Behind the Curtain: Assessment
How assessments demonstrate mastery of standards and objectives
In general, we will use a mastery standard for students in this unit. Students will have access to rubrics for activities that they will be assessed on that will help guide them towards reaching the standards. Here we discuss how some particular activities and standards will require mastery from students.
How feedback is provided to students
Students will be provided feedback in a variety of ways, from both their peers and the teacher. Every group will write up a proposal and the teacher will provide written feedback on them. Students will use that feedback to revise their project. Students will also create a mock-up of their project, and will present it in a gallery walk. Every group will evaluate two other groups’ proposals during a mini gallery walk, and will give them comments and suggestions and ask questions. Towards the end of the unit, students will fill out a final presentation rubric for other groups, which is meant to familiarize everyone with the final presentation rubric, as well as get feedback from their peers about their project. Students will have two more days to finish their presentations after the gallery walk.
How final assessments will evaluate
How final assessments focus on team products and individual learning
There are two final rubrics for this unit: one on the presentation and one on the individual paper. Students' grades will be influenced by the group grade as a part of their presentation grade, but there will also be an individual component of the presentation. Students will be entirely responsible for an individual paper on a similar subject as their presentation.
The group assessments emphasize the quality of the product - specifically the inclusion of relevant math and nanoscience topics and connections between them, but also students' group communication and organizational abilities will be evaluated.
The individual assessments focus on 21st century skills, participation, and students' role in the groups, in addition to the math, nanoscience, and connections from the group work. These latter three will need to be included in their paper, obviously put in their own words, and they will be evaluated here on other relevant skills like organization and citations.
How students will present their products
There are multiple avenues that could work for having students present their final products. The students could present their final products in a two day poster show, a two day group presentation, or stationed gallery walk. There are a number of different ways to setup the final presentation, these are just a few examples. Outside guests will be invited, such as parents and nanoscience experts. They will be given a short feedback form to fill out to give students concrete ideas about what went well and what they could have done to improve on their designs and presentation.
In general, we will use a mastery standard for students in this unit. Students will have access to rubrics for activities that they will be assessed on that will help guide them towards reaching the standards. Here we discuss how some particular activities and standards will require mastery from students.
- The Excel activity will push students towards mastery of standard N.S.2 - "Learners will compare surface-area-to-volume ratios of different sized objects and explain that surface-area-to-volume ratios play a role in the unique properties of objects at the nano-scale." The rubric provided gives a clear focus for students' performance, but it is important that students show mastery of this. The rubric focuses on demonstrating the mathematical patterns, whereas the activity teacher guide presents some questions and ways of assessing if students understand the importance of the principle of surface area to volume ratio, such as: "how do you decrease an object's SA/V ratio?"
These types of questions urge students towards mastery of the math content. The questions at the end of the student activity encourage mastery of the SA/V ratio concept. For example, students will need to correctly answer basic questions about surface area and volume changing, but also a higher order question about an application of SA/V ratio.
- The Evolution of Cell Phones and Science timeline will push students towards mastery of standards N.S.4. "Learners will recognize that scientists and engineers were unable to study the nano-scale until advances in technology made it possible," T.C.1 "Students will be able to collaborate...," T.C.2 "Students will be able to communicate effectively...," and T.C.3 "Students will demonstrate creativity..." by having them work in groups on a timeline that will require them to research cell phones and advances in science. The rubric for the activity gives a clear understanding of the expectations for the assignment and how to display mastery (perfect score).
At this point in the year, all the 21st Century Skills addressed here have already been taught and for the most part, successfully demonstrated by students. The teacher can keep track of these ongoing skills with peer and self assessments or an informal checklist that they use when observing group work. The teacher can further check student mastery of the Nanoscience standard with a debriefing where they ask students to think about how science has helped cell phones grow and expand as represented on their timelines.
- The Macro2Nano activity will push students towards mastery of standard N.S.1 - "Learners will be able to relate the size of nano-sized objects to objects encountered in daily life (macroscale).” For the activity, the students are expected to find real-world examples of nano-sized objects and macroscopic objects. The provided rubric guides students towards creating a connection between their real-world objects and the four “worlds”.
This requirement helps students visualize each of the four worlds. After this, the rubric asks students to order the four objects in terms of size, helping students build upon their sense of relation and scale between each of the four worlds. If students meet all the requirements set about in the rubric, students will walk away with a high level understanding of how nano-sized and macro-sized objects relate. -
The final presentation rubric and individual paper rubric require students to demonstrate
all math and nanotechnology standards because students are specifically asked to
provide at least 2 applications of nanoscience and math content to their
project, as well as make connections between any two fields of design, nanoscience,
and/or math. Students will be answering questions about nanoscience and math concepts and how they apply to their project most days in the Activity Log (see rubric) to help them prepare for their final presentation and paper. As students are working on their project, they are given chances
to revise their work, allowing them to work toward mastery.
The final presentation covers 21st century standards in addition to content standards. Students are assessed on the uniqueness of their project and cell phone idea and the creativity of the visual aid they provide. Students are also assessed on their verbal communication in the presentation, participation throughout the project, fulfilling their role in their group, and evidence of 21st century skills in general. Students will have time to practice speaking and presenting to their peers throughout the unit, especially in the Mock-Up / Gallery Walk, which will give them the chance to achieve mastery, or improve their skills. They are also given chances to reflect on their contribution and that of the group members, so that issues can be addressed early on.
- The checkpoint quizzes require students to demonstrate mastery of the Geometry content standards and transfer of the nanoscience standards.
How feedback is provided to students
Students will be provided feedback in a variety of ways, from both their peers and the teacher. Every group will write up a proposal and the teacher will provide written feedback on them. Students will use that feedback to revise their project. Students will also create a mock-up of their project, and will present it in a gallery walk. Every group will evaluate two other groups’ proposals during a mini gallery walk, and will give them comments and suggestions and ask questions. Towards the end of the unit, students will fill out a final presentation rubric for other groups, which is meant to familiarize everyone with the final presentation rubric, as well as get feedback from their peers about their project. Students will have two more days to finish their presentations after the gallery walk.
How final assessments will evaluate
- Content Knowledge - Student content knowledge will be assessed via the checkpoint quizzes, final presentation rubric and individual paper rubric. Both of these rubrics contain sections that measure how well and how often the student applies the nanoscience content and math content to their project. Additionally, the rubric checks for connections between the project design, nanoscience, and math.
- Final Project - The final "project" consists of two different components, a paper and a presentation. Once again, both projects will be assessed via the rubrics for the paper and the presentation. For example, the visual aid in the final project presentation should be creative and illustrate the math and nanoscience applications.
- Processes used by students - During final presentations, students will elaborate on how their project has evolved over the course of the unit. Students are expected to describe how their project has changed from the proposal to the mock-up to the final presentation. This is measured on the final presentation rubric under the category "Project Evolution."
- Skills developed by students - We expect students to develop 21st century skills such as collaboration and communication. Student communication will be evaluated based on the "Verbal Communication" section of the final presentation rubric. Creativity will be evaluated based on the "Uniqueness in at least 1 area of nano content" and the "Visual Aid" sections of the final presentation rubric.
How final assessments focus on team products and individual learning
There are two final rubrics for this unit: one on the presentation and one on the individual paper. Students' grades will be influenced by the group grade as a part of their presentation grade, but there will also be an individual component of the presentation. Students will be entirely responsible for an individual paper on a similar subject as their presentation.
The group assessments emphasize the quality of the product - specifically the inclusion of relevant math and nanoscience topics and connections between them, but also students' group communication and organizational abilities will be evaluated.
The individual assessments focus on 21st century skills, participation, and students' role in the groups, in addition to the math, nanoscience, and connections from the group work. These latter three will need to be included in their paper, obviously put in their own words, and they will be evaluated here on other relevant skills like organization and citations.
How students will present their products
There are multiple avenues that could work for having students present their final products. The students could present their final products in a two day poster show, a two day group presentation, or stationed gallery walk. There are a number of different ways to setup the final presentation, these are just a few examples. Outside guests will be invited, such as parents and nanoscience experts. They will be given a short feedback form to fill out to give students concrete ideas about what went well and what they could have done to improve on their designs and presentation.
- Two day poster show: the teacher would split the groups between the two days to present. Each group would have a table setup with a poster that meets all project requirements and any other materials they need to present their product. The groups that are not presenting are attending the poster show along with any outside guests the teacher or students invite. This happens on both days. Groups that require electronic devices to show their presentations, should have those with them at their tables as well (e.g., computers, 3D models, drawings, etc.).
- Two day group presentations are just your traditional presentation set up, we've just divided the groups into two presenting days like above. Groups are given an allotted amount of time for their full presentations including Q & A session. All students and invited guests serve as an audience for each presentation. The audience should be ready to participate in the presentation, as groups are encouraged to be as interactive as possible. In addition, invited guests will fill out presentation rubrics for groups. Again, the same thing happens on both days of presentations. The teacher should have a computer and projector available for groups that need it.
- Stationed gallery walk: all groups would be set up to present their projects on the same day. Students will roam freely to view projects of their choice that will be maned by one member of the group responsible for explaining the project to the visitors and students alike. If the teacher wants every student to be able to visit every group, it would be a good idea to set a time limit for time spent at each project and have students rotate when time is up. During the gallery walk, at some point each group member should take a turn at explaining their projects to those who come to view it. The teacher should keep track to make sure the groups are rotating and the same person does not do all the explaining and never visit any other projects.