SEPUP Ecology Assessment Plan
In this unit, students will be assessed based on their lab and group work, a research project with presentation, and a final unit test. This is a notebook-based science class, so all of the assignments will be completed as part of their science journal. Every lab and activity in the unit, along with the reading worksheets, will be added to a binder and counted as daily work. Each assignment will have a due date, and on that date each binder entry will be individually reviewed. Students will receive immediate feedback about any misconceptions they have, and given the opportunity to correct any answers that are not correct. When completed (has to be done on the day due), the student will receive a stamp on the assignment. After every 11 assignments, binders will be collected and work reviewed. During this process, each binder will be double checked for accuracy on stamping sign-offs, and any work the students completed that was not stamped will be reviewed for completion and accuracy. The completed binder will be worth 4 points, and will be entered into the gradebook 3 times, so will carry most of the weight of the students’ scores. All of the daily work is based off of the learning objectives and challenge questions, so by providing the instant feedback, I will also be able to determine if the students are meeting the learning objectives of the individual lessons, and the unit.
At the beginning of the unit, students will be introduced to a long-term unit project, where they are asked to work with a partner to research a native introduced species. Each pair will have a worksheet that guides them in the information they need to find out about their species. This worksheet will be graded as completed and added to a stamp worksheet partway through the unit. As the unit continues, student pairs will be given time to develop a PowerPoint presentation that they will be sharing with class. Students will be given a grading guide listing out with a set of checkboxes the items that should be included in their presentations, including number of slides, content on slides, and presentation skills. After the presentation, students will be graded out of a total of 4 points, with 3.5 being given for having all the checkboxes completed, and 4 points for showing an added effort in their presentation. This will be entered in the gradebook two times.
At the end of the unit, students will also be given a multiple choice exam using questions from the SEPUP test-bank given with the pilot. The questions will cover the key concepts and challenge questions, along with key vocabulary words. The test will be work 4 points and entered into the gradebook 2 times.
Throughout the unit, students will also be assessed formatively on a set of grading rubrics provided in the SEPUP materials. These rubrics grade on a 4 point scale, and assess students on a variety of topics, from presenting data, using evidence, group work skills, communication, and more. Students will be told what their score is out of 4 on a variety of questions and skills as we work throughout the unit as a way of being able to judge where they are in their understanding, as well as written and communication skills.