THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENCE STANDARDS: PRELIMINARY REFLECTIONS ON ASSESSMENTS

A Presentation forBUILDING CAPACITY FOR STATE SCIENCE EDUCATION

(BCSSE)

Rodger W. Bybee

Hilton North RaleighRaleigh, North Carolina

February 24-25, 2012

• INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

• A FRAMEWORK FOR K-12 SCIENCE STANDARDS

• THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENCE STANDARDS

• INNOVATIONS, CHALLENGES, AND OPPORTUNITIES

• CONFRONTING THE CHALLENGES

• CONCLUSION

THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENCE STANDARDS: PRELIMINARY REFLECTIONS ON

ASSESSMENTS

SCIENTIFIC AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES

1. Asking questions [for science] and defining problems [for engineering]

2. Developing and using models

3. Planning and carrying out investigations

4. Analyzing and interpreting data

5. Using mathematics and computational thinking

6. Constructing explanations [for science] and designing solutions [for engineering]

7. Engaging in argument from evidence

8. Obtaining, evaluating, and communicating information

DISCIPLINARY CORE IDEAS

Physical Sciences

PS 1: Matter and its interactions

PS 2: Motion and stability: Forces and interactions

PS 3: Energy

PS 4: Waves and their applications in technologies for information transfer

Life Sciences

LS 1: From molecules to organisms: Structures and processes

LS 2: Ecosystems: Interactions, energy, and dynamics

LS 3: Heredity: Inheritance and variation of traits

LS 4: Biological Evolution: Unity and diversity

Earth and Space Sciences

ESS 1: Earth’s place in the universe

ESS 2: Earth’s systems

ESS 3: Earth and human activity

Engineering, Technology, and the Applications of Science

ETS 1: Engineering design

ETS 2: Links among engineering, technology, science, and society

CROSSCUTTING CONCEPTS

1. Patterns

2. Cause and Effect: Mechanism and Explanation

3. Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

4. Systems and System Models

5. Energy and Matter: Focus, Cycles, and Conservation

6. Structure and Function

7. Stability and Change

• Performance Expectations

• Integrating the Three Dimensions

Practices

Core Ideas

Crosscutting Concepts

THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENCE STANDARDS: INNOVATIONS

AN EXAMPLE OF A STANDARD

Students can: This is the Performance Expectation Foundation Boxes Practice Disciplinary Core Idea Crosscutting Concept

Illustrate and describe the location of Earth and the Solar System with respect to the sizes and structures of the Milky Way galaxy and Universe. Assessment Boundary: Mathematical models are not expected; use AU for Solar System scale; use light years for universal scale

Developing and Using Models: Create and interpret scale drawings, scale models, or other depictions of differences in scale.

ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars: Earth and its solar system are part of the Milky Way galaxy, which is one of many galaxies in the universe.

Scale, Proportion and Quantity: Different scientific phenomena correspond to different powers-of-ten scales.

MS.LS-MEE Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems

a. Developing an explanation for the role of photosynthesis in the cycling of matter and flow of energy on Earth. Assessment Boundary: Limited to the explanation related to light energy, water, and carbon dioxide being used to produce sugars and release oxygen NOT the chemical equation for photosynthesis. b. Developing and using models of the cycling of matter among living and nonliving parts of ecosystems.c. Using models to explore the transfer of energy into, out of and within the ecosystems.Assessment Boundary; Only light, chemical, thermal energy need be included at this level, with an emphasis that the total amount of energy does not change.d. Constructing and communicating models of food webs that demonstrate the transfer of matter and energy among organisms (producers, consumers, and decomposers) within an ecosystem.E Using evidence to explain that matter is conserved as atoms in food are rearranged as they pass through different organisms in a food web.f. Using evidence from credible sources to support arguments that changing a component of an ecosystem affects the species in the ecosystem.

Science and Engineering Practices

Developing and Using ModelsUse models to explore relationships between variables, especially those representing input and output. (b),(c),(d)Use various representations and models (including computer simulations) to predict, explain, and test ideas about phenomena in a natural or designed system. (b),(c),(d)Modify a model to increase detail or clarity or to explore what will happen if a component is changed. Constructing Explanations and Designing SolutionsGenerate and revise causal explanations from data (e.g. observations and sources of reliable information) and relate these explanations to current knowledge. (a)Base explanations on evidence and the assumption that natural laws operate today as they did in the past and will continue to do so in the future. (a),(e)

Disciplinary Core Ideas

LS1.C: Structure and Function Plants, algae (including phytoplankton), and many microorganisms use the energy from light to make sugars (food) from carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and water through the process of photosynthesis, which also releases oxygen. (a)These sugars can be used immediately or stored for growth or later use. (a)Animals obtain food from eating plants or eating other animals. (d),(e)Within individual organisms, food moves through a series of chemical reactions in which it is broken down and rearranged to form new molecules, to support growth or to release energy. (e) In most animals and plants, oxygen reacts with carbon-containing molecules (sugars) to provide energy and produce waste carbon-dioxide; anaerobic bacteria achieve their energy needs in other chemical processes that do not need oxygen. (c)LS2.B: Cycle of Matter and Energy Transfer in EcosystemsFood webs are models that demonstrate how matter and energy is transferred between producers (generally plants and other organisms that engage in photosynthesis), consumers, and decomposers as the three groups interact—primarily, for food—within an ecosystem. (d)Transfers of matter into and out of the physical environment occur at every level. For example when molecules from food react with oxygen captured from the environment, the carbon dioxide and water thus produced are transferred back to the environment, and ultimately so are waste products, such as fecal matter. Decomposers recycle nutrients from dead plant or animal matter back to the soil in terrestrial environments or to the water in aquatic environments. The atoms that make up the organisms in an ecosystem are cycled repeatedly between the living and nonliving parts of the ecosystem. (b),(c),(d) LS2.C: Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience Ecosystems are dynamic in nature; their characteristics can vary over time. Disruptions to any physical or biological component of an ecosystem can lead to shifts in all its populations. (f)

Crosscutting Concepts

Systems and System ModelsA system can be described in terms of its components and their interactions. (b)Models can be used to represent systems and their interactions, such as inputs, processes and outputs. (b),(c),(d)Models are limited in that they only represent certain aspects of the system they are intended to model. Energy and Matter in systemsWithin a natural or designed system, the flow of energy drives the cycling of matter. (a),(c),(d)Energy can take different forms as it flows through a designed or natural system, but the total amount of energy does not change. (d)Stability and Change

Performance

Analyze and interpret patterns of changes in fossils over time that provides evidence of the history of life on Earth.

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES Analyzing and Interpreting Data • Recognize patterns in data that suggest relationships worth investigating further.

DISCIPLINARY CORE IDEAS

LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity • Fossils are mineral replacements, preserved remains, or traces of organisms that lived in the past. Thousands of layers of sedimentary rock not only provide evidence of the history of the Earth itself but also of changes in organisms whose fossil remains have been found in those layers.

CROSSCUTTING CONCEPTS

Patterns • Patterns can be the basis for models and explanations in natural and designed systems. Stability and Change of Systems • Patterns of change (e.g. cyclic, evolutionary, or random) occur over time in natural or designed systems. • Systems change over varying time scales from fractions of a second to billions of years.

SOME ISSUES TO DISCUSS

• The performance expectation is clear and the practice, idea, and concepts are described.

WHAT IS A POSSIBLE INSTRUCTIONAL SEQUENCE?

EVIDENCE OF COMMON ANCESTRY AND DIVERSITY

Students can:

Performance

Analyze and interpret patterns of changes in fossils over time that provides evidence of the history of life on Earth.

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING PRACTICES Analyzing and Interpreting Data • Recognize patterns in data that suggest relationships worth investigating further.

DISCIPLINARY CORE IDEAS

LS4.A: Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity • Fossils are mineral replacements, preserved remains, or traces of organisms that lived in the past. Thousands of layers of sedimentary rock not only provide evidence of the history of the Earth itself but also of changes in organisms whose fossil remains have been found in those layers.

CROSSCUTTING CONCEPTS

Patterns • Patterns can be the basis for models and explanations in natural and designed systems. Stability and Change of Systems • Patterns of change (e.g. cyclic, evolutionary, or random) occur over time in natural or designed systems. • Systems change over varying time scales from fractions of a second to billions of years.

SOME ISSUES TO DISCUSS

• The performance expectation is clear and the practice, idea, and concepts are described.

WHAT IS THE ASSESSMENT?

EVIDENCE OF COMMON ANCESTRY AND DIVERSITY

Students can:

ASSESSING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENCE STANDARDS

Do the assessments represent the whole standard? Is the whole greater than the sum of the parts?

• Standard vs. Statements of Performance Expectations

• Science and Engineering Practices

• Disciplinary Core Ideas

• Crosscutting Concepts

TIME TO BE CREATIVE

EXPAND YOUR VISION BY THINKING OF INNOVATIVE WAYS TO ASSESS THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCIENCE

STANDARDS

End-of-Course Assessments Practical Tests

Observations Performance Investigations

Presentations PISA-type Units

Fieldwork Selected Response

Computer Simulations/Modeling Open Response

Portfolios Interpreting Graphs, Tables,

Figures

Concept Mapping Video

DESIGNING AN ASSESSMENT FOR A STANDARDMatter and Energy in

EcosystemsStem Students can:

PEs a. Evaluate the interdependence of organisms in a variety of ecosystems to analyze the relationships among the organisms.

b. Evaluate the claim that a stable ecosystem is one in which multiple species of different types are each able to meet their needs and construct an argument that the introduction of new species can damage the balance of an ecosystem.

c. Obtain and communicate information to support the claim that plants acquire the material they need to grow from air and water, using energy from the sun. [Assessment Boundary: Details of photosynthesis are not included]

d. Use the particle model of matter to explain how matter in one organism becomes matter in another organism in a food web and how matter cycles between organisms and the environment. [Assessment Boundary: The chemistry of metabolism is not included]

e. Use models to represent the boundaries that define a particular ecosystem, inputs to and outputs from that ecosystem.

f. Plan and carry out investigations collaboratively to determine the role of light in plant growth and the production of food [Assessment Boundary: Details of photosynthesis are not included]

g. Construct a model that tracks energy flow through an ecosystem as energy enters, is used in the production of food and fuel, including fossil fuels, and is released as food is digested and fuel is burned.

Describe the assessment(s):

Grade Level of Administration: Middle School, High School

Type of Context(s): Comprehensive, End-of-Course, Other

Scoring and Reporting: Machine, Individual, Combination

Unit of Report: State, District, School, Student

CONCLUSION

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