Devil physics The baddest class on campus IB Physics

Internal assessment Orientation - general guidance - design criteria

Questions From Webquest?

Assessment Statements The Internal Assessment (IA) Rubric IS the assessment statement

Objectives Understand teacher responsibilities in the IA process Understand student responsibilities in the IA process Know and apply the Design Criteria to a successful internal assessment Write the Design portion of a practice IA to the Complete criteria

Assessing the Assessment Teachers should judge the internal assessment exercise against the descriptors for each criterion. The same internal assessment criteria are used for both SL and HL. The aim is to find, for each criterion, the descriptor that conveys most adequately the achievement level attained by the student.

Assessing the Assessment Professional judgment should be made in identifying the descriptor that approximates most closely to the work Only whole numbers should be used, not partial points such as fractions or decimals

Assessing the Assessment The highest descriptors do not imply faultless performance and moderators and teachers should not hesitate to use the extremes, including zero, if they are appropriate descriptions of the work being assessed.

Assessing the Assessment Descriptors should not be considered as marks or percentages, although the descriptor levels are ultimately added together to obtain a total. It should not be assumed that there are other arithmetical relationships

Assessing the Assessment A student who attains a particular achievement level in relation to one criterion will not necessarily attain similar achievement levels in relation to the others. It should not be assumed that the overall assessment of the students will produce any particular distribution of scores.

Assessing the Assessment The assessment criteria should be available to students at all times.

Assessing the Assessment There are five assessment criteria that are used to assess the work of both SL and HL students Design—D Data collection and processing—DCP Conclusion and evaluation—CE Manipulative skills—MS Personal skills—PS

Assessing the Assessment The maximum mark for each criterion is 6 (representing three “completes”). D × 2 = 12 DCP × 2 = 12 CE × 2 = 12 MS × 1 = 6 PS × 1 = 6 This makes a total mark out of 48

Aspect 1: Defining the Problem and Selecting Variables Teacher Must provide an open-ended problem or students are downgraded Several different independent variables to choose from Provide for a range of approaches or variables to examine

Aspect 1: Defining the Problem and Selecting Variables Teacher May suggest a general research question only, OR May suggest a general research question and a dependent variable

Aspect 1: Defining the Problem and Selecting Variables Teacher Inappropriate research questions often look for a specific value, for example, “What is the value of gravity?” or “What is the specific heat capacity of an unknown liquid?”

Aspect 1: Defining the Problem and Selecting Variables Teacher Teacher prompts that ask for the verification of a known law or theory are also inappropriate For example, “Confirm Newton’s second law of motion” or “Verify the equation PV = nRT”.

Aspect 1: Defining the Problem and Selecting Variables Teacher Teacher prompts that give both the dependent and independent variables are also inappropriate For example, “Investigate the relationship between the period of a pendulum and the length of the pendulum”.

Aspect 1: Defining the Problem and Selecting Variables Students Must identify a focused problem or specific research question A single sentence that clearly and specifically states the objective of your investigation. A hypothesis (prediction of the outcome) is not required by the criteria, but is expected You should have a brief discussion about the theory or reasons driving your hypothesis

Aspect 1: Defining the Problem and Selecting Variables Students A student’s research question is appropriate when it asks for a relationship or function between two quantities Inappropriate research questions often look for a specific value, for example, “What is the value of gravity?” or “What is the specific heat capacity of an unknown liquid?”

Aspect 1: Defining the Problem and Selecting Variables Students Students must identify ALL appropriate variables Variables are factors that can be measured and/or controlled Relevant variables are those that can reasonably be expected to affect the outcome. All variables that could reasonably affect the outcome

Aspect 1: Defining the Problem and Selecting Variables Students Students must identify ALL appropriate variables The variables need to be explicitly identified by the student as the dependent (measured), independent (manipulated) and controlled variables (constants) Independent variables are those that are manipulated Result of this manipulation leads to the measurement of the dependent variable Controlled variable is one that should be held constant so as not to obscure the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable

Aspect 1: Defining the Problem and Selecting Variables Students Students should not be: Given a focused research question Told the outcome of the investigation Told which variables to hold constant Told which independent variable to select

Aspect 2: Controlling Variables “Control of variables” refers to the manipulation of the independent variable and the attempt to maintain the controlled variables at a constant value.

Aspect 2: Controlling Variables Control your control variables – how you plan to keep them constant or how you will monitor to ensure they stay constant Control your independent and dependent variables How you plan to plan to measure each How you plan to plan to minimize systematic and random error

Aspect 2: Controlling Variables The method should include explicit reference to how the control of variables is achieved. If the control of variables is not practically possible, some effort should be made to monitor the variable(s).

Aspect 2: Controlling Variables Students should not be told: which apparatus to select the experimental method.

Aspect 3: Developing a Method for Collection of Data Three main parts: Apparatus and Materials Safety Method/Procedure

Aspect 3: Developing a Method for Collection of Data Apparatus and Materials List of materials and equipment Be as specific as possible Include quantities For measuring tools, include the precision of that tool Take Pictures!!! Make a diagram

Aspect 3: Developing a Method for Collection of Data Safety Identify potential risks or hazards Safety precautions taken Safety equipment used

Aspect 3: Developing a Method for Collection of Data Method/Procedure Step-by-step directions of how you will conduct your experiment Provide enough detail so someone else could do the exact same experiment just by reading your report Mention specific steps taken to minimize error

Aspect 3: Developing a Method for Collection of Data Method/Procedure Get someone to read your procedure and view your pictures/diagram and have them tell you in their own words how to do the experiment. If they do anything wrong, you need to expand on your report.

Aspect 3: Developing a Method for Collection of Data Method/Procedure Data Collection How you will use the measuring tools What you will measure How many measurements you will take What you will do between measurements

Aspect 3: Developing a Method for Collection of Data The definition of “sufficient relevant data” depends on the context. The planned investigation should anticipate the collection of sufficient data so that the aim or research question can be suitably addressed and an evaluation of the reliability of the data can be made.

Aspect 3: Developing a Method for Collection of Data The definition of “sufficient relevant data” depends on the context. The collection of sufficient relevant data usually implies repeating measurements and then an average time can be determined. A minimum of 5 trials per ‘position’ or ‘setting’ is recommended Do as many ‘positions’ or ‘settings’ as is reasonably possible

Aspect 3: Developing a Method for Collection of Data The definition of “sufficient relevant data” depends on the context. Don’t neglect to collect qualitative data – any observations made of anything that might affect the quality or integrity of your data Make a special note of anything you do to alter/improve your original procedure Remember that you are only collecting raw data and not processing or analyzing the data

Aspect 3: Developing a Method for Collection of Data The data range and the amount of data in that range are also important. Students should not be told: how to collect the data how much data to collect.

Aspect 3: Developing a Method for Collection of Data Students should not be told: how to collect the data how much data to collect.

Review Do you understand the teacher responsibilities in the IA process? Do you understand the student responsibilities in the IA process? Do you know and can you apply the Design Criteria to a successful internal assessment? Can you write the Design portion of a practice IA to the Complete criteria?

Questions?

Homework #