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Secondary Science Task 3: Assessment Commentary

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TASK 3: ASSESSMENT COMMENTARY Respond to the prompts below (no more than 10 single-spaced pages, including prompts) by typing your responses within the brackets following each prompt. Do not delete or alter the prompts. Commentary pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored. Attach the assessment you used to evaluate student performance (no more than 5 additional pages) to the end of this file. If you submit feedback as a video or audio clip and your comments to focus students cannot be clearly heard, attach transcriptions of your comments (no more than 2 additional pages) to the end of this file. These pages do not count toward your page total.

1. Analyzing Student Learning a. Identify the specific learning objectives and standards measured by the assessment you

chose for analysis.

[Students will be assessed on their knowledge of plants pertaining to evolution, diversity, structures, functions, adaptations, and pollinators. These topics correspond to the following North Carolina Essential Standards: Bio 2.1.2 Analyze the survival and reproductive success of organisms in terms of behavioral, structural, and reproductive adaptations. Bio.3.5.2. Analyze the classification of organisms according to their evolutionary relationships (including phylogenetic trees).]

b. Provide a graphic (table or chart) or narrative that summarizes student learning for your whole class. Be sure to summarize student learning for all evaluation criteria submitted in Task 3, Part D.



*The percents correspond to the percentage of the class that missed the respective question.

c. Use evidence found in the 3 student work samples and the whole class summary to analyze the patterns of learning for the whole class and differences for groups or individual learners relative to

¡ conceptual understanding,

¡ use of scientific practices during inquiry, AND

¡ evidence-based argument about a scientific phenomenon.

Consider what students understand and do well, and where they continue to struggle (e.g., common errors, confusions, need for greater challenge).

[This test was written to include all the components from the learning segment and required students to not only recall basic information, but to also apply their conclusions from the inquiry activities. Students also had to determine correct answers in evidence-based argument statements in the form of True/False questions. Bloom’s taxonomy was the backbone for the design of the test questions. Almost 48% of the test questions were a Bloom’s level one which required the student to remember and understand a particular topic. A large portion of the test was written to be a level one with the intent that the majority of students would be able to get these questions correct. These questions were based on students having the conceptual



understanding of the learning segment. Questions then moved toward using their knowledge from inquiry activities to apply and understand the question and content. From the key, these questions were classified as a Bloom’s level two and made up 32% of the test. The idea was that the students’ functioning at a higher level, or “B” level, would be able to get these questions correct. The last 20% of the test was based on evaluating and creating, a Bloom’s level 3. These questions were more difficult, required evidence-based thought, and were geared towards advancing students to an “A.” The class as a whole actually did well with questions that corresponded to Bloom’s levels 2 and 3. Many of the most missed questions were a level 1 or some level 2’s. Upon analyzing the questions and data, I feel as though students have been taught how to reason out questions, but forget that fact memorization and recall is still an important aspect to learning. It is necessary to have the basic information from which to build and move to the more advanced level. Since the class is mainly honors, students have developed the strategy of knowing the general idea and then being able to reason out more advanced questions rather than building basic concepts.

When considering the topics, many students missed questions from the structure and function section of the learning segment. The structure and function topic is very fact heavy and requires knowing more definitions and functions rather than concepts. Questions dealing with the reproduction and adaptation section were also commonly missed. These questions were not covered in traditional note format, but rather through group work and word games. It could have been that students saw this section as more of a game and not so much that they needed to return and study the supplemental materials as much as they needed to review the traditional notes. The True/False questions also caused students to struggle because they have not been taught to read critically. Students do not take their time to pick out details that could be giveaways for a correct or incorrect statement. For future questions, it would be good to go back and stress the important facts students will have to recall, as well as teach and give more examples where they will have to read critically in order to pick out information.

Student 1 reflects one of the higher achieving students that missed many of the most basic, recall questions. For the multiple-choice section, the student did miss a couple of the upper level Bloom’s questions. Student 1 is typically a student capable of achieving “A,” but sometimes lacks putting in the effort to take their grades to the next level. The student really struggled with the True/False questions, leading to the loss of their potential “A” and earning a final “C” on the assessment. The True/False questions missed were level 1 and 2 according to Bloom’s taxonomy. The missed questions also were taken from class examples that required the student to take their conceptual understanding and apply it to the inquiry activities done in class.

Student 2 is a high achieving student in class that takes advantage of extension activities as and constantly engages in more advanced conversations with the teacher. The two questions missed by the student were a Bloom’s level 2 and 3. It has been noticed that this student has a strong background primarily from their ability to recall information previously learned in middle school. This shows a strong conceptual understanding. During the unit, the student furthers this understanding by demonstrating the ability to relate information from inquiry activities and then construct an argument with evidence. Student 2 should continue to partake in the extensions available and will certainly have success and be able to advance to more difficult honors classes in the future.

Student 3 often requires additional conversations with the teacher to comprehend the lesson’s topics. While they are capable of understanding information on their own, they lack the self-confidence to complete independent learning. Because of this, time is set aside to have personal conversations with Student 3 to check in on learning and understanding. This was the first learning segment where that strategy was identified and put into practice. As a result, the student’s score increased greatly from previous assessments. This student was also an example of an honors student who has been taught to reason out questions but lacks the



general recall knowledge. All of the questions missed were a Bloom’s level one and came from all of the different topics discussed. It is important for the Student to continue to participate in those one-on-one conversations with the teacher in order to build that confidence. The student should also spend more time with vocabulary and language so they can easily identify and correct the basic content questions on future assessments.

2. Feedback to Guide Further Learning Refer to specific evidence of submitted feedback to support your explanations. a. In what form did you submit your evidence of feedback for the 3 focus students? (Delete

choices that do not apply.) ¡ Written directly on work samples or in a separate document;

b. Explain how feedback provided to the 3 focus students addresses their individual strengths and needs relative to the standards and objectives measured.

[For each student, feedback was given per question missed. If the question missed was a lack of language understanding and use, the vocabulary in question was circled and a brief explanation was made out to the side. For Student 3, some of their vocabulary was close to where they needed to be, but when given two similar answer choices, chose the incorrect response. To help students review, the topic where the question was covered was written in the parentheses. It was important to point out other questions that the students had gotten right that many of their peers had missed. There was also additional feedback given at the end of the test to point out strengths the student had demonstrated in class as well as suggestions to help improve or maintain the high standard the student was displaying. Should the student return to the topics of questions missed, they would see how the information correlates with the activities completed on that day that allowed them to demonstrate mastery of the standards and objectives measured.]

c. How will you support students to apply the feedback to guide improvement, either within the learning segment or at a later time?

[This assessment will be handed back to the students and they will have a chance to look over and synthesize their strengths and weaknesses. They will also be asked to reflect on the questions they missed and connect it back to their study and participation strategies. Students will be asked to write a brief statement describing where they went wrong and how they would be able to make improvements in the future. Biology is a course that really builds on the previous topic to support the upcoming information. This learning segment dealt with the beginning investigation of plants and will be extended into the next segment when the class discusses photosynthesis. Plants will also come back towards the end of the semester with the discussion of food webs, trophic levels, and energy transfer.]

3. Evidence of Language Understanding and Use

You may provide evidence of students’ language use from ONE, TWO, OR ALL THREE of the following sources:

1. Use video clips from Task 2 and provide time-stamp references for language use.

2. Submit an additional video file named “Language Use” of no more than 5 minutes in length and provide time-stamp references for student language use (this can be footage of one or more students’ language use). Submit the clip in Task 3, Part B.

3. Use the student work samples analyzed in Task 3 and cite language use.



When responding to the prompt below, use concrete examples from the video clips (using time-stamp references) and/or student work samples as evidence. Evidence from the clips may focus on one or more students.

a. Explain and provide evidence for the extent to which your students were able to use or struggled to use language (selected function, vocabulary and/or symbols, and additional identified language demands from Task 1) to develop content understandings.

[Students displayed mastery of the language through oral discourse throughout the entire learning segment. However, when shown the vocabulary on the final assessment, students failed to recall simple definitions but were able to use the vocabulary to support higher-level questions. The learning segment also provided opportunities for students to justify their decisions with evidence they had learned and observed. For this reason, a True/False section was included on the test with the idea that students would return to observed evidence to help them reason out the questions. Even though students demonstrated understanding during class time, they struggled when asked on the final assessment. Students 1 and 2 both missed questions dealing with vocabulary from the learning segment. Student three 3 showed mastery and was able to return to the evidence from class to answer the True/False questions.]

4. Using Assessment to Inform Instruction a. Based on your analysis of student learning presented in prompts 1b–c, describe next

steps for instruction

¡ for the whole class

¡ for the 3 focus students and other individuals/groups with specific needs

Consider the variety of learners in your class who may require different strategies/support (e.g., students with IEPs or 504 plans, English language learners, struggling readers, underperforming students or those with gaps in academic knowledge, and/or gifted students needing greater support or challenge).

[Since the upcoming unit is building on this segment’s vocabulary, it will be important to return to those basic terms and reinforce definitions and understandings. There will also be more writing and reading centered assessments to help catch misconceptions before the final assessment. For the class as a whole, there will be more explicit instruction and the implementation of vocabulary cards. A vocabulary quiz could also be used to help students study the more “memorization facts” so they can build a better understanding for the conceptual and evidence based questions. Each focus student was given written feedback about how to review and better prepare for future assessments. When considering those students in class, a practice will be put in place to use those students as target students during whole class questioning and discussions. If one of the lower performing students (Student 3) is asked a question and can correctly respond, it is likely that the rest of the class has also mastered the topic. Same can be used of asking the higher achieving students (Student 1) a basic level question so that a quick response can be given and the class can proceed to more challenging concepts. This questioning could also show that if Student 1 cannot provide a correct answer, the rest of the class is also likely to be confused.]

b. Explain how these next steps follow from your analysis of student learning. Support your explanation with principles from research and/or theory.

[Analyzing the test by using Bloom’s taxonomy was helpful when seeing at which level the students are experiencing a disconnect. The test was designed with fewer level 3 questions that would separate those students who really knew it from those who had more of a rudimentary understanding. Instead, the assessment showed that students are now more



capable of evaluating and creating answers in the top realm of Bloom’s taxonomy, and miss the general remembering and understanding concepts. By implementing a vocabulary quiz or vocabulary cards in future units, students will receive the support for those lower level questions. Classroom discussions will continue to take place to help maintain their ability to evaluate and create. Group work will also continue to be a staple as it is reflective of Vygotsky’s scaffolding. Back-to-back classroom units also adhere to this theory so students can take information from one unit and build upon it in the next. This is done to also help with memory retention and performance on an End of the Course test.]

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