February 20, 2009

Enjoy some breakfast and networking!We’ll begin at 9:00.

Start and end on time

Put cell phones on silent

Be respectful of all comments

Everyone participates

Exercise the rule of “two feet”

Come prepared for each meeting

Keep side conversations to a minimum

2

Observations Debrief with Mike Howard◦ OTOP Clarification◦ Overall Strengths and Weaknesses

Teaching for Conceptual Change◦ Sequoia Probe◦ Chapter 3 in Ready, Set, Science!

Update on Properties of Matter◦ Measuring Area and Volume

Looking AheadTo Year Three

Observations:Old and New

Metacognition

ScoringPre and Post

Tests

Solids and Liquids

Continuation RFA just releasedRequirements and parameters

Different scenarios to consider

Preferences and considerations for continuation grant

Part I: Strengths and Weakness

◦ Review Impressions

◦ According to the Data

Strengths

◦ Used a variety of means to

represent concepts

◦ Teacher as a facilitator

◦ Active role for students

◦ Use of manipulatives to

explore ideas…

11 of 15

12 of 15

13 of 15

15 of 15

Weaknesses

◦ Emphasis on learning factual

knowledge, skills/procedures

◦ Appropriate connections with other

content

◦ Teacher encourages students to be

reflective

◦ Students are encouraged to generate

conjectures, alternative solutions…

6 of 15

3 of 15

3 of 15

2 of 15

Part II: Rubrics

◦ Review

◦ Revise

What is it?

Why is it important to educators?

What does it look like when used effectively in a science lesson?

Rate your current ability to answer the three questions posted about metacognition:◦ Choose the color of post-it that matches

your confidence level. Green = very confident, I know it. Yellow = fairly confident, still have questions Red (pink) = I have no idea!

◦ Put your name on the post-it and place it below the question.

◦ Repeat for each question.

Know Want to Know

Learned

What is it?

Why is it important?

What does it look like?

Read the pages copied from How Students Learn Science

As you read, look for answers to the three questions:

What is it? Why is it important? What does it look like in use?

Write the appropriate bold term in the margin where you find an answer to the corresponding question.

Move to the location your group was assigned and brainstorm answers to the question on the chart paper.

When time is called rotate chart paper (clockwise) to a new group.

When time is called repeat the rotation once more so that each group has had the chance to add ideas to all three charts.

The person in your group who most recently went to the movies will post your chart and report out.

Take a look at your K-W-L Chart and make any revisions/additions you feel are needed at this time.

Scan through the lesson on Day One in the third grade section of the “Force and Motion Instructional Module”

Identify segments/activities designed to have students thinking about their thinking.

Share what you identified with a partner.

What did we do in our work today that was metacognitive in nature?

Complete your K-W-L

Questions?

Talk and Argument

Individual Assignment:◦ Share whether you agree or disagree with the

statement.◦ Share summary of support or refutation

information.◦ Include instructional implications related to the

statement as well as any strategies provided. 2 minutes/person to share with whole group If students are not taught how nor given the

opportunity to talk about and argue about their current understanding, what might be some implications for student learning?

Ch. 5 Making Thinking Visible: Talk and Argument

DOK

Activate Prior Knowledge Please work individually and mark if you

agree or disagree.

Depth of Knowledge (DOK)

Taken from the model developed by Norman Webb, University of Wisconsin, to align standards with assessmentsUsed by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) for assessment alignment in more than ten states

Depth of Knowledge

Focuses on the cognitive processing that is required to complete an assessment taskDescriptive, not a taxonomyNot the same as difficulty

Why Depth of Knowledge?

Mechanism to ensure that the intent of the standard and the level of student demonstration required by that standard matches the assessment items (required under NCLB)

Provides cognitive processing ceiling for item development

Depth of Knowledge

Four levels of depth of knowledge:

Recall and Reproduction - Level 1

Skills & Concepts/Basic Reasoning - Level 2

Strategic Thinking/Complex Reasoning - Level 3

Extended Thinking/Reasoning - Level 4

What is the DOK level? For the following slides, chose which DOK

level is appropriate. Justify your choice Share with a partner

Recall and Reproduction - Level 1

requires recall of information, such as a fact, definition, term, or performing a simple process or procedure. A student either knows the answer or doesn’t.

Answering a Level 1 item can involve following a simple, well-known procedure or formula. Simple skills and abilities or rote responses characterize DOK 1.

Recall and Reproduction Examples

List animals that survive by eating other animals.Locate or recall facts explicitly found in text.Describe physical features of objects.Perform a routine procedure, such as measuring length.Perform a simple science process or a set procedure.Represent in words or diagrams a scientific concept.

Skills & Concepts/Basic Reasoning - Level 2

includes the engagement of some mental processing beyond recalling or reproducing a response. Items require students to make some decisions as to how to approach the question or problem.

These actions imply more than one mental or cognitive process/step.

Skills and Concepts Examples

Compare desert and tropical environmentsIdentify and summarize the major events, problem, solution, conflicts in textExplain the cause-effect of eventsPredict a logical outcome based on information in a reading selectionSelect a procedure according to specified criteria and perform it.Classify plane and three dimensional figuresCollect and display data.

Strategic Thinking/Complex Reasoning - Level 3

requires deep knowledge as exhibited through planning, using evidence, and more demanding cognitive reasoning. The cognitive demands at Level 3 are complex and abstract.

An activity that has more than one possible answer and requires students to justify the response they give would most likely be a Level 3.

Strategic Thinking Examples

Interpret information from a complex graph.Use reasoning, planning, or evidence.Justify a response when more than one answer is possible.Research and explain a scientific concept.Form conclusions from experimental or observational data. Explain thinking beyond a simple explanation or using a word or two.

Extended Thinking/Reasoning - Level 4

requires high cognitive demand and is very complex. Students are expected to make several connections—relate ideas within the content or among content areas—and have to select or devise one approach among many alternatives on how the situation can be solved.

Due to the complexity of cognitive demand, DOK 4 often requires an extended period of time.

However, extended time alone is not the distinguishing factor.

Task DOK Level

Collecting data samples over several months

DOK 1

Organizing the data in a chart DOK 2

Using this chart to make and justify predictions

DOK 3

Developing a generalized model from this data and applying it to a new situation

DOK 4

Extended Thinking Examples

Gather, analyze, organize, and interpret information from multiple (print and non print sources) to draft a reasoned reportConduct an investigation, from identifying the problem to designing and carrying out the experiment, to analyzing the data and forming conclusions. Relate ideas within the content area or among content areas.

DOK is not verb-dependent…

DOK 1- List two animals that survive by eating other animals. (simple recall)

DOK 2- List two reasons that desert environments do not support large carnivores. (requires conceptual understanding of how organisms interact with their environments)

DOK 3- List the data you would need to collect and the experimental steps you would take to investigate the impact of precipitation amounts on the bear population of an island. (requires deep understanding of how a scientific investigation is conducted)

Same verb—three DOK levels

DOK levels can be cumulative

An item/standard written to DOK 3 often also contains DOK 1 and DOK 2

level demands

Determining DOK: Science Example

Sample Science Assessment Limit(based on Webb)

Example A: Perform a simple science process or a set procedure to gather data 

Example B: Represent data collected over a period time, making comparisons and interpretations 

Example C: Interpret data collected for a research question for a scientific problem related to your environment  

DOK CeilingLevel

1

2

3

Potential DOK Levelsfor Assessment

1 (Measure temperature of

water)

1(Measure temperature of water at

different times/places)2

(Construct a graph to organize, display, and compare data)

1(Measure temperature of water at

different times/places)2

(Construct a graph to organize, display, and compare data)

3(Design an investigation to explain the affect of varying temperatures of the river in different locations)

Remember…Depth of Knowledge (DOK) is a scale of

cognitive demand.

DOK requires looking at the assessment item/standard-not student work-in order to determine the level. DOK is about the item/standard-not the student.

The context of the assessment item/standard must be considered to determine the DOK not just a look at what verb was chosen.

Comparison of Student Test to the Standards Read through the 4th grade student test on

Force and Motion. Working with a partner, mark the DoK level

for each item. Examine the related standards and

determine if the items are congruent to the standards and the ceiling DoK level(s) in the standards.

Identify strengths and weaknesses of the test as related to the standards and DoK level(s).

Comparison of Student Test to the Standards Examine the verb frequency count in PoS

and CCA for Elementary Science. What are some implications for classroom

instruction? What are some implications for classroom

assessments?

States of Matter

Learning Targets

I can describe properties of solids and liquids.

Is it a Solid?Is it a Solid? Working with a partner, sort the items into

those that are a solid and those that are not.

As you sort, give justifications for your sorting.

When finished, write down the rule you used for your sort.

Looking AheadTo Year Three

Observations:Old and New

Metacognition

ScoringPre and Post

Tests

Solids and Liquids

Data from classroom observations, which use an instrument designed for effective science instruction, can be useful in determining strengths and weaknesses in science classroom instruction for individual teachers and for building needs.

Teaching students to be metacognitive is an essential component of effective teaching and learning.

Summative assessments in the classroom should be congruent to the assessed standards and at the specified DoK levels.

Both teachers and students need to uncover their current understanding of a concept in order to move students to a more scientifically accurate conception. Classroom activities must be purposefully planned to do this.

                                                                                                                                                

"I know your teachers are very demanding and all the kids avoid you, but you have to go to school, Dear. You're the principal!"

Read chapter 4 in Active Learning Through Formative Assessment.

Questions to consider while reading:◦ What is dialogic talk and what role should it play

in the classroom?◦ What are some important ‘lessons learned’

about ensuring quality talk in the classroom?◦ What are some different/new techniques for

improving and increasing the amount of quality talk in your classroom?

◦ If dialogic talk is improved in the classroom, what might be some instructional implications?