVV idence, WWondering,

eXX plaining, asking whYY , ZZipping through procedural steps

WHAT ARE YYOOURUR STRENGTHS? Modified from Tucher 1992

Stone 2007

Science Skills Quiz

Look at the “A to Z Science Skills” list, and pick 3 skills that you think you performed well in class or lab.

1. Skill _____________________

How did you demonstrate this skill?

Science Skills Quiz-Student 1 example

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Student 1 example - after getting more specific

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Science Skills Quiz- Student 2 example

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Science Skills Quiz- Student 3 example

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Science Skills Quiz- Student 4 example

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Post-test

• Name 3 skills that you think are important for doing science well, and explain why you picked them.

• What are your strengths in doing science?

Scoring Scheme for Pre/post tests

3 - Full: more than 1 science-related skill, or gives a detailed explanation of 1 experimental skill

2 - Intermediate: 1 science-related skill, including collaboration

1 - Basic: general skills/ academic skills

0 - No answer or irrelevant

Pre vs Post-test Analysis

n = 49

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Positive No Change Negative

Strengths in science

Percent Students

– Implement Group Collaboration Rubric in one class

– Simultaneously implement Science Skills Quiz in a paired class

– Pre, post and mid-year assessment– Mid-year, switch classes

This Year:

A “Controlled” Experiment

Summary

• Students learn to value general scientific research & collaboration skills

• Students develop a language for describing their strengths in science

• Students struggle with being specific• Opportunity for teacher to work

individually with struggling students

AcknowledgementsFunding for 2007 ASCB meeting attendanceBerkeley High School Development Group

BHS Teacher colleagues UC Berkeley School of EdSteven Fong TELS Center Jessica Quindel WISE Research GroupDan Appel Marcia LinnTodd Higashi Project IMPACT

Marnie CurryMy Email: Thomas [email protected]