Alison ZavertnikNSTA 8. Assessment. To show that they are prepared to use assessment effectively, teachers of science must demonstrate that they: _____(b) use the results of multiple assessments to guide and modify instruction, the classroom environment, or the assessment process; _____(c) use the results of assessments as vehicles for students to analyze their own learning, engaging students in reflective self-analysis of their own work.

**Examples of student work for all activities in chronological order on pages 6-8.

Reflection Paper on Student Learning:

Multiple assessments were used throughout the duration of the plate tectonics unit to

guide and modify instruction. At the beginning of the unit I lead the classes in a discussion about

what they already know about the topic of plate tectonics. During this discussion, many students

had questions related to plate tectonics. I recorded these questions and made sure to include this

information in my PowerPoint for the lesson. This discussion allowed me to determine the prior

knowledge of the class and adjust the lesson accordingly. Although many of the students did not

know what the term plate tectonics meant, the conversation lead to an understanding of the far

reaching aspects and resulting features that the students might feel more comfortable with such

as volcanoes and earthquakes. This allowed the students to feel successful and opened them up to

a deeper discussion.

To accommodate for the varied ability levels and learning styles of all of the students I

incorporated many different types of activities into the unit that allowed me to assess the students

in a multitude of different ways. During the second lesson of the unit, I had the students work on

a puzzle. The pieces of the puzzle represented the different continents with plant and animal

fossils, rock formations and glacial evidence. The students were able to use the different types of

evidence provided to create the supercontinent Pangaea. I also developed some follow up

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questions to allow students to evaluate their understanding of the development of the theory of

continental drift.

For the next lesson we looking into the different types of plate boundaries formed due to

the movement of plates. I engaged the students in a memorable, hands-on activity where the

students used graham crackers, fruit rollups, and frosting to mimic the movement of the plates.

During this activity I evaluated the students on their involvement and participation in the

activity. After the activity was complete the students were also given a response sheet for the

students to use to evaluate their understanding of the concepts we went over during the activity. I

adapted the lesson for my applied earth science classes and I engaged the students in a discussion

about of the questions and typed up their responses and projected them on the board for the

students to write down. Many of the students in the applied classes struggle with reading

comprehension so a discussion of the questions allow me to correct any misconceptions the

students may have.

The students then took a quiz which allowed me to directly assess the knowledge they

had gained thus far and determine what I needed to review with the students. After the quiz I had

students engage in a hands-on fault block activity. The students were able to work together on a

kinesthetic activity where they were modeling the movement of faults. I was able to walk around

the classroom and authentically assess the student work. On their activity the student were asked

to draw the movement and answer related questions. This assessment allowed

I gave the students a review sheet in the form of a concept map. The topic of plate

tectonics is an interrelated system of information that lends itself to the concept map layout. The

students were given a word bank and told to fill in the concept map. This allowed the students to

evaluate their own understanding and comprehension of the material before taking the test. The

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following day I went over the answers to the review sheet and engaged the students in a review

game. The students were very involved and actively participated in the review game. This game

allowed me to gage student understanding and review specific topics before their test the

following day. This also allowed the students to figure out where they may need to study more.

The test gave me the opportunity to formally assess the students’ knowledge.

While working on earthquakes, we started an activity looking at seismographs, a travel-

time graph and a map of the United States that were to be used to determine the epicenter of an

earthquake. Initially I thought the students would work on this activity individually however my

first class struggled due to class-wide difficulties with the math involved with the activity. I

decided to lead the students through the activity and resolved to have the rest of the classes work

together. I projected the sheet on the board using the ELMO as we worked together to complete

the assignment. The following day we were scheduled to go to the computer lab and I had

initially planned on having the students work on a volcano computer activity; however due to the

lack of comprehension about locating the earthquake epicenter I decided to change the activity

and have the students work on a virtual earthquake lab where the students read through

information, recorded data to determine the epicenter of an earthquake, the Richter magnitude

and then looked at the resulting damage.

The lesson on volcanoes involved two different laboratory activities. During the first lab

the student were looking at how silica affects the viscosity of a liquid. Three beakers were set up

with liquid soap inside. The students were instructed to measure and pour varying amounts of

sand into each beaker and then collect data related to explosiveness of trapped gas and the

viscosity of the liquid. After the students completed the lab they returned to their seats to answer

questions relating the activity to magma. This allowed the students to make unique and

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memorable connections in a laboratory setting as well as provided me with an avenue to

determine their understanding of the material covered. The next activity the students performed

was a rock identification activity. The students were given a chart to fill in and seven igneous

rocks to identify. I was able to circulate during this lab activity and assist students in

understanding how to identify each rock. I gave the students a formal assessment final test for

the unit before the students had spring break.

Following spring break the students worked on a Virginia provinces group project. Each

group was assigned a specific province and told they were to become experts about it. I gave the

students a rubric of how I was going to evaluate their projects so the students would be able to

assess their own work. Once the groups completed their collages I projected their final projects

up on the board using the ELMO and the students presented their information. All of the students

were given activity sheets to write down the information given about each of the different

provinces. I collected these sheets at the end of the period to ensure the correct information with

recorded and to write the students project grade on.

About two weeks after completion of the unit I asked the students to write a one-

paragraph essay detailing information that they could recall from the unit I taught. I gave the

students 10-15 minutes in class to complete the essay. For students who needed assistance

recollecting topics we discussed I created a page of pictures without descriptions for students to

look at in order to jog their memory. These students were given the option to choose a picture to

write their paragraph about. This allowed the students to reflect on their own understanding of

the material we covered in class. I was impressed with the variety or feedback I received. Many

students were able to recall detailed information about many different aspects of the plate

tectonics unit. I have attached several examples from both the applied classes and the general

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classes. The level of comprehension detailed in these response papers and the grades on their

final tests gives me confidence in the knowledge acquired by the student during the lesson and

that they have created deep connections with the material if they are able to remember specific

details about the unit two weeks later.

I also provided the classes with a short, anonymous survey asking the students to evaluate

various aspects of the unit I taught. For example, what their favorite and least favorite topics

were, what activity they enjoyed the most and why, what was covered in too much detail or not

enough detail and if the class was appropriately paced. I also asked the students if the

assignments given were meaningful and supportive of further his/her understanding of a topic as

well as if a variety of resources were used to present materials in an interesting manner.

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Sample Student Work

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