1. Backwards Design: Writing Objectives and Aligning with Assessments/Learning Activities
Adrianne Leinbach & Gretchen Miller
North Carolina Regional SAGE 2YC Workshop
October 19, 2018

3. Writing SLOs
Focus on what you want the student to be able to “do” with the knowledge at the end of the course or lesson.
SLOs should be student based.
Make sure the outcomes are measurable in more than one way.
Should be detailed and specific.
Include appropriate action verbs.
Modified from: University of South Carolina. (2010). A faculty and staff guide to creating learning outcomes. Columbia, SC: National Resource Center for The First-Year Experience & Students in Transition.

4. Are these well written SLOs
Are these well written SLOs? If not “why not” and can you think of ways to change them?
Students will understand plate tectonics.
Students will be able to identify igneous rocks based on composition and texture both in hand samples and written descriptions.
Students will learn to appreciate the natural world.
Students will explain how streams work.
Students will be provided with an introduction to the geology of environmental issues.
Students will explain how geologists use radioactive decay of elements to determine the ages of rock.

7. Blooming SLOs and making sure that the level matches how you will assess the SLO
Level 1 – Knowledge
Level 2 – Understand
Level 3 – Apply
Level 4 – Analyze
Level 5 – Evaluate
Level 6 – Create
If you want a student to know important terms that go along with plate tectonic settings, writing your SLO to have them evaluate processes would not be written on the correct level.

8. Is this question properly aligned with its SLO?
SLO: Students will be able to recognize and identify plate tectonic boundaries by the surrounding geologic landforms and processes.
Question: Explain why you would find stratovolcanoes associated with ocean-continent convergent boundaries.

9. Is this question properly aligned with its SLO?
SLO: Students will be able to explain how the permeability of Earth’s rock and sediment affects how groundwater moves.
Question: How would a layer of silt/siltstone affect the infiltration of groundwater?

10. Well aligned activity and assessment
This activity/assessment meets several of our lesson SLOs:
Students will be able to:
predict magma composition, eruption style, igneous rock type, and possible hazards for each type of volcano.
explain the different factors that affect eruption style (fluid vs. explosive).
describe how volcanic textures are formed and identify them visually and by description

11. Learning Activity

12. Assessment Question
Which of the following is true on how silica content affects viscosity?
Viscosity increases with increasing silica content
Viscosity decreases with increasing silica content
Viscosity is not affected by changes in silica content.

13. Example of Using Backwards Design in GEL 111
You are all going to work on one of your own classes now!

14. Wake Tech GEL 111 Course Level Objectives
After successful completion of the course, students will be able to:
Discuss the basic principles of scientific inquiry and apply them to current research and to past discoveries of theories.
Differentiate between the three types of plate boundaries.  Relate tectonic features and mountain building to the plate boundaries and processes that formed them.
Differentiate minerals and rocks using common physical properties.
Relate the chemical and physical properties of minerals.
Analyze igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks to determine how they formed.
Compare how different types of magma form and explain their relationship to the formation of intrusive and volcanic igneous features.
Compare weathering among different rock types and different environments.
Identify strata and structural changes such as faults and folds in geologic sections and summarize the forces and tectonic settings that lead to their formation.
Analyze the geologic history of a cross-section using relative dating principles.  Calculate the isotopic age of a rock unit.
Explain what causes earthquakes and earthquake destruction, and apply the correct procedures to locate the source and calculate the magnitude of an earthquake. 
Differentiate the internal structure and composition of the Earth.
Compare depositional and erosional environments, features, and processes associated with rivers and shorelines.
Identify the various parts of the hydrologic cycle.  Explain groundwater processes.
Evaluate the risks associated with geologic hazards.

15. Broad Course-Level Objective:
Analyze the geologic history of a cross-section using relative dating principles.  Calculate the isotopic age of a rock unit.
Lesson-Level Student Learning Objectives (SLOs):
Explain the five principles geologists use to infer the relative ages of events and use them to determine the sequence of geologic events on maps or sections.
Identify the three types of unconformities, and explain what they represent.
Explain how radiometric age dating works and calculate rock ages from supplied data.
Describe how fossils are used for relative age dating.
Explain how the Geologic Timescale was developed.
Describe the evidence that scientists have used to determine the age of the Earth.
Explain why geologists investigate geologic history.

16. Assessment – Unit Test Questions
Place the rock units on this cross-section in order (by letter) in the spaces to the right of the cross-section, from oldest on the bottom to youngest on the top. Rock Unit B contains fossils that are Devonian in age and Rock Unit A contains fossils that are Cretaceous in age.
Youngest _______
_______
Oldest _______

17. Assessment – Unit Test Questions (continued)
Use the geologic cross-section below to answer the following questions. A sample of Rock Unit D contains 125 parent atoms of a radioactive isotope with a half-life of 100 million years, along with 875 daughter atoms.
What type of unconformity lies between Rock Units E and B?
How many half-lives have elapsed since Rock Unit D formed?
How old is Rock Unit D?

18. Learning Activity
Chapter 9 Investigation in Exploring Geology by Reynolds, et al.
Two-page spread in book contains descriptions of rocks and features, including ages of fossils found in some layers
Students complete worksheet in groups during class

19. Learning Activity (continued)
What type of unconformity lies between Rock Units G and C?
What type of unconformity lies between Rock Units B and A?
Use the data in the table below to calculate the isotopic ages of the granite (G) and dike (D). Calculate the number of half lives that have passed and multiply this by the half-life of the measured isotope.
Rock Unit
Half-Life of Isotope
# Parent Atoms
# Daughter Atoms
# of Half-Lives that Have Passed
Isotopic Age
Granite (G)
500 million years
125
875
Dike (D)
40 million years
500

20. Learning Activity (continued)
Using all the information above and in your textbook, number the following events in order from oldest to youngest:
Order
(1 for oldest to 12 for youngest)
Event
____
Deposition of tan sandstone (A)
Deposition of greenish shale (B)
Deposition of coarse sandstone (C)
Formation of dike (D)
Movement along fault (F)
Formation of granite (G)
Deposition of gray limestone (K)
Eruption of lava flow (L) and formation of volcano (V)
Erosion to form narrow canyon (N)
Deposition of older river gravels (R)
Deposition of reddish sandstone (S)
Development of a nonconformity on granite (not assigned a letter)