North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Using Science Curriculum Topic Study (CTS) to Develop Formative Assessment Probes

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Goals To learn about a CTS process for developing assessment probes that uncover students’ ideas and inform instruction (see CTS Chapter 4 pp 80-83) To provide additional guided practice in using CTS to explore a topic using key ideas from standards and research on students’ ideas To develop your own assessment probe using the CTS development process

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Formative Assessment Probes A probe is a purposefully designed question that reveals more than just an answer. A probe elicits a response that helps teachers identify students’ ideas about phenomena or a concept. Probes are also used to encourage thinking and sharing of ideas.

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Science Preconceptions Naïve Ideas Commonly Held Ideas Incomplete Ideas Alternative Conceptions Misunderstandings Facets of Understanding They can be a good thing!

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Probe vs. Task- Webster’s Definitions Probe- a…small object that is inserted into something so as to test conditions at a given point; a device used to penetrate or send back information; a device used to obtain specific information for diagnostic purposes Task- an…assigned piece of work often to be finished within a certain time; something hard or unpleasant that has to be done

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Developing Probes Specific learning goal(s) Commonly held ideas + Assessment Probe

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Specific Learning Goals (NSES) K-4: Light can be reflected by a mirror, refracted by a lens, or absorbed by the object. 5-8: Light interacts with matter by transmission (including refraction), absorption, or scattering (including reflection). To see an object, light from that object - emitted by or scattered from it - must enter the eye. National Research Council (1996) National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Commonly Held Ideas Middle school students will accept the idea that mirrors reflect light but may not accept the idea that ordinary objects reflect light (AAAS, 1993). America Association for the Advancement of Science. (1993). Benchmarks for science literacy. New York: Oxford University Press. Students’ ideas about reflection may be context bound. Some students describe light as bouncing off mirrors but not other objects. A few lacked a conception of light bouncing or reflecting off any objects. A majority of the sample of K-8 children surveyed thought color to be a property of an object rather than reflected light off an object (Driver et al., 1994). Driver, R., Squires, A., Rushworth, P., & Wood-Robinson, V. (1994). Making sense of secondary science. New York: Routledge

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Putting the Two Together Specific Learning Goal: –To see an object, light from that object - emitted by or scattered from it - must enter the eye. Commonly Held Idea: –Some students describe light as bouncing off mirrors but not other objects.

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Copyright © 2005, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Adapted from Uncovering Student Ideas In Science: 25 Formative Assessment Probes, Vol. 1, by Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Lynn Farrin,, with permission of NSTA Press.

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Three Probe Components Assessment Prompt Forced Choices Justification

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Prompt Forced Choice(s) Justification Copyright © 2005, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Adapted from Uncovering Student Ideas In Science: 25 Formative Assessment Probes, Vol. 1, by Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Lynn Farrin, with permission of NSTA Press.

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Types of Probes Justified List: –Determines how students apply scientific ideas to a variety of objects or phenomena. Copyright © 2005, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Adapted from Uncovering Student Ideas In Science: 25 Formative Assessment Probes, Vol. 1, by Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Lynn Farrin, with permission of NSTA Press.

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Types of Probes (continued) Prediction Probe –Asks students what they think will happen in a familiar situation Copyright © 2005, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Adapted from Uncovering Student Ideas In Science: 25 Formative Assessment Probes, Vol. 1, by Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Lynn Farrin, with permission of NSTA Press.

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Types of Probes (continued) Familiar Phenomena Probe –Elicit thinking about relevant, everyday phenomena. Copyright © 2005, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Adapted from Uncovering Student Ideas In Science: 25 Formative Assessment Probes, Vol. 1, by Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Lynn Farrin, with permission of NSTA Press.

Types of Probes (continued) Friendly Talk Probe – Set in a context where two or more individuals talk about their ideas of science concepts. Copyright © 2005, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Adapted from Uncovering Student Ideas In Science: 25 Formative Assessment Probes, Vol. 1, by Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Lynn Farrin, with permission of NSTA Press.

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Types of Probes (continued) Comparison Probe –Students are given contrasting objects or processes to compare and are asked to select and justify which one matches the given statement. Copyright © 2005, National Science Teachers Association (NSTA). Adapted from Uncovering Student Ideas In Science: 25 Formative Assessment Probes, Vol. 1, by Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Lynn Farrin, with permission of NSTA Press..

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Assessment Probes Developed Using CTS Uncovering Students’ Ideas in Science- 25 Formative Assessment Probes (Vol. 1-4)

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Stop- Think- Share Why do we need these types of assessments? What do teachers need to know to develop these types of probes? How can the CTS tools and resources support the development of probes ?

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Guided Practice: CTS Formative Assessment Probe Scaffold

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Anatomy of CTS Study Guides Example: page 163 Section I. Identify Adult Content Knowledge Section II. Consider Instructional Implications Section III. Identify Concepts and Specific Ideas Section IV. Examine Research on Student Learning Section V. Examine Coherency and Articulation Section VI. Clarify State Standards and District Curriculum Keeley, P. (2005). Science curriculum topic study: Bridging the gap between standards and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Designing Formative Assessment Probes - Scaffold 1)Identify the CTS guide 2)List specific ideas 3)List research findings (preconceptions) 4)Match 5)Select probe format 6)Develop prompt and response 7)Get feedback and pilot 8)Give probe, analyze data, and use results to take action

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Steps 7 and 8 Share draft of Probe for feedback. Pilot with a sample of students and modify as needed. Use the probe to collect data on students’ thinking. What do the responses tell you about your students’ ideas and ways of reasoning? What will you do with this information?

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Reflection Think about how you have developed and used formative assessments in your classroom. Review the “Designing Formative Assessment Probes – Scaffold” and compare how you have used formative assessment in your classroom with the CTS process. Share with others at your table.

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Developing Your Own Probe! Choose a topic. Focus on a single grade level. Use the scaffold to complete Steps 1-6. Use the ‘Probe Development Worksheet’ and ‘CTS Probes Next Steps’ to track your work. Post a draft on chart paper for feedback

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR Reflection How does the collaborative process of designing CTS assessment probes contribute to and enhance professional learning? What central role does CTS play in this process? How might you use this process in your work?

North Cascades and Olympic Science Partnership 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA Grant No. EHR References America Association for the Advancement of Science. (1993). Benchmarks for science literacy. New York: Oxford University Press. Driver, R., Squires, A., Rushworth, P., & Wood-Robinson, V. (1994). Making sense of secondary science. New York: Routledge. Keeley, P. (2005). Science curriculum topic study: Bridging the gap between standards and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Keeley, P., Eberle, F., & Farrin, L. (2005) Uncovering student ideas in science: 25 formative assessment probes, Vol. 1. Arlington, VA: National Science Teachers Association National Research Council (1996) National science education standards. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.