FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT IN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATIONCSS 563: Action Research Presentation

by Sara Anderegg

Multiple means of formative assessment were applied to a group of seventh and eighth grade students at an outdoor science program, the results were documented and the assessments evaluated based on their efficacy and appropriateness.

What is the most effective method of formative assessment in Environmental Education?

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Formative Assessment

A process used by teachers and students during instruction that provides feedback to adjust ongoing teaching. This serves to improve students’ achievement of intended instructional outcomes.

(Popham, 2008)

Goals

Instruction

Measuring

Feedback

advantages

In recent years, educators in formal settings have begun to move away from traditional assessment techniques in favor of authentic assessments. These new assessments have had many successes in the formal settings, but their use in informal settings is not widespread. (Berkowitz, 2000)

By performing quality assessments, informal education centers can prove not only to schools and program supporters that their programs are top quality but also ensure that students are receiving the most effective educational experience possible. (Berkowitz, 2000)

One study found that students learn more and perform better on large-scale assessments when teachers use sound formative classroom assessment techniques to guide their instruction. (Black & William, 1998)

limitations

Wide range of potential outcomes: Cognitive (knowledge and understanding)

Affective (attitudes and feelings) Social/interpersonal (empathy and communication)

Physical/behavioral

Restricted ability to assess these outcomes immediately

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

There exists a false dichotomy in the divide between the quantitative and qualitative data. There are ways to frame those forms of assessment, formerly deemed strictly qualitative, that make them quantifiable and measurable.

For example, surveys can be comprised of open-ended or fixed choice questions so the data can be analyzed in both qualitative and quantitative ways. Even text from open-ended questions can be coded to yield categories that can be analyzed quantitatively. (Brody, 2005)

Methods

Scripted Interview

Performance Task

Performance Assessment

Prompted Journal Activity

Four Types of formative assessment were administered to a group of seventh and eighth grade students at McCall Outdoor Science School over the course of a one week program.

The assessments were rated by the teacher based on their appropriateness, effectiveness, accessibility, and alignment.

Scripted Interview

Interview

EE.4: Students will be able to explain the reasoning behind the management of our forests.

Student achievement will be measured by the teacher through the analysis of a scripted interview with each student.

I am conducting some research on what 7th and 8th graders know about the forest. I’d like to hear more about what you know, now that you’ve been at MOSS.

The best thing about this interview is that there is no wrong answer, and you will not be graded on this by your teacher. This interview is just for the sake of my research.

At times I may repeat your answer back to you, not because I want you to change it or because you are wrong, but because I want to be sure that I understand you correctly.

I may wait after you respond because I want to give you time to organize what you want to say or add anything that you think is important.

I will take notes, and record our interview… but these are for my data collection purposes only.

Learning Objective Interview Script

Interview

Connected to meaningful learning targets and standards? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Aligned to instructional goals? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Part of the fluid instructional process, not distinct from it? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Connected to lesson plans and focused on student learning? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Fit well into field day realities (e.g., scheduling, timing, weather)? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Remains easy to administer and score? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Provide results that inform further instruction? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Align with the rubrics, checklists, and rating scales of fellow instructors?

No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Interview

Provides a deep understanding of individual student knowledge

Engages students’ higher order thinking skills

Time consuming Requires intensive

preparation Requires individual

attention to each student

Best suited for a low student to teacher ratio

Benefits to Instruction: Limitations:

In a review of Authentic Assessment techniques in Ecology education centers, Performance Tasks were said to be relatively easy to use in informal settings while still accessing all of the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.(Moorcroft, 2000)

Performance Task + Rubric

Performance Task + Rubric

Learning Objective:

GWF.1: Students will be able to model the physical structure of a watershed and the movementof water within a watershed.

Student participation will be assessed based on each student’s completion of a model of a watershed. Achievement will be measured by the teacher through the use of a rubric.

Students were instructed to construct a watershed using sand, and other items found on the beach. Students were then instructed to model the concept of a watershed using a small cup of water and their sand-model.

Teacher assessed student knowledge through the use of a rubric.

Assessment Tool: Rubric

Performance Task

4 points 3 points 2 points 1 point

Scientific Knowledge Explanations by student indicate a clear and accurate understanding of scientific principles underlying the construction and modifications.

Explanations by student indicate a relatively accurate understanding of scientific principles underlying the construction and modifications.

Explanations by student indicate relatively accurate understanding of scientific principles underlying the construction and modifications.

Explanations by student do not illustrate much understanding of scientific principles underlying the construction and modifications.

Low Point Student has included a visible low point in the model

Student has included a numerous low points in the model without any order

Student has included more than one low point without any connections between the two

Student has not included any low points in the model

Movement of water Student can effectively model the movement of water into a watershed using a small cup of water

Student models the water contributing to the watershed accurately but the movement out of the watershed is inaccurate

The watershed does not have any exit point for the water(student thinks the watershed is a closed in pond)

Student does not model any movement of water into or out of a watershed

Performance Task + RubricConnected to meaningful learning targets and standards? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Aligned to instructional goals? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Part of the fluid instructional process, not distinct from it? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Connected to lesson plans and focused on student learning? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Fit well into field day realities (e.g., scheduling, timing, weather)? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Remain easy to administer and score? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Provide results that inform further instruction? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Align with the rubrics, checklists, and rating scales of fellow instructors?

No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Performance Task + Rubric

Assesses individual components within the concept of the topic

More objective Ideal for non-verbal

students and kinesthetic learners

Requires no materials except the rubric

Requires a great deal of preparation

May seem to interfere with transitions (dead time)

Rubrics are not ideal for quick, in the field, assessments

Benefits to Instruction:Limitations

Performance Assessment

Performance Assessment

EE.3: Students will differentiate between biotic and abiotic factors.

Student knowledge will be assessed based on each student’s ability to sort items into biotic and abiotic categories. Achievement will be measured by the teacher through observation and the use of a student data sheet.

Students were each given 4 photo cards and instructed to individually place each of the cards into a box labeled “biotic” or a box labeled “abiotic”.

Student knowledge was evaluated by the teacher, with the number of correctly placed cards documented for each student.

Performance Assessment

Connected to meaningful learning targets and standards? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Aligned to instructional goals? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Part of the fluid instructional process, not distinct from it? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Connected to lesson plans and focused on student learning? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Fit well into field day realities (e.g., scheduling, timing, weather)? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Remain easy to administer and score? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Provide results that inform further instruction? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Align with the rubrics, checklists, and rating scales of fellow instructors?

No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Performance Assessment

Provides a quantitative measure of student’s recall of the vocabulary.

Students’ performance is not affected by the group.

Objective Requires relatively little

time to administer

Displays basic recall capability of each student, no deeper cognitive skills engaged.

Does not provide immediate feedback to students, Teacher is responsible for revisiting the topic with any struggling students after the fact.

Benefits to Instruction Limitations

Essay Assessments allow the teacher to examine the logic and reasoning behind students’ responses, lending further insight into the students’ understanding of a topic. Scaffolded essay assessments can be used to reduce the apparent size of the assessment task, and may be more suitable for younger students.

Prompted Journal Activity

Prompted Journal Activity

GWF.4: Students will be able to evaluate water quality based on observations and data collection.

•Student knowledge will be assessed based on the responses given through a prompted journal activity. The teacher will evaluate each response and rate accordingly.

Students were given a scaffolded essay assignment, and instructed to answer each question through writing.

The teacher evaluated the answers based on the appropriateness of the response.

Prompted Journal Activity

Measurements taken from the Lake today

Ideal Trout habitat requirements (found in your field notebook)

Water Temperature (in Celsius)pH ConductivityTurbidityDissolved Oxygen

Fill in the table below with the measurements you took from the Lake today:

Based on what you know about the ideal trout habitat, is the lake a suitable habitat for trout? Why?

Why do you think scientists measure the water quality? (temperature, pH, conductivity, turbidity, and Dissolved Oxygen)

Prompted Journal Activity

Connected to meaningful learning targets and standards? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Aligned to instructional goals? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Part of the fluid instructional process, not distinct from it? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Connected to lesson plans and focused on student learning? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Fit well into field day realities (e.g., scheduling, timing, weather)? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Remain easy to administer and score? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Provide results that inform further instruction? No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Align with the rubrics, checklists, and rating scales of fellow instructors?

No Somewhat Mostly Yes

Prompted Journal Activity

Provides a deep understanding of students ability to transfer the content of the lesson to the real world.

Incorporates writing into the science curriculum

Assessment validity may be impacted by students’ ability to express thoughts through writing.

Teacher may not be able to evaluate responses in the field, therefore feedback may not be available to students immediately.

May be seen by students as “work” and detract from the outdoor science experience.

Benefits to Instruction: Limitations:

Reflections

Based on the results of this study, I think that the most effective method of Formative Assessment is one that is accessible to all students, cohesive with instruction, and can be objectively measured. This is not a single method, but a combination of many.

Assessment Tasks vs. Assessment Tools

References

Popham, W.J. (2008). Classroom assessment: What teachers need to know (5th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Moorcroft, T., Desmarais, K.H., Hogan, K., Berkowitz, A.R. (2000). Authentic Assessment in the Informal Setting: How It Can Work for You. The Journal of Environmental Education, 31, 20-24.

Brody, M., Bangert, A., Dillon, J., (2005). Assessing Learning in Informal Science Contexts. National Research Council for Science Learning in Informal Environments Committee.

Tugel, J., Porter, I., (2010). Uncovering Student Thinking in Science Through CTS Action Research. Science Scope, September, 30-36.

There is a danger that rather than measuring what is important, what becomes important is what can be measured. (Brody, 2005)