Aug27

Rubrics

Scoring objective tests is easy: the answer is either correct or incorrect. But with essay questions, lab techniques, writing assignments, reports, cooperative or group work, presentations, or other projects (including multimedia ones), it gets more complicated. Some students (intuitively or through prior experience) just seem to know how to do things well. Others, however, need some guidance as to what the teacher would consider quality work. And facing a pile of reports or a roomful of projects to evaluate can be a daunting task. Sometimes the evaluation boils down to factors such as length, neatness, and spelling/grammar (and whether it's completed on time). While these criteria are certainly important, it's easy to concentrate on these without an in-depth consideration of the actual content, demonstrated skills, or creativity of a science project or activity.

This is where rubrics can be useful. A rubric is a summary of desired criteria for student work, including descriptions of levels of achievement for each criterion. A rubric can range from a simple checklist (where the levels are "present" and "not present") to more detailed, analytic rubrics, written in the form of a table with levels such as excellent, proficient, basic, or beginning. Sharing the rubric with the students ahead of time shows them the criteria on which their work will be evaluated and eliminates the "guess what the teacher thinks is important" frustration that many of us have felt ourselves as students.

With a rubric, I found that after looking at a few papers or projects, I had internalized the criteria and I could focus more on the quality and individuality of the students' work. I could give feedback that was more focused than just the phrase "good job" or "needs work." Creating rubrics can be a challenging task, but fortunately the Internet can come to the rescue. In the June-July issue of Learning and Leading with Technology, there was a guide to online Rubrics and Rubric Generators (which you can download and read for free). As I read this, I looked at the resources that did not require a subscription or purchase (FREE is an important word in my vocabulary). In examining each of these, I focused on how the resource could be useful in a science class. Here are some of the ones that were mentioned in the article:
  • Ideas and Rubrics: This resource from the Chicago Public Schools has lots of information on rubrics in general and a 22-page download with ideas for science-related rubrics. I would re-format them into a more student-friendly style, but this is an excellent resource.
  • Assessment Rubrics: Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators has been around for a long time, and this is one of many resources on this site. Look under the heading Subject Specific Rubrics for ideas for rubrics on reports, presentations (although there are dozens of other resources here on graphic organizers, report cards, etc.).
  • Rubistar: This site can be used without the free registration, but the advantage of registering is that you can save and edit your customized rubrics online.
  • Rubrics for Assessment: This collection of rubrics from a variety of sources is provided by the University of Wisconsin.
  • Rubric Maker: I found this from the Tech4Learning a link in one of the sites mentioned above. You don't have to sign in to use the generator, and you can save and print your rubrics.
I'm currently working on a rubric project with a group of educators. It's not easy to put the criteria and levels into words, but the discussions we've had about effective classroom practice and student learning have been enlightening and enjoyable.
Published: Aug-27-08 | 0 Comments | 285 Links to this post

Aug20

The Resource-Full Teacher

Some of you may remember the pre-Internet days when if you didn’t subscribe to a mailed publication, you had to trek to a public or university library to catch up on your reading on science topics. I must confess that for me back then, it was difficult to find the time to spend a few hours in the library (plus travel time) to find the publications and to read them right there and then.

But now, it's easy to bring selected resources right to your computer. Many organizations, institutions, and agencies have elecronic resources that they share, free of charge, just for signing up. The subscriptions give you options for the format (newsletters delivered via e-mail, notices that are linked to a website with the information, RSS feeds, and/or podcasts). Check the sites of your favorite museum, university or college science departments, or scientific agencies to see if they offer newsletters or RSS feeds.

Here are some e-mail based newsletters that I subscribe to and that you may want to take a look at:
  • Edutopia News and Technology in Education are both from the George Lucas Educational Foundation's Edutopia website. This is one of my favorites for seeing teachers and students in action. Click on the E-newsletters or RSS links at the top of the page to get started.
  • If you're a member, of NSTA, you already get the newsletters. If you’re not, you can still sign up for them. There is also a link for you to check the e-mail address that is on file for you. This is also where you sign up for the NSTA listserves.
  • I also like SmartBrief from the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development ASCD). It has educational news on a variety of topics from newspapers and professional publications. You don't have to be a member to subscribe to this service!
  • Get updates from the National Science Foundation via e-mail and/podcsts or RSS feeds. You can select specific topics (e.g., Biology, Geosciences, Education) and you can indicate how often you want the updates (immediately, daily, weekly, monthly – I selected daily so that my inbox is not cluttered up). The link to sign up is right on their home page.
  • Depending on your interest level, in-depth report, daily summaries, weekly summaries, and category-specific reports are among the options from Scientific American.
  • Sign up for Breaking News from NASA. There are options for immediate, daily, weekly or weekly updates plus options to get podcasts, images, and other agency newsletters.
How do you handle this information? If you don't want to clog up your school e-mail account or the one you share with others at home, you can set up a yahoo, hotmail, or gmail account (for free) just for these these messages. All of your reading materials will be in one place! However, some schools do not let teachers check e-mails other than the school one, so you may need to check if you can access these other mail sites at school. If you do sign up for a resource, be sure to read the fine print, especially if it is from a commercial entity. On some, you must opt out of receiving other materials or of having your email "shared" with others.

Do I read everything in these newsletters? No, I've leared to be a gourmet rather than a glutton! I scroll down and look at those whose title or summary sounds interesting or relevant. And sometimes I look at articles on topics I know little about, just to sample a new topic to learn more.
Published: Aug-20-08 | 1 Comment | 0 Links to this post

Aug14

Thinking Like a Scientist

As the new school year is getting underway, are you looking for some experiences to get students focused on scientific thinking and research skills? How can we show students what scientists actually "do" and how they communicate?

In one of the NSTA's listservs , the site Natural Inquirer was mentioned and recommended, so I took a look. This is described as a "middle school science education journal" for students and teachers and is published by the USDA Forest Service. The articles are written by scientists who conduct various types of research. These aren't just summaries or digests – the articles describe the methodology and discuss the results, just like an article in a professional science journal. The difference is that these are written in student-friendly language and include resources for the classroom.

In each issue, the articles can be downloaded as PDF files. Many are also available in Spanish. Each article introduces the scientists and has a glossary, graphs, diagrams, charts, and photographs. What I really like, though, were the reflection questions throughout the article to get students to stop and think as they read. Many articles also have a "factivity" that extends the concept to the classroom as a hands-on investigation or a vocabulary review.

Some of the issues have several articles relating to a theme; others are monographs with one article. You can browse the contents of each issue, but I found the search feature helpful. The "Education Resources" link has ideas for lesson plans, downloadable podcasts, and slide shows. And, best of all, the downloads and other resources are FREE.

Some of the topics include the effects of nonnative earthworms on the environment; the relationship between carbon, photosynthesis, and roots of trees; the relationship between nonnative trout and pacific tree frogs; using harmonic radar to track the flight of beetles; the potential impact of rising levels of carbon dioxide on U.S. forests.

If you're an elementary or high school teacher, please take a look at this site, too. Even though the journal is designed for the middle school level (ages 11-14), the articles and activities could be useful at other grade levels: for upper elementary students who are interested in science and who could handle the reading level or for high school students with little experience in science thinking and hands-on science or those who struggle with the advanced reading level in traditional textbooks. Or for teachers who want to learn more for themselves! You could also give a copy of the articles that are in Spanish to the Spanish teachers in your school for their students to read "real" materials.

The articles are multidisciplinary, focusing not just on biology and ecology, but also on related topics in the physical and earth sciences. There is an invitation to "login" (which is necessary to purchase hard copies), but I just browsed through the site and downloaded a few articles without registering. Can you tell that I like this site?
Published: Aug-14-08 | 0 Comments | 0 Links to this post

Aug06

Informal Science Education

To a science teacher, an ideal summer day might include a stroll through a zoo or botanical garden, a cool afternoon in a planetarium or aquarium, a hike in a state or national park with a pair of binoculars and a guidebook, or a visit to a museum. On these personal field trips, we don't need to worry about permission slips and bus counts – we can enjoy and learn on our own terms with family and friends.

What happens in these out-of-classroom programs is referred to as "informal education." These experiences allow us to choose and explore topics of personal interest and learn new things. NSTA's position statement on informal science education recognizes the contributions of informal science institutions and organizations in providing opportunities for lifelong learning. Check out the article Formal vs. Informal Education for a comparison of these.

It's enjoyable to visit one of these places with another science teacher. The level of conversation is different than when you visit these places alone or with your families. A day exploring one of these venues and discussing science topics is a great way to increase or integrate content knowledge. For example, at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, my colleague and I spent a lot of time with the exhibits related to plate tectonics. We learned new content information, and the displays gave us some ideas for sharing this with our students. We took lots of notes. Our spouses (who are not science teachers) eventually gave up and wandered off to other exhibits!

Or visit these places through the eyes of a child or teenager. What strategies do the informal educators use to attract our attention and hold our interest in the exhibits? Learning Science Beyond the Classroom in the summer issue of The Science Teacher describes some of these techniques. Could any of these apply to the formal classroom?

As the price of travel increases, don't overlook places closer to home. To find a new place to visit, check out the website of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums or the American Association of Museums.

Many of these informal science venues have excellent websites, too. I can spend hours on the website of the Exploratorium in San Francisco with its comprehensive collection of lessons and demonstrations for the classroom. These institutions may also have virtual tours, too. The National Park Service website has armchair views of the parks – not quite the same as being there, but still a good learning experience.

With all that we can learn both onsite and online, perhaps we need to coin a new phrase: informal professional development. This process keeps us informed and up-to-date, extending our previous content knowledge and inspiring us to learn new things. I'm sure that my childhood visits to the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia had a profound influence on my own interest in science.
Published: Aug-06-08 | 0 Comments | 96 Links to this post