goals, objectives, and assessment

Thoughts from Emily Wachsman on goals, objectives, and assessment in teaching science:

Physical Science

• Enduring Understanding: Chemical formulas are simplified & standardized descriptions of chemical reactions.
• Enduring Question: What are the basic components of a chemical formula? What do chemical formulas tell you about the chemical reaction?
• Cognitive learning objective: Students should be able to identify reaction types and predict the outcomes of the reaction (synthesis, decomposition, etc).

• Enduring Understanding: Solutions are formed by specific solute-solvent interactions, and depend on energy and other physical conditions.
• Enduring Question: What factors influence the formation of a solution when the solvent and solute are mixed?
• Psychomotor Learning Objective: Students should be able to demonstrate methods of preparing different types of solutions under different situations (concentration, temperature, etc).

Life Science

• Enduring Understanding: Ecosystems are a complex and diverse habitat for a variety of organisms.
• Enduring Question: What relationships exist between living organisms within a given ecosystem? How do organisms interact with their ecosystem?

o Cognitive Learning Objective: Students should be able to analyze the dynamic ways in which organisms in any given ecosystem interact.

• Enduring Understanding: Understand the dynamic nature of ecosystems, and how one small change can have drastic consequences for the entire system.
• Enduring Question: How do ecosystems change over time? What impact can humans have on ecosystems? How can we conserve and protect the environment?

o Affective Learning Objective: Students should analyze the impact humans can have on diverse ecosystems. Students should develop an interest in sustainable/eco-friendly practices, and take an interest in incorporating some of these ideas into their daily lives.

Earth & Space Science

• Enduring Understanding: The environment, and subsequently weather, is influenced by a complex set of physical and chemical processes.
• Enduring Question: What causes the weather? How can we predict the weather?
• Psychomotor Learning Objective: Students should be able to use various instruments to gather data regarding weather (barometric pressure, temperature, etc).

• Enduring Understanding: Oceans are an essential aspect to Earth’s ecology, and provide humans with vital resources for food, fuel, and water.
• Enduring Question: What resources do we get from the ocean? Why is the ocean considered an important part of scientific research?
• Cognitive/affective Learning Objective: Students should be able to describe the effect of Oceans on Earth, and illustrate the variety of ways oceanic resources are utilized. Students should become interested in the importance of Oceans, and take it upon themselves to investigate current research on deep sea vents or other popular oceanic topics.

Assessments

The assessment possibilities for sciences are seemingly endless. I have struggled somewhat with trying to think up ways to assess my students without traditional paper and pencil tests, which I a not a huge fan of. However, as I was reading this chapter and designing my EU’s, EQ’s, and objectives, I found myself with hundreds of possible assessments ideas! That is exciting to me, because it makes me feel more confident in my abilities to truly bring constructivism to my class. One of my favorite assessment types described by Bybee, Powell, & Trowbridge (2008) are creative assessments. The students I observed my first semester of the OATCERT program were required to develop a trail guide about local plant species as part of their botany unit. I thought the idea was great, and the students seemed very engaged and excited about learning botany classifications and identification techniques so they could apply it to their trail walks. I thought, given how boring that topic generally is for most students, that the trail guide assessment was a brilliant idea to get the students engaged. A similar type of creative assessment could be used in the ecology unit described above. For example, I could have the students develop a creative assessment in which they develop a new idea for green/sustainable energy or a new way to manage an ecosystem considered at risk. In this assignment, they will look at the ecosystems around them, try to find creative solutions, and even analyze how they can use more green energy or eco-friendly practices in their daily lives. Both learning objectives from the life sciences section above could be met through this assignment: students will not only have to understand diversity of ecosystems and the dynamic interactions found within them, but they will also have to think about how humans effect their environment. Hopefully this will also help them to generate interest, and apply what they have learned to their own lives. I think an important aspect of this assignment, as Bybee et al. (2008) point out, is to show students previous examples of this type of assignment if available, or give them some ideas to start with ((p. 136).

Another type of assessment that will be frequently used throughout any science class is the practical assessment. According to Bybee et al. (2008), a practical assessment is one that “provides information on students’ skill and problem-solving abilities through the use of apparatus setups, experiments, and open-ended situations that can reveal certain thinking processes” (p. 136). For example, under the physical science section, one of my learning objectives is for students to demonstrate the laboratory skills required to make solutions. Here, I can provide the students with the objective of making different solutions under different conditions. As they progress, I can even add an oral interview into the assessment, and ask them to explain the underlying scientific processes occurring. By having the students explain these processes to me, I will be able to ascertain their true understanding of the subject matter, rather than simply their ability to repeat and set of directions. So often, at least in my experience, lab practicals become more about going through the motions, rather than really learning why something is occurring. I think it would interesting to have the students attempt to create a solution that won’t actually work because the conditions are wrong, and then ask them to explain why. Regardless of how it is done, I think it is much easier than I thought previously to include constructive assessments into my lessons.