1. PRMSP/AlACiMa Project
Assessment Of Student Learning With Understanding and Practices that Promote it
María Aguirre, PRMSP Assessment of Learning Leader
Milagros Bravo, PRMSP Internal Evaluator
University of Puerto Rico

2. PRMSP (AlaCiMa) The main aim of the PRMSP Project is:
to promote students’ learning with understanding of mathematics and science content
innovative ways of assessing this type of learning

3. Transfer Students learning with Educational practices
understanding (LWU)
Educational practices
likely to promote LWU

4. Evaluation / Assessment Efforts: Case Studies
Objectives of Case Studies
To gather evidence regarding:
1. Transfer of teachers’ learning in PD program to the classroom
2. Students’ learning with understanding of science and math from classroom of teachers participating in the case studies

5. Evaluation / Assessment Efforts PD Outcomes Activity
Description:
Teachers participating in the 1st year of the AlACiMa’s PDP created a lesson, assisted by content and assessment specialists, and presented it to peers in an Outcomes Activity to:
demonstrate what they have learned during this first year
improve content learning
The lessons were collected and organized for the scoring process.

6. Assessment of Students’ Learning
Characteristics of learning with understanding and corresponding indicators of performance:
When learners are able to:
1. Construct valid relationships among math and science concepts and ideas
2. Appropriately extend and apply what they know to new situations
3. Correctly justify and explain what they know
4. Make knowledge their own

7. Rubric to assess students’ learning samples
Based on
Four characteristics of learning with understanding and its corresponding indicators
Each student’s learning sample was scored using the following scale for each of the four characteristics

8. Assessment of educational practices that promote students learning with understanding
Construct valid relationships between science and mathematics concepts and ideas
Appropriately extend and apply what they know in new situations
Correctly justify and explain what they know

9. Assessment of educational practices that promote learning with understanding
Promotes that students make knowledge their own
Continuously assesses learning during the educational process
Creates a community of learners in the classrooms

10. Results of Assessment of Learning with Understanding and Practices that Promote It

11. Students’ Science Learning Evidenced in Case Studies:
Wide range level of performance from low (0.6) to high (2.8) NA NA NA NA
Scale: High level of performance:3; Medium level of performance:2; Low level of performance:1; No evidence: 0; Does not apply: NA
Overall mean level of performance: 1.5 in science (medium-low)

12. Students’ Math Learning Evidenced in Case Studies:
From low (1.2) to medium (2.3) level of performance
Scale: High level of performance:3; Medium level of performance:2; Low level of performance:1; No evidence: 0; Does not apply: NA
Overall mean level of performance: 1.7 (slightly over medium- low)

13. Students’ Math and Science Learning Evidenced in Teachers’ Lessons: From low (0.7) to medium (2.0) level of performance
Overall mean level of performance: 1.4 (nearly medium-low)

14. Conclusions about LWU
Results from assessment of student learning samples may be due to:
substantive reasons: an accurate portrayal of actual student learning
methodological reasons: limitations on the assessment procedures employed (i.e., if these procedures do not target the characteristics of learning with understanding, students may have attained them but it is not captured by the assessment techniques)
Nevertheless, they indicate that:
teachers of these students are, on average, in a developing stage regarding the promotion and assessment of learning with understanding

15. Teachers’ Comprehension of Math and Science Content in Written Lessons
Results out of a total of 64 lessons evaluated:
8% showed major conceptual errors or misconceptions,
27% presented minor misconceptions,
50% were scientifically or mathematically correct, and
16% could not be evaluated in this regard due to incomplete information.
Examples of major conceptual errors:
10-12 math lesson: teacher’s confusion between the measure of an arc and the measure of an angle (using grades as the unit of measurement for both)
7-9 science lesson: inability of teacher to distinguish between a substance and a mixture

16. Educational Practices that Promote Science Learning: Wide range level of performance from low (0.6) to high (2.8)
Overall mean performance: 1.5 for math (medium-low)

17. Educational Practices that Promote Science Learning: From low (0
Educational Practices that Promote Science Learning: From low (0.4) to medium (1.9) level of performance
Overall mean performance: 1.8 for science (nearly medium)

18. Results about the likely promotion of learning with understanding:
Conclusions Regarding Use of Educational Practices as Evidenced in Teachers’ Lesons
Results about the likely promotion of learning with understanding:
Teaching and assessment practices
Mostly traditional but showed some elements of active learning and of the constructivist perspective AlACiMa promotes
Scorers considered eight lessons as exceptional

19. Findings Assessment of teachers’ lessons: Assessment process
Results are consistent with findings from students’ learning with understanding presented before
Teachers appear to be at a stage of developing awareness about what learning with understanding is and how it can be better promoted and assessed
Assessment process
Science/math, assessment specialists, and educators got better understanding of:
Process of learning science and math concepts
Characteristics of learning with understanding
Teaching-assessment practices that promote understanding

20. Results Application Evaluation PD Strategy Design Purposes K-12
To improve
MS learning
with understanding
Evaluation
Purposes
MS & A
specialists and
educators
K-12
participant
teachers
Guided AlACiMa’s PDP decision making adjustments to enhance its offering

21. Results Application
Assessment of Science and Math Learning with Understanding as a Modality of PD
1. Community of practice of K-3 teachers (Goal I: Create and modify their own assessment tasks and rubrics and analyze their students’ learning with understanding, Goal II: Publish their assessment tools to benefit other K-3 teachers)

22. Assessment of Science and Math Learning with Understanding (LWU) as a Modality of PD cont.
2nd group: Capacitators / trainers, team liaisons, and resource teachers
3rd group: Participant science & math teachers from all participant schools

23. Assessment of Science and Math Learning with Understanding (LWU) as a Modality of PD cont.
Across these PD activities participants will become:
Familiar with different teaching-assessment strategies likely to promote understanding
Aware of the importance of using assessment results to improve their own and students science and math LWU