Formative Assessment : How Do We Know Our Students Are Getting It?

1. Formative Assessment: How Do We Know Our Students Are Getting It? Julie Baldwin Dept. of Geosciences University of Montana Darrell Henry Dept. of Geology and Geophysics Louisiana State University

2. Goals for this session • Discuss formative assessment and its role in increasing student achievement/motivation in MPG courses • Learn/review a variety of formative assessment classroom techniques that can be used in MPG courses • Discuss role of technology in applying formative assessment tools (clickers)

3. Types and Purpose of Assessment • Diagnostic: To identify preconceptions, lines of reasoning and learning difficulties • Formative: to inform instruction and provide feedback to students on their learning • Summative: To measure and document the extent to which students have achieved a learning target From: http://courses.ece.ubc.ca/365/final.html

4. Formative assessment From Preface to Keeley (2008), SCIENCE Formative Assessment: 75 Practical Strategies for Linking Assessment, Instruction, and Learning, NSTA Press “The most important single factor influencing learning is what the learner already knows. Ascertain this and teach him accordingly.” - Ausubel, Novak, and Hanesian (1978)

5. Formative assessment • “Assessment encompasses teacher observation, classroom discussion, and analysis of student work, including homework and tests.” • “Assessments become formative when the information is used to adapt teaching and learning to meet student needs.” After “Boston, Carol (2002). The concept of formative assessment. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 8(9).”

6. Formative assessment • What does a formative assessment-centered classroom look like? • Combines formative assessment classroom techniques (FACTs) with instruction for a specific teaching and learning purpose • Instruction, assessment, and learning are intertwined • Students learn while instructor gathers feedback that informs instruction • Students are provided with feedback on their learning

7. Purposes for using FACTs Fig 1.2 Keeley (2008), SCIENCE Formative Assessment: 75 Practical Strategies for Linking Assessment, Instruction, and Learning, NSTA Press Activate thinking and engage students in learning Make students’ ideas explicit to themselves and the instructor Challenge students’ existing ideas and encourage intellectual curiosity Encourage continuous reflection on teaching and learning Help students recognize when they have learned or not learned something Inform immediate or later adjustments to instruction Help students develop self-assessment and peer assessment skills Give and use feedback (student to student, teacher to student, and student to teacher)

8. Examples of FACTs Keeley (2008), SCIENCE Formative Assessment: 75 Practical Strategies for Linking Assessment, Instruction, and Learning, NSTA Press • Think-Pair-Share • Directed Paraphrasing • Annotated Student Drawings • Three-Minute Pause • Interest Scale

9. Think-Pair-Share • Combines thinking with communication • Have students to discuss their thoughts about a question or topic in pairs or small groups, then ask a representative to share the thinking with the larger group • Can be used at any stage of instruction http://historytech.wordpress.com/2010/03/12/tip-of-the-week-interactive-lectures-i/

10. i>clicker question Anhydrite has the formula CaSO4. Ca has a coordination number of 8 and S has a coordination number of 4. The evb of Ca is _____. The evb of S is _____. A. 1/8, 1 B. 1/4, 2/3 C. 2, 2/3 D. 1/4, 3/2

11. i>clicker question True or False. The S-O bond in anhydrite is weaker than the Ca-O bond.

12. i>clicker question True or False. The S-O bond in anhydrite is anisodesmic.

13. Example of TPS following discussion of Pauling’s Rules… Make a prediction regarding the crystal structure of anhydrite. Think about and write your own answer. Then in pairs, discuss the following: 1) what are the shapes of the coordination polyhedra? Refer to them as the Ca-polyhedra and the S-polyhedra2) How do you think these polyhedra are linked together (think about Pauling’s 3rd and 4th rules)?

14. Directed paraphrasing • Have students write their understanding of vocabulary/concepts after instruction. • Direct the paraphrase towards a particular audience: e.g., parents, younger children, famous scientists who work on subject • Explain to a 10-year-old child how minerals are classified. • Explain to a mineralogist the solid solution that occurs in plagioclase feldspar.

15. Annotated student drawing Encourages students to access their prior knowledge and visually represent their thinking The act of drawing encourages sense making and awareness of one’s own ideas Appeals to visual learners Can be used to examine how students use scientific terminology Can surface areas of understanding and misunderstanding that are often not captured by words

16. Annotated student drawing http://wpstipurangaroom16.blogspot.com/2008_10_01_archive.html Draw a picture that would help someone understand what happens to a rock as it passes through the rock cycle. Draw, label, and briefly describe each part of the rock cycle. Include the changes in form and the processes that cause these changes.

17. Three-Minute Pause Decide on logical breaks in lesson. Students divide up in pairs or triads and discuss their ideas from the lesson for 3 minutes. When the 3 minutes are up, the students stop talking and the lesson resumes. At the end of the lesson, students have three minutes to discuss and resolve any lingering questions. Unresolved questions are then discussed as a class or addressed at the beginning of the subsequent class. Best used in lesson with large volumes of information (e.g. optical mineralogy, crystallography)

18. Interest Scale Gauges student interest in the topic being taught Uses chart with marked scale in which students place Post-it notes on a scale of low to high to indicate their level of interest in the topic before, during, or after instruction Student interest is a strong contributing factor to student learning Shows students that you value their level of engagement in the learning process Must be willing to modify teaching in response to feedback (make content more relevant and engaging)

19. Using technology (clickers) for FA • Have students answer questions during lecture and check answers.  • Technological approach – Using clickers in MPG courses From: http://dickersondesigns.com/2010/11/more-handheld-devices-in-the-classroom/

20. i>clickers in MPG courses • Lecture “quizzes” • Attendance • Anonymous polling • Formative Assessment • Students take active role in class • Clear indication of what students are learning • Real time feedback on instruction with minimal paperwork • Gradebook tied to course management systems (e.g. BB, Moodle)

21. Examples of clicker questions in Mineralogy

22. i>clicker question True or False. A Si-O bond is less ionic than a Ca-O bond.

23. i>clicker question True or False. Elements with a low electronegativity are electron donors.

24. i>clicker question Which element has the smallest ionic radius? • Na+ • Al3+ • Si4+ • P5+

25. i>clicker: Determine the ability (A. strong-probably; B. weak-improbable; C. moderate-so so) of the following ions to substitute in the minerals below. a. Rb+1 for K+1 in orthoclase, KAlSi3O8 b. Ba+2 for Ca+2 in anorthite, CaAl2Si2O8 c. Sr+2 for Ba+2 in barite, BaSO4 d. Ti+4 for K+1 in orthoclase, KAlSi3O8 e. Ba+2 for K+1 in orthoclase, KAlSi3O8     
f. Zn+2 for Ca+2 in CaAl2Si2O8 , anorthite

26. i>clicker question The spinels are a group of oxide minerals with two end members MgAl2O4 (spinel) and Fe2TiO4 (ulvöspinel). Write out an expression for the solid solution that occurs between these two end members. What type of solid solution is this? Agree Disagree Don’t Know.

27. i>clicker question The Stillwater Complex is a layered mafic intrusion in Montana, with ultramafic rocks at the bottom (mostly olivine) layered with mafic rocks on top (mostly pyroxene) that get progressively more felsic higher in the sequence (mostly plagioclase). Can you think of a process that would result in this layering? What type of crystallization process (equilibrium or fractional) does this most closely approximate and why? Discuss in small groups. Agree Disagree Don’t Know

28. i>clicker question kyanite inclusions (bright) in andalusite (grey) What is a possible P-T path to develop the texture shown in the above photomicrograph? D. B. A. C.

29. i>clicker question You examine an outcrop of rocks that has uniform plagioclase crystals with a composition of An30. What was the composition of the first plagioclase crystal to form from this magma? A. An100 B. An70 C. An55 D. An30

30. i>clicker question Suppose you have a magma that initially crystallizes Fo80 olivine. At 1400°C, the olivine crystals settle out of the magma and form a layer at the bottom. Assuming the magma continues to crystallize without any further crystal settling, what will the composition of the top layer of olivine crystals be ? A. Fo80 B. Fo60 C. Fo0 D. Fo15

31. i>clicker question If you find blueschist and eclogite rocks together in an area, then the tectonic setting is most likely a: • Continental collision • Volcanic arc • Hot spot • Subduction zone

32. i>clicker question Which metal would most likely be found in an ore deposit formed by crystal settling in a magma chamber? copper gold silver chromium

33. i>clicker question Magmatic mineral deposits include all of the following EXCEPT Tourmaline and beryl from pegmatites Diamonds in kimberlites bauxite from laterite chromite and magnetite from a layered intrusion

34. i>clicker question Chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and bornite are sources of which metal? manganese copper iron zinc

35. Final tips • Assessment is not formative unless it is used to inform teaching or guide learning • Effective teachers constantly monitor for engagement—and when they know that students are not engaged, they do something to change it. • Start small—pick just a couple of new strategies to implement. • Tell the students what you are doing and why • Don’t grade FACTs (but you can count them towards participation) – use them to inform your teaching. They shouldn’t create an increased workload for you.

36. References Keeley (2008), SCIENCE Formative Assessment: 75 Practical Strategies for Linking Assessment, Instruction, and Learning, NSTA Press Angelo and Cross (1993), Classroom Assessment Techniques: A Handbook for College Teachers (2nd ed), Jossey-Bass