Testing & Essay Items Rationale
Objective 1: Identify major structures of plants
(seeds, roots, stems, leaves)
Assessment (Knowledge
application/labeling): Using the worksheet provided, look at
the plant descriptions and label all of the parts of the plant in the picture.
Because children are hands-on and physical learners,
I felt it would be fair assessments to have my students label the parts of a
plant. Our text states that "Pictures, drawings, graphs, tables, and so on
require the student to think at the application level of the taxonomy of
educational objectives and may involve even higher levels of cognitive
processes." (Kubiszyn, & Borich, 2013, pg. 145) I prefer to have the
students write and label the plant using the descriptions from the worksheet,
rather than cut out the plant and glue the parts together because it helps with
memory recall and understanding the function that each part of the plant plays.
Objective 2: Students demonstrate an understanding
of common plant names and their scientific name by matching the plant common
names with their scientific names
Assessment (Matching):
Write the letter of the scientific name on the line next to the common name of
the plants in the left column. Use a partner if you need help.
Because my students are younger, I felt it was
appropriate to use matching as an assessment for new words that they have
acquired throughout the unit on plant growth. In the first objective students
were required to label parts of the plant from memory with some assistance, in
this assessment, students are required to work together to match up the common
and scientific names of plants listed that were discussed in the unit. While
matching may be an easier form of assessment, it may be more difficult for
children at this age and require more critical thinking because of the
scientific names involved. There are exactly 10 common names and 10 scientific
names listed in no particular order, therefore making this assessment both accurate
and easy to understand, so it will be successful.
Objective 3: Students will compare the various ways
that plants grow
Assessment (Performance based/lab):
Over a 5 day period, students will plant and document the growth of a plant
exposed to different amounts of light. Some students will plant their seeds
outside in natural light and some will plant inside the classroom in artificial
light. Using your lab journals; describe your observations.
I chose to use a performance based assessment for the
lab portion of my objectives because it is the most efficient and appropriate
way to assess children while they are actively engaged in learning. "But
other skills —particularly those involving independent judgment, critical
thinking, and decision making—are best assessed with performance tests." (Kubiszyn,
& Borich, 2013, pg. 185) As our author points out, and as we have learned
from previous posts about performance based assessments, they are beneficial
for learning about how and what your students are gathering from the
information they are being taught. While conducting their lab on plants and
light exposure, it would be appropriate to assess them during their actual
observation.
Restricted Response Essay Assessment:
Because my Unit plan is for K-3 Grade, the essay response will be restricted to
1 page and content specific.
• What
are the four main things that plants need to grow?
• What
happens when plants get too much sun?
• What
happens when plants don’t get enough water?
• What
things can cause a plant to not grow at all?
I chose to use a Restricted Response Essay for my
unit plan because my students are younger and require a less complicated explanation
of the information they have learned and my students are not able to write
elaborate responses. In the text, our authors use an example of students
demonstrating the disadvantages and advantages of traveling by wagon train
during the Gold Rush. Like the authors, my essay response questions are very
specific to the content that my students learned over all in the unit and do
not need elaboration. "The instructional objectives require supplying
information rather than simply recognizing information. These processes often
cannot be measured with objective items.” (Kubiszyn, & Borich, 2013, pg.
161) I believe that the essay questions I have provided cannot be measured with
objective items such as true or false or multiple choice questions, but rather
can be answered using critical thinking skills and writing.
