Download Franz Meyer 10/18/10 Performance Assessment for Science

Franz Meyer
10/18/10
Performance Assessment for Science Curriculum Course
Biology and the life sciences are held together by a few overarching topics, arguably
the most important and most controversial is the concept of Evolution. Evolution brings
together the disparate themes in biology: heredity, genetics, microbiology, ecosystems,
paleontology, and the study of organism’s life patterns. While it will be a theme throughout
my entire life science course, there will be an entire unit devoted exclusively to evolution.
Within that unit, the keystone concept is Darwin’s theory of Natural Selection as the
mechanism for evolution.
Darwin’s theory of natural selection states that the organisms with the traits best
suited to their environments will survive at greater rates than others, which leads to
origination of new species. “Survival of the Fittest,” “the strong will survive,” and more.
The key points that students need to understand for this concept are that:
a) Natural selection is one, but not the only way that new species are formed
b) That overproduction, inherited variation, the struggle to survive, and successful
reproduction are the four main parts of natural selection.
c) Genetics allows us to explain why different traits are inherited
These ideas have permeated our culture in various ways and become part of average
people’s conversational vocabulary. This leads to students coming into class with various
levels of understanding of the topic and a host of prior misconceptions and a load of
schema to sift through. The multitude of religious, social, political, and historical views and
components of Natural Selection allow it to be a fascinating topic and a powerful
opportunity for critical thinking.
The first thing that I will need to do is assess student’s prior knowledge. As a
teacher, learning my student’s misconceptions is the first step to correcting them. Plus, it
allows me to better use their prior knowledge in creating activities that allow them to
construct their own understanding of the topic. To assess knowledge I will use a variety of
means, both formative and summative. Learning student’s prior knowledge will be done
formally using the diagnostic test at the beginning of the grading period. Then I will do it
informally during the daily catalyst warm-up, journaling and/or think-write-pair-shares.
Cold calling on students after they have written on prompts designed to delve into prior
knowledge will help me get an unbiased sampling of students knowledge. With a topic like
Natural Selection, I could even use the KWL strategy, since it is broad enough and students
would know enough about it that they can utilize it the best.
Specifically, executing on pre-assessing student knowledge for this topic would be
best done using the daily catalyst warm up as well and a KWL chart. Every day in my class
the students begin the class period by completing a “Daily Catalyst” question. The
questions I could ask to warm students up for this topic are myriad. I would ask students a
triumvirate of opinion questions:

Why do some organisms become extinct?

How do you think new breeds of dogs are created?

Do all organisms survive long enough to reproduce? Why would some survive
better than others?
Students would write down their answers to these questions on their Daily Catalyst sheets.
Then, I will draw student’s names at random (using popsicle sticks with student’s names on
them) to answer the questions. I will pull multiple names for each question, so that I get a
representative sample of student’s knowledge and understanding at the outset. Depending
on how many days I intend to focus on natural selection, a worthwhile activity would be for
the students to create “what we KNOW-what we WANT to know-what we LEARNED” chart.
I would ask students to brainstorm everything they know already about evolution and
natural selection, and they would write it in the first “KNOW” column. Then students
would brainstorm everything they want to know about the topic and write that in the
“WANT” column. Finally, after the lesson is over, students will complete the chart by filling
in what they learned. This allows students to metacognitively track their learning and
guide their inquiry and learning while simultaneously informing me of what my students
know and what they are interested in learning more about.
As for summative assessments, there are three big options that I would probably
use. My go-to assessment would be a short exit ticket that checks for objective mastery. In
the last few minutes of class, students complete a short (5 question) questionnaire. This
allows my students and I to track and see if they had mastered the idea for the day or not.
The questions are targeted at a specific objective. For example, for a lesson for the
objective “Students WILL use the theory of natural selection to hypothesize about the
evolution of new species”, I would ask students questions like “In east Africa, poaching for
elephant tusks is putting pressure on the elephant population. Using the theory of natura
selection, justify why more elephants in east Africa do not have tusks.”
My second option would be a writing assignment, such as a RAFT (Role, Audience,
Format, Topic), where students handle ideas like they would silly putty. Students would
take on a role, address an audience in a particular writing format about a given topic. By
creating a specific rubric, I would be able to assess students knowledge of the topic in a
different method than a test. A possible RAFT would be as follows:

ROLE: Charles Darwin, on his voyage around the world

AUDIENCE: Darwin’s wife or other scientist friends or children back in England

FORMAT: Persuasive Letter

TOPIC: Using evidence found on Darwin’s trip around the world and particularly in
the Galapagos, justify the Mechanism of Natural Selection as the way new species
are formed.
A rubric in the RAFT is essential to avoid student confusion and ensure that grading is fair
and balanced and based on specific criterion.
Third, I will check their mastery of this learning target on my unit test as well. By
assessing knowledge in multiple ways and at various intervals, I can be assured of having a
better picture of my students knowledge before and after we cover that concept in class.
Gathering data on students’ schema is important, because it allows me as a teacher
to know which misunderstandings they may have and those necessary for me to address.
This topic has a vast number of potential misunderstandings. Below are a list of six of the
most common misconceptions surrounding natural selection:

Evolution is “just” a theory and hasn’t been proven

Evolution has never been observed/not enough evidence to prove

"Survival of the fittest" justifies "everyone for themselves"

Natural selection is the only means of evolution

Everything is an adaptation produced by natural selection

Religion and evolution are incompatible
These common statements above are not only difficult because they often occur, but
because they reflect a general disconnect between various parts of society and this
knowledge, which has powerful implications on how students receive this material.
Attacking these misconceptions will take more than a general lesson that teaches students
about the concept; instead it will take two strategies. First, students must work over these
concepts in a constructivist manner and second, they require me as a teacher to explicitly
address how natural selection is perceived and impacts the rest of society.
There are a variety of strategies that I could use to help students discover natural
selection. First, at least some direct instruction could be helpful to give the class a basic
level of shared information and a foundation upon which to begin our learning. I will
present students with vocabulary and notes containing the foundational concepts. In my
classroom, we use Cornell Notes. I would give students a question, such as “what birds
inspired Darwin?” and follow it up with the answer, “The MANY different (but similar)
types of Galapagos finches inspired Darwin to think about how they came to be.
With that basic level of knowledge, students will be able to create their own
understanding through various experiential learning activities. In small groups, students
will engage in guided inquiry activities. Guided inquiry could include labs such as the
candy selection lab, M&M survival lab, or the paper punch survival lab. These labs involve
students choosing one type of object over another, so that over time more of one type is left
over. The M&M survival lab takes place as follows: students receive a number of different
colored M&Ms. They divide and count them by number. Then, each group member is
allowed to eat several candies of their choosing. Then the group would see how many are
left in each color. If necessary, this process can be repeated. Next, students create a graph
to see which color was MOST likely to be picked, and which one was MOST likely remain.
With that data, they can conclude which color is most likely to create more “offspring.” In
small groups of three or four, students would execute on the labs and connect the lab to
natural selection in the analysis and conclusion. Each student would have a role, such as
the reader, recorder or project manager. They would then each take charge in facilitating
their group’s success by executing different parts of the lab. Another way to do guided
inquiry would be using more literary strategies. I could have students read a series of
passages (or examine a panel of pictures) about an organism living in a tough environment.
They will then explain in writing why they think that the members of any generation will
survive and what traits the will pass on. Another option would be for students to examine
the process of dog breeding, which is a common and easily accessible illustration of a
species changing over time. In pairs, students could choose a dog breed that they are
interested in learning about. Then we could go to the computer lab where students learn
about their breed, how long it’s been around, what dogs were used to create the breed, and
what special traits that type of dog has. By investigating dog breeds, students would be
able to see animals transform over time, which is the cornerstone of natural selection.
After the completion of any group activity, students will be asked to evaluate themselves
and their teammates, which will be incorporated into their grade.
Natural Selections importance as a part of our cultural dialogue allows it to be seen
through multiple perspectives. It’s universality as a part of life allows for examples to be
included from any part of the globe and include many cultures. Evolution and Natural
Selection also have a long and interesting history. Many of the players cross over into other
historical events and structures. The controversial nature of evolution because of religion
leads to lots of intersectionalities. Some examples would be the Scopes-Monkey Trial and
the Kansas school board’s decisions about evolution. Between 2005-2007, the Kansas state
school board voted to make Intelligent Design the primary theory taught in its schools, as
opposed to evolution. These decisions showcase deep divisions between parts of the
country and individuals. Students could investigate these in a variety of projects, because
the arguments against evolution have changed little since William Jennings Bryan’s day.
We could do a targeted watch or reenactment of the play “Inherit the Wind” and or have
the students act out specific scenes. Students would then unpack the scenes, debating not
only the scientific merit, but also analyzing who is taking each side, why different groups
are backing different ideologies, and what those ideologies really mean for education. Not
only are they important political events, but they are also helpful ways of practicing the
evidence for the theory. Also, the theory of social evolution has been very influential, even
if it is very faulty. The theory of social evolution lead to many negative mindsets
throughout the 20th century, in particular Jim Crow, the lack of Women’s Rights,
Colonialism, etc. By examining the causes and effects of social evolution, we can examine
power relationships as well.s The discussion of social Darwinism is particularly relevant as
an investment tool for my students. Since my students are primarily those people who
would have been discriminated against by Jim Crow and other social Darwinist policies,
there is a legacy of that still within the community. We could compare the validity of true
evolution and social Darwinism by comparing the facts about each. This would reinforce
the theory of evolution while still tearing down the fictional façade of low expectations.
Then, we can discuss as a class how to beat the trends. Since there is no objective biological
reason for people of color to be oppressed, then my students can show they are equal to
anyone and everyone.