For the unit, we will be using multiple types of assessment, both formative and summative. Formative assessments throughout the unit will include exit slips, lab worksheets, and whiteboard activities. Summative assessment will consist of a quiz, final test, and a final cumulative project with a write-up. The final project will have students create their individual planets to add to a class solar system. Each group will need to include a description of their planet, including size, climate, number of moons, how it orbits, and whether or not it exists within a potential habitable zone. If no habitable zone exists, students need to explain why based on the type of star in the class model and description of their planet. The final project will address the driving question: how could a solar system be created?
Assessment Descriptions
Formative Assessment: Informal assessment that gauges student understanding and informs future instruction. Generally formative assessment is not used as a grading tool, rather as a checkpoint in understanding.
Formative Assessment in Our Unit: 1. Investigation 2, Students draw the moon’s phases. Students will also include each phase’s location in the moon’s revolution around the Earth. Teachers should check for misconceptions and student understanding at this point. Compare student work to work sample below. 2. The Venn diagram about Kepler's laws in Investigation 4 will serve as another check point for student misconceptions and understanding. 3. The lab handout in Benchmark 2 will serve as another formative assessment. This will be used to determine student understanding of gravity, and how it effects objects in space.
Summative Assessment: Cumulative assessment that evaluates student learning usually at the end of a unit. This type of assessment is used to compare student understanding against a standard, objective or benchmark. Summative assessments have a higher point value than formative assessments.
Summative Assessment in Our Unit
1. Project: The class will create a model of a solar system with each student group creating their own planet. The details that students are to include will be recorded in a space journal that will be compiled at the end of the year to form our class solar system guide. The guide will include information on how the planets orbit the class created star based off Kepler’s Laws, if there are notable satellites surround their planet, if their planet is within the habitable zone, the orbital times of their planets and moon(s), the rotation of their planet, sketches of the most significant geographical feature/weather pattern, etc. 2.Test: Students will take an individual formal test to check for understanding in content standards and objectives. Students will have a thorough review handout and discussion over content. The purpose of this assessment is to ensure that students develop conceptual understanding over the content.
Reflective Assessment: Done at the end of a unit, reflective assessment allows students to reflect on their own learning through various assessment strategies. This reflection allows students to experience assessment as part of learning rather than a separate assessment tool.