Uncovering Student Ideas in Science

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Formative Assessment Probes Uncovering Students
Ideas in Science
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Quote from Thomas Cardinal Wolsey, 1471-1530
Be very, very careful what you put into that
head, because you will never, ever get it out.
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In This Session We Will

• Provide an overview on formative assessment
  probes
• Engage you in experiencing an example of a probe
• Provide you with a sampler of strategies for
  using the probes
• Discuss the types of information we can get from
  using probes
• Send you away with an assignment!

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Think and Share

• What is the difference between
• assessment of learning and
• assessment for learning?

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Formative? Summative?Whats the difference?

• FOR
• Formative
• Assessment designed to provide direction for
  improvement and/or adjustment to a program for
  individual students or for a whole class, e.g.
  observation, quizzes, homework, instructional
  questions, initial drafts/attempts.

• OF
• Summative
• Assessment/evaluation designed to provide
  information to be used in making a judgment about
  a students achievement at the end of a sequence
  of instruction, e.g. final drafts/attempts,
  tests, exams, assignments, projects performances.

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Formative assessment
Assessment for learning is any assessment for
which the first priority in its design and
practice is to serve the purpose of promoting
pupils learning. It thus differs from assessment
designed primarily to serve the purposes of
accountability, or of ranking, or of certifying
competence. An assessment activity can help
learning if it provides information to be used as
feedback, by teachers, and by their pupils, in
assessing themselves and each other, to modify
the teaching and learning activities in which
they are engaged. Such assessment becomes
formative assessment when the evidence is
actually used to adapt the teaching work to meet
learning needs. Black et al., 2002
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Share at your tables

• Examples of when you use formative and summative
  assessments in your classroom
• Concepts in science that your students are having
  trouble understanding

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and one big idea

• Assessment is formative only if the information
  fed back to the learner is used by the learner in
  making improvements
• To be formative, assessment must include a recipe
  for future action
• Use evidence about learning to adapt instruction
  to meet student needs

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Formative Assessment Probes
Specifically designed tasks used to
elicit student conceptions around a specific
topic.
Probes are diagnostic in nature.
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Formative Assessment Probes

• Help us find out what students are thinking
  before, during, and even years after instruction.
• Uncover the types of conceptions students bring
  to their learning.
• Encourage students to think, discuss, test, and
  modify their ideas (a key aspect of teaching for
  conceptual change).
• Help teachers think about how to modify and
  differentiate their instruction.

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What are formative assessment probes?

• Pairs a multiple choice item with an open-ended
  response question
• Examine student thinking for the purpose of
  informing teaching and learning
• Designed to target students ideas identified in
  the research on student learning
• Used before and during a teaching unit to
  provide feedback on individual student thinking

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Ice Cubes in a Bag
You are having an argument with your
friend about what happens to the mass when
matter changes from one form to another. To
prove your idea, you put three ice cubes in a
sealed bag and recorded the mass of the ice in
the bag. You let the ice cubes melt
completely. Ten minutes later you recorded the
mass of the water in the bag.
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Which response do you think students at your
course/grade level will most likely select?
___ a.The mass of the water in the bag will be
less than the mass of the ice in the bag. ___b.
The mass of the water in the bag will be more
than the mass of the ice in the bag. ___c. The
mass of the water in the bag would be the same as
the mass of the ice cubes in the bag.
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Confidence Light Bulbs
GREEN- I am very confident in my answer. I think
I can defend it scientifically.
YELLOW- I am somewhat confident in my answer but
Im not sure about my explanation.
RED- I am not sure about my response. I really
need to hear what others have to say.
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Human Scatterplot

• A
• B
• C

Least confidence in my answer
Most confidence in my answer
Somewhat confident
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Activity DirectionsSilently to Yourselves

• 1. Read, Science Assessment
• Probe, Part 1, then circle your
• prediction.

2. Complete Part 2, writing your reason under the
prediction you chose in Part 1. Do not change
any of your answers! 3. Is this a physical,
biology or earth/space standard?
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Activity Directions continued

• 4. Peruse the Reasons sheet. Was your own
  reason reflected there?
• 5. What patterns in the student data do you
  notice?

6. What recommendations do you have for the
teacher to address the alternate conceptions and
improve student learning?
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Processing the Activity Implications for our work

• How could the information collected from an
  assessment probe affect your instruction and
  curriculum?

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• The roles for assessment must be expanded beyond
  the traditional concept of testing. The use of
  frequent formative assessment helps make
  students thinking visible to themselves, their
  peers, and their teachers. Bransford,
  Brown, and Cocking 1999

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Thoughts or Reflections?

• Additional Questions?
• How might you use probes in your work?

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Featuring
By Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Lynn Farrin