Sunday, March 8, 2015
3/9 Dan - Modeling and Assessments
I looked at the Chemistry EOC practice test and the 8th grade TCAP science test. In the TCAP test, I was surprised to find the number of questions that dealt with analyzing information, like charts and diagrams, rather than testing rote memorization. I think that modeling can provide quality preparation for questions of this nature. Modeling using software like NetLogo and ViMap can be an effective way to get experience with making predictions and analyzing results that collected and communicated in different ways. Several different topics in the TPAC test asked students to analyze the differences between diagrams, with questions like “Which diagram shows the best …?” or “Which diagram represents …?”. Having experience diagraming and representing physical phenomena would be critical in answering those questions. My thoughts about the Chemistry EOC practice test were very similar. Several questions asked to students to interpret graphs of chemical and physical changes, like question 22 and question 38. I would also imagine that modeling would be an effective tool for demonstrating orbitals and the different regions that electrons may occupy, although I don’t have any direct experience with this being done. Regardless, modeling would be an effective tool for relating the physical phenomena with the underlying chemistry concepts that textbooks simply try to explain. However, I think that modeling practices do fall short in preparation for more math based questions and, at least on their own, may not adequately transfer some of the content specific vocabulary that is expected to be known. Computational modeling seems like it would not be an effective method for teaching students how to balance a chemical equation or predict how many grams of a substance are needed in a particular reaction. Some of the questions I have this week stem from these issues.
- How much of what we assess in standardized tests like these is included because it is easy to assess, like determining the mass of a substance, not because it is valuable information or skills?
- It seems like a lot of people have referenced this, but I too wonder how scaffolded modeling activities need to be in order to be effective. At what point would we reduce student agency too much or would we give so much freedom that students don’t make any real progress?
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I was actually impressed by the breadth of stuff that these tests were able to cover with multiple choice. Obviously they can't get to every piece of student knowledge with multiple choice test. I wonder if they have done follow-up studies to see how scores on these multiple choice type tests correlate with scores on more thoughtful free response tests. That would be very interesting to see.
ReplyDeleteYour first question hits on an important distinction between assessing what we value and valuing what we can assess. I think in too many cases, standardized tests are not necessarily representative of the most valuable scientific knowledge or skills but rather the processes and problem types that are easily standardized. The danger is then that results of these tests are deemed significant enough to influence funding and politics, when really they measure relatively inconsequential skills (/socioeconomic status). Steve- Im interested that you're impressed by the breadth represented on the exams as I saw this as a limitation (potentially inhibiting the depth and long-term modeling projects achievable in class). What do you see as the goal of a secondary science class?
ReplyDeleteDan, I really liked your first question and definitely saw this in play in the chemistry EOC. Within this section, they asked many questions regarding laboratory equipment and many times did not include pictures with them. While knowing which lab tools are better measurements for certain amounts or substances, there are more important concepts that should be discussed, maybe like kinetics. I can see how kinetics would be hard to put into multiple choice format but having so many questions on lab equipment seemed redundant. Furthermore, the lack of pictures makes it a memorizing game where students need to know the name of the lab tool, not only what it looks like, which I think is not fair. By having pictures, students can jog their own memory and recall what they used when they were completing their experiments. In effect, it brings the topics of science, specifically chemistry, more close to home and more relevant/familiar.
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