Download SPARKS - National Career Pathways Network

by
John Chamberlain, CORD
4901 Bosque Blvd• Waco, TX 76710
Email: [email protected]
Supported by
National Science Foundation, DUE-0603389
Trade skills (welding, construction,…)
High-risk (lasers, nuclear, bio-hazards,…)
High-cost (space program, surgery,…)
Rare/Controversial (procedures, research,…)
Troubleshooting (complex devices
and situations)
Difficult (research, destructive testing,
costly tools,…)
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How do we assess hand skills?
Students
Employees
Paper/Pencil test (worst case)
Poorly represents performance
Generally indicates only head-knowledge
Requires well-designed test instrument
Hands-on test (best case)
Excellent measure of performance
Requires real-world equipment/conditions
Requires real-time proctor involvement
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Computer-Assisted Performance Assessments
Created assessments in the “middle ground”
Realistically simulated the performance tasks
(Univ of CO: PhET; Nat’l Instruments: LabVIEW)
Captured data and scored it with an
objective rubric (Concord: SAIL/OTrunk)
Compared scores with other tests
Better than paper-pencil, and safer, more
convenient and cost effective than real
hands-on assessments.
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Digital Multimeter
Using a DMM
Ohm’s Law
Oscilloscope
Freq and amplitude
Amplitude modulation
Circuit troubleshooting
Logic gates (digital)
Amplifier (analog)
More details are available at:
http://capa.concord.org
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Compared to multiple choice tests,
conflicting interpretations of results.
Is the multiple choice test measuring the same
thing as the hands-on simulation?
Is simulation giving adequate motor-skill feedback
to approximate real-hands-on task?
Course instructors are very interested!
We frequently heard students ask,
“Can I try it again? I can do better!”
They are very interested, too!
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Aha! Students want to improve their scores!
We can TEACH the skill/concept with simulations
As in CAPA...
Simulate real-world, hands-on tasks and equipment
“Watch over the shoulder” as student performs task
Score student actions as well as answers
Provide detailed report to student and teacher
In addition to CAPA...
Enable students to repeat the assessment and
encourage them to improve their score
Track student performance: overall, and trouble areas
Run in a browser, requiring minimal software
Include tutorial material designed to teach!
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Simulated Performance Assessments for Related Knowledge and Skills
1 - Resistor Color Code
5 – AC Series Circuits
2 - Series Circuits
6 - AC Parallel Circuits
3 - Parallel Circuits
7 - AC Series-Parallel Circuits
4 - Series-Parallel Circuits
8 - Resonant Circuits
Digital Multimeters,
Breadboard, DC
Oscilloscope,
Function generator, AC
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Students are presented with
Realistic resistor
Random (but real) R values
A realistic, functioning
interactive digital multimeter
Tasks
Interpret resistor color bands
Measure R by properly using the
digital multimeter
Compare with rated tolerance
range
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Students are presented with
Random (but real) R values
Realistic resistors in circuits on
a realistic breadboard
A functioning, interactive
digital multimeter (DMM)
Tasked with
Making voltage and current
measurements in series and
parallel circuits.
Calculating resistance values
by applying Ohm’s Law.
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For more information:
http://sparks.concord.org
(always under development )
To contact us, send email to:
[email protected]
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