1. R.I. Department of Secondary and Elementary Education
Assessing Inquiry Skills and Knowledge Through Performance-Based Tasks: What You Need to Know to Prepare Your Students for Success on the NECAP Exam
R.I. Department of Secondary and Elementary Education

2. Etwas zu trinken zon dem feurschlauch!
This slide is format to layer in. Ask participants if they know what the german phrase means. Hopefully they will try and piece some words they might know.
Hit the return key and the picture appears. Ask participants if they know what the phrase means now. Hopefully they will make a connection with water or drinking.
Lastly the translation appears and now relate the participants to the idea that it is difficult to find the meaning without experience in the language. Relate them to how inquiry is related to providing experiences and the piecing together or what has been learned to further their understanding
Also relate that there is a lot of information that will be given in a short period of time with this presentation (a TRUE drink from a firehose)
(A drink from a firehose!)

3. "Tell me and I forget, show me and I
remember, involve me and I understand.”
Chinese Proverb
This slide is self explanatory. It is the basis of the goal of inquiry. Reinforce what is learned through the experience and the discovery.

4. Goals for Today’s Session
What does it mean to know and do inquiry?
What constitutes evidence of knowing and doing inquiry?
How can evidence be elicited from students?
What valid inferences can we make from the evidence?
What does it mean to know and do inquiry? (Four Broad Areas of Inquiry for instruction and assessment of inquiry were identified.)
What constitutes evidence of knowing and doing inquiry? (Assessment items/tasks will be developed using combinations of the 13 constructs below.)
How can evidence be elicited from students? (Grade-appropriate differences demonstrate how these constructs will be assessed at different grade spans.)
What valid inferences can we make from the evidence? (The Extended Response task will link a set of items –- to a Statement of Enduring Knowledge, INQ assessment Target(s), and Inquiry constructs so that reasonable inferences can be made about a student’s and school’s inquiry and content knowledge.)

5. What is Inquiry
Scientific inquiry refers to the diverse ways in which scientists study the natural world and propose explanations based on the evidence derived from their work. Inquiry also refers to the activities of students in which they develop knowledge and understanding of scientific ideas, as well as an understanding of how scientists study the natural world (NSES, p. 23)
Prior to this slide as participants what is inquiry. Words like questioning, exploring, expermenting, explaning will surface. Show the slide and relate what has been shared to the NSES definition.

6. Characteristics of Inquiry
Observation
Measurement
Experimentation
Communication
Mental Processes
Observation – starting point…asking the right questions that will guide the observer
Measurement – Quantitative description – value placed on precision and accuracy
Experimentation – test questions and ideas. Involve questions, observations, and measurements
Communication – relaying results. Writing…speaking…explaining
Mental processes – inductive reasoning, formulating hypotheses, analogy, extrapolation, synthesis, deductive reasoning

7. Essential Questions for Assessing Inquiry
What does it mean to know and do inquiry?
What constitutes evidence of knowing and doing inquiry?
How can evidence be elicited from students?
What valid inferences can we make from the evidence?
Transition slide to Four Broad areas of Inquiry

8. Where’s the Scientific Method in the RI Science GSEs?
Big Question…
Where’s the Scientific Method in the RI Science GSEs?
Ask participants if they ever wondered where the scientific method is in the GSEs? Ask them if they can recite the steps (of course they can)

9. DO the steps look like this?
Do scientists really work in such a patterned manner either cyclically or linearly? DO they ever move out of sequence?

10. Broad Areas of Inquiry Broad Area 1: Broad Area 2: Broad Area 3:
Formulating Questions and Hypothesizing
Broad Area 2:
Planning and Critiquing Investigations
Broad Area 3:
Conducting Investigations
Broad Area 4:
Developing and Evaluating Explanations
Relate the four broad areas to their understanding of the scientific method.

11. Essential Questions for Assessing Inquiry
What does it mean to know and do inquiry?
What constitutes evidence of knowing and doing inquiry?
How can evidence be elicited from students?
What valid inferences can we make from the evidence?
Transition slide to discussion of the constructs

12. Broad Area 1: Formulating Questions and Hypothesizing
Analyze information from observations, research, or experimental data for the purpose of formulating a question, hypothesis, or prediction: (DOK 3)
1a. Appropriate for answering with scientific investigation
1b. For answering using scientific knowledge
Construct coherent argument in support of a question, hypothesis, prediction (DOK 2 or 3 depending on complexity of argument)
Make and describe observations in order to ask questions, hypothesize, make predictions related to topic (DOK 2)
Relate how the constructs support the broad area of inquiry

13. Broad Area 2: Planning and Critiquing of Investigations
4. Identify information/evidence that needs to be collected in order to answer the question, hypothesis, prediction (DOK 2 – routine; DOK 3 non-routine/ more than one dependant variable)
5. Develop an organized and logical approach to investigating the question, including controlling variables (DOK 2 – routine; DOK 3 non-routine)
6. Provide reasoning for appropriateness of materials, tools, procedures, and scale used in the investigation (DOK 2)
Relate how the constructs support the broad area of inquiry

14. Broad Area 3: Conducting Investigations
7. Follow procedures for collecting and recording qualitative or quantitative data, using equipment or measurement devices accurately (DOK 1 – use tools; routine procedure; DOK 2 – follow multi-step procedures; make observations)
8. Use accepted methods for organizing, representing, and manipulating data (DOK 2 – compare data; display data)
9. Collect sufficient data to study question, hypothesis, or relationships (DOK 2 – part of following procedures)
10. Summarize results based on data (DOK 2)
Relate how the constructs support the broad area of inquiry

15. Broad Area 4: Developing and Evaluating Explanations
11. Analyze data, including determining if data are relevant, artifact, irrelevant, or anomalous (DOK 2 – specify relationships between facts; ordering, classifying data)
12. Use evidence to support and justify interpretations and conclusions or explain how the evidence refutes the hypothesis (DOK 3)
13. Communicate how scientific knowledge applies to explain results, propose further investigations, or construct and analyze alternative explanations(DOK 3)
Relate how the constructs support the broad area of inquiry

16. NECAP Schema for Assessing Inquiry - The Inquiry Constructs -
This table should be included in the participants’ packet

17. Essential Questions for Assessing Inquiry
What does it mean to know and do inquiry?
What constitutes evidence of knowing and doing inquiry?
How can evidence be elicited from students?
What valid inferences can we make from the evidence?
Transition slide to How can evidence be elicited from students? (Grade-appropriate differences demonstrate how these constructs will be assessed at different grade spans.)

18. Broad Area 1: Formulating Questions and Hypothesizing
Grade 4: Task must provide students a scenario that describes objects, organisms, or events within the environment. The scenario must include information relevant to grade 4 students and sufficient for them to construct questions and/or predictions based upon observations, past experiences, and scientific knowledge.
Grade 8: Task must provide students a scenario that describes objects, organisms, or events that the student will respond to. The task will provide the student with the opportunity to develop their own testable questions or predictions based upon their experimental data, observations, and scientific knowledge. The task could include opportunities for the student to refine and refocus questions or hypotheses related to the scenario using their scientific knowledge and information.
Grade 11: Task must provide students a scenario with information and detail sufficient for the student to create a testable prediction or hypothesis. Students will draw upon their science knowledge base to advance a prediction or hypothesis using appropriate procedures and controls; this may include an experimental design.
These are the overarching statements for each grade span with respct to this broad area of inquiry as stated in the Guidelines for the Development of Inquiry Tasks (GDIT). The GDIT document will be released as a public document in the late winter of 2008.
Relate how new understanding is highlighted across grade spans by the underlined text.
Show how the pedagogy is respected as to what students should be able to know and do as they mature and become more experienced.

19. Broad Area 2: Planning and Critiquing of Investigations
Grade 4: Task requires students to plan or analyze a simple experiment based upon questions or predictions derived from the scenario. The experiment and related items should emphasize fairness in its design.
Grade 8: The task will require students to plan or analyze an experiment or investigation based upon questions, hypothesis, or predictions derived from the scenario. An experiment must provide students with the opportunity to identify and control variables. The task will provide opportunities for students to think critically about experiments and investigations and may ask students to propose alternatives.
Grade 11: The task will require students to plan or analyze an experiment or investigation based upon questions, hypothesis, or predictions derived from the scenario. An experiment must provide students with the opportunity to identify and control variables. The task will provide opportunities for students to think critically and construct an argument about experiments and investigations and may ask students to propose alternatives. Task will require the student to identify and justify the appropriate use of tools, equipment, materials, and procedures involved in the experiment.
These are the overarching statements for each grade span with respct to this broad area of inquiry as stated in the Guidelines for the Development of Inquiry Tasks (GDIT). The GDIT document will be released as a public document in the late winter of 2008.
Relate how new understanding is highlighted across grade spans by the underlined text.
Show how the pedagogy is respected as to what students should be able to know and do as they mature and become more experienced.

20. Broad Area 3: Conducting Investigations
Grade 4: The procedure requires the student to demonstrate simple skills (observing, measuring, basic skills involving fine motor movement). The investigation requires the student to use simple scientific equipment (rulers, scales, thermometers) to extend their senses. The procedure provides the student with an opportunity to collect sufficient data to investigate the question, prediction/hypothesis, or relationships. Student is required to organize and represent qualitative or quantitative data using blank graph/chart templates. Student is required to summarize data.
Grade 8: The procedure requires the student to demonstrate skills (observing, measuring, basic skills involving fine motor movement) and mathematical understanding. The materials involved in the investigation are authentic to the task required. The procedure provides the student with an opportunity to collect sufficient data to investigate the question, prediction/hypothesis, or relationships. Student is required to organize and represent qualitative or quantitative data. Student is required to summarize data to form a logical argument.
Grade 11: The procedure requires the student to collect data through observation, inference, and prior scientific knowledge. Mathematics is required for the student to determine and report data. The task scenario is authentic to the realm of the student. The task requires the student to collect sufficient data to investigate the question, prediction/hypothesis, or relationships. Student is required to organize and represent qualitative or quantitative data. Student is required to summarize data to form a logical argument
These are the overarching statements for each grade span with respct to this broad area of inquiry as stated in the Guidelines for the Development of Inquiry Tasks (GDIT). The GDIT document will be released as a public document in the late winter of 2008.
Relate how new understanding is highlighted across grade spans by the underlined text.
Show how the pedagogy is respected as to what students should be able to know and do as they mature and become more experienced.

21. Broad Area 4: Developing and Evaluating Explanations
Grade 4: Task must provide the opportunity for students to use data to construct an explanation based on their science knowledge and evidence from experimentation or investigation.
Grade 8: Task must provide the opportunity for students to use data to construct an explanation based on their science knowledge and evidence from experimentation or investigation. The task requires students to use qualitative and quantitative data to communicate conclusions and support/refute prediction/hypothesis.
Grade 11: Task must provide the opportunity for students to use data to construct an explanation based on their science knowledge and evidence from experiment or investigation. The task requires students to use qualitative and quantitative data to communicate conclusions and support/refute prediction/hypothesis. The task provides students the opportunity to recognize and analyze alternative methods and models to evaluate other plausible explanations.
These are the overarching statements for each grade span with respct to this broad area of inquiry as stated in the Guidelines for the Development of Inquiry Tasks (GDIT). The GDIT document will be released as a public document in the late winter of 2008.
Relate how new understanding is highlighted across grade spans by the underlined text.
Show how the pedagogy is respected as to what students should be able to know and do as they mature and become more experienced.

22. Essential Questions for Assessing Inquiry
What does it mean to know and do inquiry?
What constitutes evidence of knowing and doing inquiry?
How can evidence be elicited from students?
What valid inferences can we make from the evidence?
Transition slide for What valid inferences can we make from the evidence? (The Extended Response task will link a set of items –- to a Statement of Enduring Knowledge, INQ assessment Target(s), and Inquiry constructs so that reasonable inferences can be made about a student’s and school’s inquiry and content knowledge.)

23. Inquiry Targets List of all inquiry targets
Any target listed as an “inquiry target” (INQ in Target Code) may be selected as the focus of an ER task

24. Linking A Set of Items Show how to read a GSE POC – Patterns of Change
FAF – Form and Function
MAS – Models and Scale
SAE – Systems and Energy
NOS – Nature of Science
INQ - Inquiry

25. LS1 - All living organisms have identifiable structures and characteristics that allow for survival (organisms, populations, & species).
LS1 (K-4) - INQ+POC -1 Sort/classify different living things using similar and different characteristics. Describe why organisms belong to each group or cite evidence about how they are alike or not alike.
LS1 (5-8) – INQ+ SAE-1 Using data and observations about the biodiversity of an ecosystem make predictions or draw conclusions about how the diversity contributes to the stability of the ecosystem.
LS1 (9-11) INQ+SAE+FAF -1 Use data and observation to make connections between, to explain, or to justify how specific cell organelles produce/regulate what the cell needs or what a unicellular or multi-cellular organism needs for survival (e.g., protein synthesis, DNA replication, nerve cells).
Show how the targets scaffold across the grade spans to support the statement of enduring knowledge

26. What About Complexity? Each target has a Depth of Knowledge “Ceiling”
Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4
No target goes above a Level 3 ceiling
No target goes below a Level 2 ceiling
Explain the DOK structure within the GSEs

27. Standard Flow of NECAP Science Inquiry Performance Tasks (Grades 4 & 8):
Directions read aloud by Test Administrator (basic information)
Scenario read aloud by Test Administrator (task context)
Description of the model and materials explained by Test Administrator (the model needs to link to the scenario in a one-sentence statement)
students make a prediction individually
students conduct investigation with partner
students clean up kits/experiment with partner
students return to desks with their own Task Booklet to work individually
Test Administrator distributes Student Answer Booklets to students
Students copy data from Task Booklet to Student Answer Booklet (non-scored)
Students answer 8 scored questions in Student Answer Booklet

28. Standard Flow of NECAP Science Inquiry Data Analysis Tasks (Grades 8 & 11):
Test Administrator distributes Student Answer Booklets to students
2.  Directions read aloud by Test Administrator (basic info).  
3.  Scenario read aloud by Test Administrator (task context).  
4.  Students answer questions in Student Answer Booklet
Items will require high school students to consider the following Inquiry Constructs in relation to a selected data set.
Upon completion of the task students sit quietly and read until dismissal.

29. Sample Scenario – Grade 4
“Up the Hill”
Alex and Mia were in their family’s car one day, driving to a favorite summer campground. When the car started to travel up a hill, they noticed that the engine seemed to get louder. Mia thought about the force and motion ideas that her class investigated before school closed for the summer. She wondered if the engine got louder because the car needed more force to go up the hill. When she shared her ideas with Alex, he said, “I think you have a good prediction Mia, but we can’t test it because experimenting with a car engine would be too dangerous.”
Mia agreed, but she added, “We could experiment with a toy car as a model and see if the amount of force needed to move the car up a ramp changes when you make the ramp (hill) steeper. Since Alex and Mia will be camping for the next couple of weeks, they are depending on you to complete the investigation for them.
Your investigation question is:
Does the force needed to move a toy car up hill change when the hill gets steeper?
Explain that the scenario should be relevant, engaging, authentic, and interesting for a students. The scenario always presents a problem to be solved.

30. What’s the Construct?
Time (min) 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Soil Temp (C) 20 21
22.5 24 26
27.5
29.5
30.5 32
Water Temp (C)
21.5 23
23.5
25.5
28.5
2. Use the grid below to graph the data from the table. Then analyze the results to determine whether the data supports or refutes your prediction. Be sure to label each axis clearly.
Related to inquiry construct 12 - Use evidence to support and justify interpretations and conclusions or explain how the evidence refutes the hypothesis (DOK 3)

31. What’s the Construct?
At a beach that has white sand, you measure the temperature of the sand and the temperature of the seawater at 9:00 a.m. You find that both have a measure of 16C. If it is clear and sunny all morning, what do the data from the classroom experiment predict about the temperature of the white sand compared to the seawater at noon?
Explain your answer.
Relates to Inquiry construct 1b.
Analyze information from observations, research, or experimental data for the purpose of formulating a question, hypothesis, or prediction:(DOK 3) 1b. For answering using scientific knowledge
Ask what DOK level? Should be level 3 because of the “explain your answer” directive.

32. Fostering Inquiry Inquiry Learning Environments must: Model science
Be creative
Be flexible
Use effective questioning strategies
Empower thinking skills and content
Review the characteristics of a classroom environment that would foster inquiry.
Emphasize that teachers should encourage students to explain and justify using data. They should also manipulate data to distinguish patterns (graphs, tables, charts) and explain what they see. Be aware of outliers.

33. So…How Do I Use This in My Classroom?
Explain…explain…explain
Organizing data
Charts
Tables
Graphs
Identifying patterns and trends
Working with partners
Give kids experiences in the Broad Areas

34. Closing Comments

35. Resources For Sample Tasks Performance Assessment Links in Science
For Sample Questions:
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

36. Questions? RIDE Science Specialists Peter J. McLaren
Kate Nigh