Analysis of Student Work
One of the tools that I have been using throughout our M.Ed program is an analysis of student work template, which allows me to identify objectives, and expected responses, and then allows me to group student work by response, and develop a plan for future instruction.
In the attached example, the class was part way through the unit, and were beginning to talk about cellular respiration. The students were given a science probe about cellular respiration as a pre-assessment, asking them to identify organisms that use the process and explain their reasoning.
By using this process, I was able to determine that the students did not have a clear concept about what cellular respiration was and what uses the process. This informed me that I needed to make sure that the upcoming lessons focused on developing an understanding of cellular respiration.
In the attached example, the class was part way through the unit, and were beginning to talk about cellular respiration. The students were given a science probe about cellular respiration as a pre-assessment, asking them to identify organisms that use the process and explain their reasoning.
By using this process, I was able to determine that the students did not have a clear concept about what cellular respiration was and what uses the process. This informed me that I needed to make sure that the upcoming lessons focused on developing an understanding of cellular respiration.
analysis_of_student_work.docx | |
File Size: | 19 kb |
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cell_resp_student_work.pdf | |
File Size: | 3532 kb |
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Respiratory Quiz Reflection
I believe that students should be involved in on-going self-reflection of learning as part of a science learning environment. In order to do this, I ask students to reflect at key points in the semester, such as after a test or quiz, or after final or midterm grades.
In this respiratory unit, the class took a quiz partway through the unit. After the quiz, I invited the students to reflect upon three items. I first had them rate on a scale of 1-5 how hard they thought the quiz was, as well as how hard they felt they studied. I then asked them to respond to one of the following:
1) If you did well, what did you do to score well on the quiz, and how could you repeat this?
2) If you didn't feel you did well on the quiz, what could you do differently next time to do better?
Attached are a few of the responses that students to the reflective questions. I learned that the majority of students who did not do well felt that it was because they didn't study, forgot there was a quiz, or thought they should study harder.
There were a few interesting insights that came out, such as students who explained they got nervous during tests, some who said this was a very interesting topic to them, and some who said that they prefer oral tests. I also learned about some very artistic students that I have.
In this respiratory unit, the class took a quiz partway through the unit. After the quiz, I invited the students to reflect upon three items. I first had them rate on a scale of 1-5 how hard they thought the quiz was, as well as how hard they felt they studied. I then asked them to respond to one of the following:
1) If you did well, what did you do to score well on the quiz, and how could you repeat this?
2) If you didn't feel you did well on the quiz, what could you do differently next time to do better?
Attached are a few of the responses that students to the reflective questions. I learned that the majority of students who did not do well felt that it was because they didn't study, forgot there was a quiz, or thought they should study harder.
There were a few interesting insights that came out, such as students who explained they got nervous during tests, some who said this was a very interesting topic to them, and some who said that they prefer oral tests. I also learned about some very artistic students that I have.
respiratory_quiz.pdf | |
File Size: | 1248 kb |
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What do you Know?
This was a formative assessment activity that I used as a pre and post assessment tool. The very first day of the unit on respiration, I asked the students to write down individually in their journals a list of what they know about lungs and breathing, and what they think they know. They then brainstormed as a group, and then we developed a class list. This activity gave me insight any preconceptions that the students had, as well as ideas of what interested them. Most of the classes came up with ideas such as: you breath in oxygen and breath out carbon dioxide; smoking causes lung cancer; and you have two lungs. Most of the classes also came up with similar questions, including: can humans can survive with just one lung?
About half-way through the unit on respiration, I revisited the list with the classes and gave them the opportunity to make any changes, such as moving items from one side to the other, deleting items from the list, or adding new items to the list. All of the groups made quite a few changes to the list, as seen in the attachment. All of the groups also added the following: the diaphragm moves down when you breath in, ribs move up and out when you breath in, and oxygen and carbon dioxide pass through the lungs using diffusion. These were all key concepts that we had been trying to teach the students, so it showed a strong understanding that they added them to their lists.
About half-way through the unit on respiration, I revisited the list with the classes and gave them the opportunity to make any changes, such as moving items from one side to the other, deleting items from the list, or adding new items to the list. All of the groups made quite a few changes to the list, as seen in the attachment. All of the groups also added the following: the diaphragm moves down when you breath in, ribs move up and out when you breath in, and oxygen and carbon dioxide pass through the lungs using diffusion. These were all key concepts that we had been trying to teach the students, so it showed a strong understanding that they added them to their lists.
know_you_know_original.pdf | |
File Size: | 120 kb |
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know_you_know_revised.pdf | |
File Size: | 120 kb |
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