guidelines for the classroom-based assessments and … · 2018-04-04 · science knowledge,...

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JuniorCycleScienceGuidelinesfortheClassroom-BasedAssessmentsandAssessmentTaskSecondEdition:ForusewithCBA1April-May2018

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ContentsIntroduction 5

Classroom-BasedAssessments:GeneralInformation 6

Classroom-BasedAssessmentsinScience 10

Classroom-BasedAssessment1:ExtendedExperimentalInvestigation 12

Gettingready 13

CompletingtheExtendedExperimentalInvestigation 15

Decidingonthelevelofachievement 18

Nextsteps 21

Classroom-BasedAssessment2:ScienceinSocietyInvestigation 23

Gettingready 24

CompletingtheScienceinSocietyInvestigation 26

Decidingonthelevelofachievement 30

Nextsteps 33

Appendix1 36

InvestigationPlanforCBA1 36

Appendix2 37

EvaluatingthesuitabilityofatopicforinvestigationforCBA2 37

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Introduction

Thisdocument,JuniorCycleScience:GuidelinesfortheClassroom-BasedAssessmentsandAssessment

Taskprovides:

§ GeneralinformationonClassroom-BasedAssessments

§ Detail of the nature and scope of the two Classroom-Based Assessments described in the

curriculumspecificationforscience

§ The Features of Quality used to decide the level of achievement in each Classroom-Based

Assessment

§ Guidelinesforschools,teachersandstudentsoncompletingtheClassroom-BasedAssessmentsin

science

§ DetailsoftheAssessmentTaskinscienceandhowtheschoolsupportsitscompletion.

These guidelines should be used in conjunctionwith the curriculum specification for Junior Cycle

Science and theAssessment Toolkit for junior cycle,which includes further details of the Subject

LearningandAssessmentReviewprocessandotheraspectsofjuniorcycleassessmentsetoutinthese

guidelines.

All documentation can be accessed at http://www.curriculumonline.ie/Junior-cycle/Junior-Cycle-

Subjects/Science.AnoutlineofassessmentinjuniorcyclecanbefoundintheFrameworkforJunior

Cycle 2015 which can be accessed at http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Policy-

Reports/Framework-for-Junior-Cycle-2015.pdf.

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Classroom-BasedAssessments:General

Information

Classroom-BasedAssessments(CBAs)arebestdescribedastheoccasionswhentheteacherassesses

thestudentsusingthespecifictaskssetoutinthecurriculumspecificationforeachsubject.Theyare

completedwithinthetimeallocatedforscience,whichisaminimumof200hours.TheCBAsandthe

FeaturesofQuality,whichsupportteacherjudgement,aresetoutintheseguidelines.Theassessment

issimilartotheongoingassessmentthatoccurseverydayineveryclass.InthecaseofClassroom-

Based Assessment the teacher’s judgement is recorded for the purpose of subject learning and

assessmentreview,andfortheschool’sreportingtoparentsandstudents.Studentsprepareforthe

Classroom-BasedAssessmentoverspecifiedperiodsoftimeinsecondandthirdyear.Theresultsof

otherprojects,homework,ortestsundertakenbythestudentsinthecourseoftheirnormalclasswork

donotadduptotheawardofadescriptorfortheClassroom-BasedAssessment.

DecidingthelevelofachievementfortheClassroom-Based

Assessments

TherearefourleveldescriptorsofachievementforeachClassroom-BasedAssessment:Exceptional,

Aboveexpectations,Inlinewithexpectations,andYettomeetexpectations

TeachersusetheFeaturesofQuality,setoutintheseguidelines(p19and31),todecidethelevelof

achievementineachClassroom-BasedAssessment.TheFeaturesofQualityarethecriteriausedto

assessthestudentworkasbestfittingoneofthefollowingDescriptors:

• ExceptionaldescribesapieceofworkthatreflectstheFeaturesofQualityfortheClassroom-

BasedAssessmenttoaveryhighstandard.Whilenotnecessarilyperfect,thestrengthsofthe

work far outstrip its flaws, which are minor. Suggestions for improvement are easily

addressablebythestudent.

• AboveexpectationsdescribesapieceofworkthatreflectsalloftheFeaturesofQualityfor

theClassroom-BasedAssessmentverywell.Thestudentshowsaclearunderstandingofhow

tocompleteeachareaofactivityoftheinvestigation,andtheworkispraisedforitsrigour.

Feedbackfromtheteachermightpointtothenecessitytoaddresssomeaspectofthework

inneedoffurtherattentionorpolishing,but,onthewholetheworkisofahighstandard.

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• In linewith expectations describes a piece ofwork that reflectsmost of the Features of

QualityfortheClassroom-BasedAssessmentwell.Itshowsagoodunderstandingofthetask

in hand and is free from significant error. Feedbackmight point to areas needing further

attentionorcorrection,buttheworkisgenerallycompetentandaccurate.

• Yettomeetexpectationsdescribesapieceofworkthatfallssomewayshortofthedemands

of the Classroom-Based Assessment and its associated Features of Quality. Perhaps the

studenthasmadeagoodattempt,butthetaskhasnotbeengraspedclearlyorismarredby

significant lapses. Feedback will draw attention to fundamental errors that need to be

addressed.

WhenusingtheFeaturesofQualitytoassessthelevelofstudentachievementinaClassroom-Based

Assessment,teachersuse‘on-balance’judgement.TheteachershouldreadtheFeaturesofQuality

(startingwithYet tomeetexpectations)until they reachadescriptor thatbestdescribes thework

beingassessed.Whereitisnotclearlyevidentwhichdescriptorshouldapply,teachersmustcometo

ajudgementbasedontheevidencefromthestudent’sworktoselectthedescriptorthatbestmatches

thestudent’sworkoverall.This‘bestfit’approachallowsteacherstoselectthedescriptorthat‘on

balance’describestheworkbeingassessed.

Teachersshouldnotassumethat theresultsofagroupofstudentsbeingassessedwill followany

particulardistributionpattern,astheworkisbeingjudgedonlyagainsttheFeaturesofQualityrather

thanotherstudents’performances.

TheautonomyoftheschoolinpreparingstudentsfortheClassroom-

BasedAssessments

TheseguidelinesprovideschoolswiththeautonomytocompletetheClassroom-BasedAssessments

sothattheycansuittheparticularneeds,contexts,andcircumstancesofstudentsandtheschool.A

varietyofpossibilitiesarepresentedontheinvestigationtopicsthatcanbechosen.Similarly,variation

mightoccurintherangeofformatsusedbystudentstopresentevidenceoftheirlearning.

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Howtheschoolsupportsthecompletionoftheassessments.

Theschoolsupportsthecompletionoftheassessmentsby:

§ EnsuringthattheNCCAGuidelinesfortheClassroom-BasedAssessmentsandAssessmentTaskare

providedtoteachers

§ SupportingteachersinrecordingthelevelDescriptorsawardedtoeachstudent

§ Retainingrecordsandpiecesofwork,asappropriate,forthepurposesofSubjectLearningand

AssessmentReview

§ ApplyingtheguidelinesforSubjectLearningandAssessmentReviewsetoutinthisdocument

§ SupportingteachersandstudentsinthecompletionoftheAssessmentTask

§ Following set arrangements for the transfer of the completed Assessment Tasks to the State

ExaminationsCommissionformarking

§ Applyinginclusiveassessmentpracticesassetoutintheseguidelines

§ ReportingtheoutcomesofClassroom-BasedAssessmentstostudentsandtheirparents/guardians

aspartoftheschool’sreportingproceduresandthroughtheJuniorCycleProfileofAchievement

(JCPA).

Furtherinformationcanbefoundhttps://www.ncca.ie/en/junior-cycle/assessment-and-reporting

Reasonablesupport

Tofacilitatedevelopmentalfeedbacktostudentsduringtheirengagementwiththetask,theprocess

ofcompletingtheClassroom-BasedAssessmentshouldbeviewedaspartofteachingandlearning,

and not solely for assessment purposes. It is envisaged that teachers will guide and supervise

throughouttheprocessthrough‘reasonablesupport’.Ifastudentrequiresmorethanwhatisdeemed

tobe‘reasonablesupport’,theteachercanmakeanoteofthelevelofassistanceprovided.Thelevel

ofinitiativedemonstratedbystudentsisanelementoftheFeaturesofQualityusedtodecidethelevel

ofachievementofthestudent’swork.

Reasonablesupportmayinclude:

§ Clarifyingtherequirementsofthetask

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§ Using annotated examples of student work provided by NCCA to clarify the meaning and

interpretationoftheFeaturesofQualitytostudents

§ Providinginstructionsatstrategicintervalstofacilitatethetimelycompletionoftheinvestigation

andreport

§ Providingsupportsforstudentswithspecialeducationalneeds(SEN)asoutlinedbelow.

It isnotenvisaged that this levelof support involved requires teachers toeditdraft reports,or to

providemodeltextoranswerstobeusedinthestudent’sevidenceoflearning.

Inclusiveassessmentpractice

Specialprovisionsmaybeputinplaceforastudentwithaspecificphysicalorlearningdifficultyto

removeasfaraspossibletheimpactofthedisabilityonthestudent’sperformanceinbothClassroom-

BasedAssessmentsandtheAssessmentTasksothatheorshecandemonstratehisorher levelof

achievement.Theaccommodations–forexample,theuseofIrishSignLanguage,supportprovided

bya SpecialNeedsAssistant, or the supportof assistive technologies– shouldbe in linewith the

arrangementstheschoolhasputinplacetosupportthestudent’slearningthroughouttheschoolyear

andarenotdesignedtocompensateforapossiblelackofachievementarisingfromadisability.

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Classroom-BasedAssessmentsinScience

TherearetwoClassroom-BasedAssessmentsinScience.TheyareassessedatCommonLevel.They

relatetospecifiedlearningoutcomesandlinktoimportantaspectsofthedevelopmentofstudents’

scienceknowledge,understanding,skills,andvalues.BothClassroom-BasedAssessmentsrelateto

prioritiesfor learningandteachingsuchas investigating,andcommunicating inscience,whileatthesametimedevelopingtheirknowledgeandunderstandingofscience,whicharevitaltoworkinglikeascientist.

(SpecificationforJuniorCycleScience,p22)

Theyarescheduledtobeundertakenbystudentsinadefinedtimeperiodwithinclasscontacttime

toanationaltimetable(asadvisedbytheNCCA)intheschoolcalendar.Followingthesecondofthese

assessments,students,inYearThree,willcompleteanAssessmentTaskwhichismarkedbytheState

ExaminationsCommissionaspartofthestate-certifiedexaminationinScience.TheClassroom-Based

AssessmentsforscienceareoutlinedinFig1below.

Table1:Classroom-BasedAssessments:Science

Classroom-Based

Assessments

Format Studentpreparation Completed

ExtendedExperimentalInvestigation(EEI)

Areportmaybepresentedinawiderangeofformats

Astudentwill,overathree-weekperiod1,formulateascientifichypothesis,planandconductanexperimentalinvestigationtotesttheirhypothesis,generateandanalyseprimarydata,andreflectontheprocess,withsupport/guidancefromtheteacher.

TowardstheendofYearTwo

ScienceinSocietyInvestigation(SSI)

Areportmaybepresentedinawiderangeofformats

Astudentwill,overathree-weekperiod2,researchasocio-scientificissue,analysetheinformation/secondarydatacollected,evaluatetheclaimsandopinionsstudied,anddrawevidence-basedconclusionsabouttheissuesinvolved,withsupport/guidancefromtheteacher.

YearThree

1Thedaterangeduringwhichitisadvisedthethree-weekperiodfortheEEIshouldbeallocated,isprovidedonpage142Thedaterangeduringwhichitisadvisedthethree-weekperiodfortheSSIshouldbeallocated,isprovidedonpage24

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AssessmentTask

TheAssessmentTaskisawrittentaskcompletedbystudentsduringclasstime.Itisnotmarkedbythe

classteacher,butissenttotheStateExaminationsCommissionformarking.TheAssessmentTaskis

specifiedbytheNCCAandisrelatedtothelearningoutcomesonwhichthesecondClassroom-Based

Assessmentisbased.Inthecaseofscience,thisistheScienceinSocietyInvestigation.Detailsrelating

totheAssessmentTaskaresetoutinFig2below.

Table2:TheAssessmentTask:Science

Format Studentpreparation Completed

StudentscompleteaspecifiedwrittentaskwhichissenttotheSECformarking.

TheAssessmentTaskwilllinktotheScienceinSocietyInvestigation.

FollowingcompletionofthesecondClassroom-BasedAssessmentinYearThree.

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Classroom-BasedAssessment1:Extended

ExperimentalInvestigation

TheExtendedExperimentalInvestigation(EEI)givesstudentsanopportunitytoresearchaquestion

theyhaveaboutsomescience-relatedphenomenatheyhavecomeacrossinthecourseofthethree

yearsoftheirstudies.Thedevelopmentof inquiry,collaborative,practical,recordingandreporting

skillswill be central here, such as posing questions andmaking predictions,workingwith others,

designingexperiments,conductingexperiments,generatingandrecordingprimarydata,processing

and analysing the data to make valid conclusions, and communicating the method used, data

recorded,findings,andreflectionsontheinvestigation.

The EEI comprises of four areas of activity: questioning and predicting, planning and conducting,

processing and analysing, and reflecting and reporting. It is encouraged, but not required, that

studentscollaboratewithclassmates,exceptwhereitisindicatedthatstudentsmustworkontheir

own.Teachersshouldensurethateachstudentisabletoindividuallyproduceevidencerelatedtothe

Features of Quality of this assessment. Under normal circumstances each student/group should

completeadifferentinvestigation.

Figure1:ProcessforconductingtheEEI

TheExtendedExperimentalInvestigationpromotesstudentengagementthrough:

§ Choiceaboutthetopiconwhichtofocus

§ Choiceaboutcommunicationformats

§ Thepossibilitiesforstudentcollaboration.

Gettingready

• Studentpreparation• TeacherPreparation

CompletingtheCBA

• Generatingevidenceoflearning

Decidingonthelevelofachievement

• FeaturesofQuality

Nextsteps

• SLARmeeting• Feedback• Recordingandreporting

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ThemainlearningoutcomesassessedbytheExtendedExperimentalInvestigationare:

NatureofScience 1,2,3,4,5and7

Gettingready

Studentpreparation

Studentsshouldhavedevelopedsufficientknowledge,skillsandunderstandingoverthecourseoffirst

andsecondyeartoundertakeanEEI.Aspartofongoingteaching, learningandassessmentof the

learningoutcomesforJuniorCycleScience,studentsshouldhaveopportunitiestodevelopinquiryand

practical skills, including skills tomanipulate and use laboratory equipment safely as they realise

variouslearningoutcomes.Asstudentsprogressthroughjuniorcycle,theyshouldbeencouragedto

identify scientific concepts, ideas and applications that they want to know more about, or

investigationsencounteredthattheywouldliketoextendbyintroducingsomedegreeofcomplexity.

While theClassroom-BasedAssessment is summative, it isenvisaged that throughout juniorcycle,

formativeassessmentbyteachers,thestudentsthemselvesandtheirpeersisusedtoallowstudents,

teachersandparentstoaidtheirdevelopmentandtracktheirprogress.Fromanearlystage,students

shouldbe familiarwith andunderstand the FeaturesofQuality used to judge thequality of their

investigation. This is best achieved when students use success criteria for ongoing assessments

throughoutfirst,second,andthirdyear.

Teacherpreparation

It is importanttosetthetimesanddatesfor implementationasearlyaspossible.Thekeydateto

establishattheoutsetisthetimingoftheSubjectLearningandAssessmentReviewmeetingforthe

EEI.Insettingthisdatetheschoolwillbeguidedbyitsownlocalcircumstancesbearinginmindthat

theEEIassessmentmustbecompletedbytheendofYearTwo.Oncetheschoolhasdecidedonthis

datetheteachersandstudentscanplanforthecompletionoftheEEI.Thetimingoftheprocessmay

varyfromschooltoschoolasthetimelineinTable3offersadegreeofflexibilityforschoolstoschedule

theCBAtoatimewithinthespecifiedtimeperiod.

Gettingready


CompletingtheCBA Decidingonthelevelofachievement

Nextsteps

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Table3:CompletionofClassroom-BasedAssessment1:ExtendedExperimentalInvestigation

Period3forworkonand

completionofEEI

Friday20thApril2018toFridayMay18th2018

Latestdateforprovisional

awardofDescriptorsbythe

teacher

Thursday24thMay2018

LatestdateforSubject

LearningandAssessment

Review

MondayMay28th2018

InordertobecomefamiliarwiththeassessmentoftheEEI,itwillbehelpfulto:

§ Reviewallthedocumentsoutlinedintheiintroductiontotheseguidelines

§ Download and view annotated examples of EEIs (which will be made available on

www.curriculumonline.ieinSpring2018).

§ DiscusstheassessmentoftheEEIwithyourcolleaguesandplananyteachingandrevisionthat

mayberequired.

3Tobecompletedoverathree-weekperiodwithinthisdaterange.

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CompletingtheExtendedExperimentalInvestigation

Over the course of three weeks, students will engage in four activities which contribute to the

generationoftheirevidenceoflearningandachievementintheExtendedExperimentalInvestigation

A. Questioningandpredicting

B. Planningandconducting

C. Processingandanalysing

D. Reflectingandreporting

Itisnotintendedtopresenttheactivitiesasarigidandlinearprocess.Eachactivitymayberevisited

atdifferenttimesasstudentscompletetheinvestigation.

A. QuestioningandpredictingForthispartoftheinvestigationstudentsmayworkindividuallyorinsmallgroups.Eachstudentmust

contributetotheworkofthegroup.

§ Choosethetopic:

Thetopicoptionsare:

Water

TheEarth/Moon

/Sunsystem

Food

Plantgrowthand

behaviour

Chemicalreactions

Plastics Forces Energyconservation

§ Decidetheresearchquestion

Onceastudenthasdecidedthetopictheywould liketo investigate, theywillneedtoformulatea

researchquestion.Thequestiontobetestedshouldmeetthefollowingcriteria:

- Itisdrivenbythescientificunderstandingsofoneormoreoftheabovetopics.

GettingreadyCompletingtheCBA



Nextsteps

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- Itisopen-ended

- Itlendsitselftoatestablehypothesis

Studentsshouldbegiventimetocollectinformationonthebackgroundtheoryrelatedtotheresearch

question in order to refine their question and to help with the justification of their

hypothesis/prediction.Thisinformationcanbesummarisedintheirresearchrecords.Itisimportant

forstudentstorecordthesourcesofinformationtoensurethattheycanbereferencedinthereport.

§ Writingthehypothesis/prediction

Once students have decided the research question they are advised to form a hypothesis, which

shouldmeetthefollowingcriteria:

- Itdefinesandlinksthevariables

- Itistestable

- Itstestingismanageable

If the investigation ismoreofa ‘trialanderror’nature, thenstudentsmaychooseamoregeneral

statement,aprediction,ratherthanahypothesis.

B. PlanningandconductingFor this part of the investigation studentsmaywork individually or in groups. Each studentmust

contributetothecollectionofdata.

§ Planningtheinvestigation

Studentsshouldbegiventimetohavehands-onexperienceinthelaboratorytoplanandrefinetheir

experimentaldesign,decidewhatequipmentandmaterialswillbenecessary,andassessanypossible

risks.Teachersshouldremindstudentsaboutsafeworkingwhilecarryingouttheinvestigation.

Note:AttheendofthisplanningsessionstudentsshouldworkontheirowntowritetheirInvestigation

Plan(Appendix2),whichtheysubmitindividuallyforinvestigationapproval.Thisshouldtakenomore

than a single class period to complete. Students should not proceed until their teacher has given

approval.Whereateacherhastoprovideassistanceinthedesignoftheinvestigation—because,for

example,theproposedmethodwasdangerous,incomplete,orunworkable—thisshouldberecorded

bytheteacherforconsiderationwhenjudgingthelevelofachievementofthework.However,where

amethodisgood,butunworkableorunmanageableforlogisticalreasons,theteachermaysuggest

changes,andthisshouldnotaffecttheultimatelevelofachievementawardedtothework.

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§ Conductingtheinvestigation

Onceagain,teachersshouldremindstudentsaboutsafeworkingwhilecarryingouttheinvestigation.

Whereateacherhastoprovideassistancetoensurethesafeassemblyanduseofequipment,this

shouldberecordedbytheteacher.Thereisnospecifiedtimeperiodforthisstageoftheinvestigation.

As a rule of thumb, it should be possible to complete the practical work and data collection in

approximatelyhalfthetimeallocatedfortheEEI.

Studentsshouldnoteintheirresearchrecordsalldata,problemsandchangestomethodusedduring

any preliminary trials. Likewise, all data and problems encountered during the final experiments

shouldberecorded.

C. Processingandanalysing

Forthispartoftheinvestigationstudentsmustworkindividuallytoanalysetheirowndata,perform

anynecessarycalculations,considerhowtobestrepresentandanalysetheirdata,identifypatterns

andrelationships in thedata,explainanyanomalousdata,describetherelationshipsbetweenthe

variables, draw conclusions, and consider if their hypothesis or prediction has or has not been

supported.

D. Reflectingandreporting

Studentsmayworkindividuallyoringroupstoreflectontheirwork.Theyshouldbeencouragedto

critically discuss various aspects of their investigation, such as the design of the experiment and

possibleimprovements,thelimitationsoftheirdata,anypossibletheoreticalorpracticalimplications

oftheirfindings,andfurtherrelatedinvestigationsthattheymightconductandwhy.

Students must work individually to compile the report of their investigation, using the

information/datatheyhaverecordedintheirresearchthroughouttheinvestigation.

Evidenceoflearning

Thefollowingevidenceisrequired:

§ Areport

§ Studentresearchrecords.

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Students will report their research and findings in a format of their choice. The report can be

completedat theendof the investigation. Ifa typedorhand-written report is the formatof their

choice,thetotallengthofthereportwouldtypicallybeinthe400-600wordsrange(excludingtables,

graphs,referencelistandresearchrecords),butthisshouldnotberegardedasarigidrequirement.

EEIsmaybeeffectivelypresentedinotherformatsbutcaremustbetakenthatalltheworkcanbe

judgedonthefinalproductalone.Forexample,aposterpresentationmayallowstudentstoshow

thattheycanselectandpresenthighlightsoftheirinvestigation,butitmaybeprudenttoincludea

shortwrittenreporttocommunicateanyworkrelatedtotheinvestigationthatisnotrepresentedon

theposter.Whenplanningthecontentoftheirreport,studentsshouldbefamiliarwiththeFeatures

ofQualityusedtojudgethelevelofachievementwhichwillbeawardedtotheirwork.

The teacher can review their own notes to checkwhether a student requiredmore thanwhat is

deemed ‘reasonable support’ (see page 8) in formulating hypotheses/predictions, planning and

conductingtheinvestigation.


FeaturesofQuality

KeyFeaturesofQualityinsupportofstudentandteacherjudgementfortheExtendedExperimental

Investigationaredescribedhere.TheFeaturesofQualityarethecriteriausedtoassessthestudent

workasbestfittingoneofthefourDescriptors.BeforeusingtheFeaturesofQualitybelowitmaybe

helpfultoreviewtheinformationon:

§ Making‘on-balance’judgements(page7)

§ Reasonablesupport(page15).

Gettingready CompletingtheCBADecidingonthelevelofachievement


Nextsteps

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FeaturesofQualityfortheExtendedExperimentalInvestigation

Exceptional

Investigating

§ Formsatestablehypothesisorpredictionwithjustification§ Describesconsiderationsrelatedtoreliabilityandfairness§ Outlinesappropriatesafetyconsiderations,anddescribesthemethodusedto

accuratelycollectandrecordgoodquality,reliabledatainamannerthatcouldbeeasilyrepeated

§ Usesaninnovativeapproachthattrulyenhancesthework§ Recordsasufficientamountofgoodqualitydata

Commun

icat

ing

§ Presentsdatainthemostappropriatewayusingrelevantscientificterminologyandinformativerepresentations;calculations, ifany,areperformedtoahighdegreeofaccuracy

§ Describestherelationshipsbetweenthevariables

Know

ledg

ean

dun

derstand

ing

§ Providesa justifiedconclusionsupportedby thedata; identifiesandexplainsanyanomalousdata

§ Usesrelevantscienceknowledgetoassessanddescribewhetherthehypothesishas/hasnotbeensupported

§ Describes indetail thestrengthsandweaknessesoftheirown investigations,includingappropriateimprovementsandorrefinements,orexplainsfullywhynofurtherimprovementscouldreasonablybeachieved

Aboveexpectations

§ Formsatestablehypothesisorpredictionwithjustification§ Identifiesthevariabletobemeasuredandthevariabletobechanged§ Outlines appropriate safety considerations, and describes the method and

equipmentusedtocollectandrecorddata§ Recordsasufficientamountofgoodqualitydata

§ Displaysdataneatlyandaccurately,usingrelevantscientificterminologyand

informative representations; calculations, if any, are performed to a highdegreeofaccuracy

§ Describestherelationshipsbetweenthevariables

§ Drawsaconclusionconsistentwith thedataandcommentsonwhether theconclusionsupportsthehypothesis

§ Identifies the strengths and weaknesses of the investigation and suggestsappropriateimprovements,orexplainswhytheprocedureswereofsufficientquality

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Inlinewithexpectations

§ Withlimitedguidance,formsatestablehypothesis/prediction§ Describesasafemethodusedtocollectdata-someofthestepsare

understandablebutlacksomedetail§ Recordsraw/primarydata

§ Displaysdataonsimple tables, chartsorgraphs,allowing for someerrors inscalingorplotting

§ Statesarelationshipbetweenthevariables

§ Drawsa conclusionbasedondata collected, identifies some featuresof theinvestigationthatcouldbeimprovedandsuggestsimprovements

Yettomeetexpectations

§ Usesagiveninvestigationquestion§ Isdirectedinusingequipmenttocollectandrecorddata§ Datacollectionmethoddescribedisnotrepeatable

§ Displaysdataonincompletetables,chartsorgraphs,allowingforsignificant

errorsinscalingorplotting

§ Commentsontheinvestigationwithoutmakingaconclusion/refinementtotheinvestigation

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Nextsteps

SubjectLearningandAssessmentReviewmeeting

Sharedunderstandingof standardswithin junior cyclewill arise throughprofessionaldiscussion in

SubjectLearningandAssessmentReviewmeetingswherestaffbringtheirownexamplesofstudent

workandcomparetheirjudgementswithothercolleagues,withannotatedexamplesofstudentwork

andwith specificationsprovidedby theNCCA.Over time, thisprocesswill helpdevelopa greater

understandingofstandardsandensureconsistencyofjudgementaboutstudentperformance.

Inpreparationforthismeeting,teachersselectexamplesofassessedworktopresentatthereviewmeeting;oneexamplefromeachofthethreelevelsofachievement.Theexamplesshouldnotcarrythestudent’sname.FurtherdetailsonmanagingtheSubjectLearningandAssessmentReviewprocesscanbeaccessedathttps://www.ncca.ie/en/junior-cycle/assessment-and-reporting

Afterthemeeting,eachindividualteacherre-considersthejudgementoftheirstudent’sworkbased

ontheoutcomesofthemeetingandwherenecessarymakestheappropriateadjustmentstothelevel

ofachievementawardedtothework.

UsingFeedback

ProvidingeffectivefeedbackisacrucialstepinusingtheEEItosupportlearninginscience.Students

willbeinformedoftheDescriptortheyhavebeenawardedoncetheSLARmeetinghastakenplace

anditsoutcomeshavebeenprocessed.However,effectivefeedbackgoesbeyondthenamingofthe

Descriptorawarded.Feedbackonthestrengthsofthestudent’swork,andonareasforimprovement

canbeusedtosupporttheirfuturelearning.InformationgatheredduringthecompletionoftheEEI,

andfromtheSubjectLearningandAssessmentReviewmeetingcanbeusedtoinformplanningfor

futureteachingandlearning.

Gettingready CompletingtheCBA Decidingonthelevelofachievement

Nextsteps

• SLARmeeting• Feedback• Recordingandreporting

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Queryingaresult

QueriesinrelationtotheEEI,wheretheyarise,willbedealtwithbytheschool.

RecordingandreportingfortheJCPA

FollowingtheSubjectLearningandAssessmentReview(SLAR)meetinginaschool,subjectteachers

willmaintainarecordoftheirstudents’achievementsinCBA’sinlinewithschoolsexistingreporting

practices.

EachEEIsubmittedbystudentswillbeawardedoneofthefourleveldescriptorsofachievementfor:

Exceptional,Aboveexpectations,Inlinewithexpectations,andYettomeetexpectations.Ifastudent

doesnotsubmitanEEI,thereisnodescriptortoawardand‘Notreported’willappearontheJCPA.

Further details on how to complete the JCPA is provided in the JUNIOR CYCLE PROFILE OF

ACHIEVEMENT(JCPA)HandbookforSchools,whichcanbeassessedhere:www.education.ie

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Classroom-BasedAssessment2:Sciencein

SocietyInvestigation

TheScienceinSocietyInvestigation(SSI)givesstudentsanopportunitytoexploreascientifictopicor

issue.Thedevelopmentofresearchandreportingskillsarecentralhere,forexamplesearchingfor

information,discriminatingbetween sources,documenting sourcesused,presentingevidence ina

report,applyingknowledgeofsciencetonewsituationsandanalysingdifferentpointsofviewonthe

issue,drawingconclusionsandcommunicatingpersonalopinion(s)basedontheevidence.

The SSI is an individual research project comprising of three activities: initiating research,

communicating, and evaluating. Students may collaborate with classmates in gathering relevant

informationanddata,buteachstudentmustindividuallyproduceevidencetomeettheFeaturesof

Qualityofthisassessment.

Figure2:ProcessforconductingtheSSI

ScienceinSocietyInvestigationspromotestudentengagementthrough:

§ Choiceaboutthescientifictopicorissueonwhichtofocus

§ Choiceaboutcommunicationformats

§ Thepossibilitiesforstudentcollaboration.

ThemainlearningoutcomesassessedbytheScienceinSocietyInvestigationare:

Nature of Science 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10

Gettingready


CompletingtheCBA




Nextsteps

• AssessmentTask• SLARmeeting• Feedback• Recordingandreporting

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Gettingready

Studentpreparation

Students shouldhavedevelopedsufficientknowledge, skillsandunderstandingover thecourseof

first,second,andthirdyeartoundertakeanSSIinthemiddleofthirdyear.Aspartofongoingteaching,

learning and assessment of the learning outcomes for Junior Cycle Science, students should have

opportunitiestodevelopresearchskills,includingskillstoreportonandevaluateinformationasthey

realise various learning outcomes. While the Classroom-Based Assessment is summative, it is

envisagedthat,throughoutjuniorcycle,formativeassessmentbyteachers,thestudentsthemselves

andtheirpeersisusedtoallowstudents,teachersandparentstoaidtheirdevelopmentandtrack

theirprogress.Fromanearlystage,studentsshouldbefamiliarwithandunderstandtheFeaturesof

Qualityusedtojudgethequalityoftheirinvestigation.Thisisbestachievedwhenstudentsusesuccess

criteriaforongoingassessmentsthroughoutfirstandsecondyear.

Teacherpreparation

It is importanttosetthetimesanddatesfor implementationasearlyaspossible.Thekeydateto

establishattheoutsetisthetimingoftheSubjectLearningandAssessmentReviewmeetingforthe

SSI.Insettingthisdatetheschoolwillbeguidedbyitsownlocalcircumstancesbearinginmindthat

theSSIassessmentmustbecompletedduringadefinedperiodinYearThree.Oncetheschoolhas

decidedonthisdatetheteachersandstudentscanplanforthecompletionoftheSSI.Thetimingof

theprocessmayvaryfromschooltoschoolasthetimelineinTable4offersadegreeofflexibilityfor

schoolstoscheduletheCBAtoatimewithinthespecifiedtimeperiod.

Gettingready


CompletingtheCBA Decidingonthelevelofachievement

Nextsteps

25

Table4:CompletionofClassroom-BasedAssessment2:ScienceinSocietyInvestigation

Period4forworkonand

completionoftheSSI

Friday7thDecember2018toFriday25thJanuary2019

Windowforcompletionof

theAssessmentTask

Monday28thJanuary-Friday1stFebruary2019

Latestdateforawardof

provisionaldescriptorsby

theteacher

Thursday7thFebruary2019

Latestdateforcompletion

ofSubjectLearningand

AssessmentReview

Monday11thFebruary

InordertobecomefamiliarwiththeassessmentoftheSSI,itwillbehelpfulto:

§ Reviewallthedocumentsoutlinedintheiintroductiontotheseguidelines

§ Download and view annotated examples of SSIs (which will be made available on

www.curriculumonline.ieinAutumn2018)

§ DiscusstheassessmentoftheSSIwithyourcolleagues,andplananyteachingandrevisionthat

mayberequired.

4Tobecompletedoverathree-weekperiodwithinthisdaterange.

26

CompletingtheScienceinSocietyInvestigation

Overthecourseofthreeweeks,studentswillbeengaged inthreeactivitiesthatcontributetothe

generationoftheirevidenceoflearningandachievementintheScienceinSocietyInvestigation:

A. Initiatingresearch

B. Communicatingfindings

C. Evaluatingtheinformationtorespondtothechosenresearchquestion.

Students must work individually to conduct this investigation but they should be encouraged to

discuss,insmallgroups,variousaspectsoftheirinvestigation.

A. Initiatingresearch

§ Choosethetopic

TheSSIrequiresstudentstoinvestigateascientifictopicorissueanditsimpact(positiveornegative)

on society and/or the environment. The chosen topic may be directly related to specific course

contentorstudentsmaydecidetostudyanissueofpersonalorlocalrelevance,provideditisrelated

totheareasoutlinedbelow.Itisimportantthatthetopicchosencanberesearched,hasasoundbase

ofscientificunderstandingandideas,andcanbeturnedintoaquestion.InmanySSIstheremaybe

twoormoreviewsofthetopicorissue,andstudentsshouldbeencouragedtoconsidermorethan

onepointofview.Appendix2includesmaterialtoassistintheevaluationofthesuitabilityofatopic

forinvestigation.

Thechosentopicsshouldrelatetothefollowingareas:

- Atechnologicalapplicationofscience

- Anapplicationofsciencethathasaneffectonhumanhealth

- Anapplicationofsciencethathasaneffectontheenvironment

- Anapplicationofsciencethathasaneffectonsociety.

GettingreadyCompletingtheCBA


• Reasonableassistance


Nextsteps

27

§ Decidethespecificresearchquestion

Researchshouldbefocusedonaresponsetoaclearly-definedresearchquestion.Itmaybeusefulto

dosomebackgroundreadingofthechosentopic.Theresearchquestionmayberevisedorchanged

asthestudentbeginsresearchingforinformationonthechosentopic.

Tohelpstudentsdeveloptheirresearchquestion,theycould:

- Decidewhattheywanttoknowaboutthechosentopic

- Turnwhattheywanttoknowintoaquestion

- Checktomakesurethatthequestioncanbeanswered–thatit’snottoobroadortoonarrow.

Itisadvisabletoavoidquestionswhich:

- Mightrelatetoagoodsciencetopic,butarenotissue-based,e.g.Whatisnuclearpower?,

Howdoelectronicpassportswork?

- Havelittleornoevidencefororagainsttheissue.

§ Gatherandrecordresearchinformation

Once students have sufficiently developed their research question, they begin to gather

data/information from the internet, newspapers, science journals/magazines, or any other

appropriate source e.g. a survey to support their research findings, or observations of

experiments/investigationsundertakenbythestudent.

Itisimportantforstudentstorecordthesourceofalltheinformationgatheredinordertoassessits

reliabilityandquality (relevance,accuracyandbias)andtoensurethat thesourcesof information

usedcanbereferencedinthereport.

B. Communicatingfindings

§ Selectrelevantinformationfromselectedsources

Studentswill select information (e.g.written text, audio/visual recording, interview notes, charts,

tables, survey responses, observations, diagrams) relevant todeveloping a response to the stated

researchquestion.Informationwillbeselectedto:

28

- Positionthetopicasscienceinsocietyanddiscusstheimpactofthetopiconsocietyand/or

theenvironment,and/oritspersonalorlocalrelevance

- Explain, inthestudent’sownwords,scientificknowledgeand ideasrelevanttothechosen

topic

- Explainintheirownwordsdifferentviewpointsandsidesoftheargument.

Informationshouldnotbe takenverbatim fromsources; it is important for students tobeable to

explain the information in their own words to demonstrate their personal understanding of the

knowledgeandideasrelevanttothechosentopic.

C. Evaluatingtheinformationtorespondtothechosenresearchquestion

Thefollowingstepscansupportstudentsindevelopingapersonalopinionthatisjustifiedonthebasis

oftheselectedinformation:

- Checkwhichsourcesagree/disagreewitheachother

- Considertheinformationfromdifferentpointsofview

- Make judgements about how the information supports, or does not support, a particular

responsetotheresearchquestion.

Studentsmustworkindividuallytocompilethereportoftheirinvestigation.

Evidenceoflearning

Thefollowingevidenceisrequired:

§ Areport

§ Studentresearchrecords.

Students will report their research and findings in a format of their choice. The report can be

completedattheendoftheinvestigationorattheendofeachmainareaofactivityasoutlinedabove.

Ifa typedorhand-writtenreport is the formatof theirchoice,thetotal lengthofawrittenreport

wouldtypicallybeinthe650-800wordsrange(excludingreferencelistandresearchnotes),butthis

shouldnotberegardedasarigidrequirement.SSIsmaybeeffectivelypresentedinotherformats(e.g.

posters,podcasts,ormultimedia),butcaremustbetakenthatalltheresearchcanbejudgedonthe

29

finalproductalone.Forexample,aposterpresentationmayallowstudents toshowthat theycan

selectandpresenthighlightsoftheirresearch,butitmaybeprudenttoincludeawrittenreportof

approximately400wordstoconveythedeeperresearchunderpinningit.Dependingonthechosen

format,somereportsmayinvolvefewerwords,butnonethelesstheywillpresentalltheresearchand

findingsusingothermedia.Whenplanningthecontentoftheirreport,studentsshouldbefamiliar

withtheFeaturesofQualityusedtojudgethelevelofachievementwhichwillbeawardedtotheir

work.

The teacher can review their own notes to checkwhether a student requiredmore thanwhat is

deemed ‘reasonablesupport’ (seepage8) inchoosinga topic for investigation,decidingaspecific

researchquestion,orfindingandrecordinginformation.

30


FeaturesofQuality

Key Features of Quality in support of student and teacher judgement for the Science in Society

Investigationaredescribedhere.TheFeaturesofQualityarethecriteriausedtoassessthestudent

workasbestfittingoneofthefourDescriptors.BeforeusingtheFeaturesofQualitybelowitmaybe

helpfultoreviewtheinformationon:

§ Making‘on-balance’judgements(page7)

§ Reasonablesupport(page15).

Gettingready CompletingtheCBADecidingonthelevelofachievement


Nextsteps

31

FeaturesofQualityforTheScienceinSocietyInvestigation

Exceptional

Investigating

§ Choosesaninterestingornoveltopicandresearchquestion

§ Finds information about the topic from a large number of varied and balanced

sources,andgivesacompletereferencelist

§ Evaluatesthereliability(relevance,accuracyandbias)ofthesources

§ Considersthequalityoftheinformationcollectedfromthedifferentsources

Commun

icating

§ Clearlypositionsthetopicasscienceinsociety;explainstherelevantscienceand

theimpactofthetopiconsocietyand/ortheenvironment

§ Presentstheinvestigationinaverywell-structuredway(thatisclearandeasyto

read)usingrelevantscientificterminologyandinformativerepresentations;uses

aninnovativeapproachthattrulyenhancesthework

§ Explainsdifferentsidesoftheargumentindetail

Know

ledg

ean

dun

derstand

ing

§ Evaluates all the information; views on the chosen topic are considered and

discussedindepth

§ Linkstheinformationtothetopicunderinvestigation

§ Reviewsalltheinformationusingscienceexplanations

§ Givesapersonalopinionwhichisjustifiedbyreferringtotheinformationevaluated

Aboveexpectations

§ Choosesaninterestingornoveltopicandresearchquestion

§ Findsinformationaboutthetopicfromanumberofbalancedsources,andgives

acompletereferencelist

§ Discussesthereliabilityandquality(relevance,accuracyandbias)ofthesources

§ Positionsthetopicasscienceinsociety;explainstherelevantscienceandthe

impactofthetopiconsocietyand/ortheenvironment

32

§ Presentstheinvestigationinawell-structured(thatisclearandeasytoread),

usingrelevantscientificterminologyandinformativerepresentations

§ Explainsdifferentsidesoftheargument

§ Evaluatesmostoftheinformation,understandinghowparticularsourcesmight

biasscientificpracticesandknowledge

§ Linkstheinformationtothetopicunderinvestigation

§ Reviewsmostoftheinformationusingscienceexplanations

§ Givesapersonalopinionlinkingtheinformationtotheargument

Inlinewithexpectations

§ Choosesatopicandresearchquestionwithsometeacherguidance

§ Findssomeusefulsourcesofinformationaboutthetopicandgivesacomplete

referencelist

§ Givessomeconsiderationtothereliabilityorquality(relevance,accuracyand

bias)ofthesources

§ Mentionsinpassingtheimpactofthetopiconsocietyand/ortheenvironment.

§ Presentstheinvestigationinastructuredwayusingrelevantscientific

terminology

§ Explainsdifferentsidesoftheargument

§ Evaluatesmostoftheinformation,understandingthatparticularsourcesmight

biasscientificpractices

§ Givesapersonalopinionwithsomeexplanation

Yettomeetexpectations

§ Choosesatopicbutisgiventheresearchquestion

§ Isdirectedtosourcesofinformationaboutthetopic

§ Usesveryfewsourceswithlittleevidenceofwhatthesourcesare

§ Presentstheinvestigationusingsomescientificterminology

§ Presentstheinvestigationinawaythatissomewhatstructured

§ Evaluatessomeoftheinformation

§ Givesapersonalopinionwithoutexplanationoralinktotheoriginalquestion

33

Nextsteps

CompletingtheAssessmentTask

StudentsundertakeawrittenAssessmentTasktobesubmittedtotheStateExaminationsCommission

formarkingaspartofthestate-certifiedexaminationforScience. It will be allocated 10% of the marks

used to determine the grade awarded by the SEC. The Assessment Task links to the principal objective

of the SSI, which is to analyse the information/secondary data collected, evaluate the claims and

opinionsstudied,anddrawevidence-basedconclusionsabouttheissuesinvolved.Theknowledgeand

skills developed by students during this Classroom-Based Assessment emerge from their growing

awarenessofscientificinquiry.

TheAssessmentTaskwillcompriseofsomeorallofthefollowing:

§ Engagement with a short stimulus in written, audio, audio-visual or multi-modal format in

preparationforthewrittentask

§ Awrittentaskthatteststhestudentsin:

- theirabilitytoengagecriticallyinabalancedreviewofscientifictexts:evaluatereliability

of sources, analyse and evaluate data, information and evidence, and draw valid

conclusions

- theirabilitytoapplytheirlearningtounseencontextsandsenarios

- theircapacitytoreflectontheskillstheyhavedeveloped

TheAssessmentTaskisofferedataCommonLevelandthequestionsposedwilltakeintoaccountthe

broadcohortofstudentstakingtheassessment.Includingtheengagementwiththestimulusmaterial,

theAssessmentTasktakesapproximatelytwoclassperiods(aminimumof80minutes)tocomplete.

The student response iswritten into apro-formabooklet and the school forwards the completed

studentbookletsfortheAssessmentTaskinaccordancewitharrangementssetoutbytheSEC.The

markawardedfortheAssessmentTaskwillbeaggregatedbytheSECwiththemarkawardedforthe

examinationtodeterminetheoverallgradeforthestate-certifiedfinalexaminationinScience.

Gettingready CompletingtheCBA Decidingonthelevelofachievement

Nextsteps

• AssessmentTask(AT)• SLARmeeting• Feedback• Recordingandreporting

34

WhereastudentisabsentforthecompletionofallorpartoftheAssessmentTask,schoolsshould

makelocalarrangementsintheschooltoallowthestudenttocompletethetaskascloseaspossible

tothetimeframescheduledforcompletion.

ExamplesofAssessmentTasksandguidelinesonhowtoorganiseandmanagetheAssessmentTask

willbemadeavailableatwww.curriculumonline.ieandintheAssessmentToolkitinAutumn2018.

SubjectLearningandAssessmentReviewmeeting

Sharedunderstandingof standardswithin junior cyclewill arise throughprofessionaldiscussion in

SubjectLearningandAssessmentReviewmeetingswherestaffbringtheirownexamplesofstudent

workandcomparetheirjudgementswithothercolleagues,withannotatedexamplesofstudentwork

andwith specificationsprovidedby theNCCA.Over time, thisprocesswill helpdevelopa greater

understandingofstandardsandensureconsistencyofjudgementaboutstudentperformance.

Inpreparationforthismeeting,teachersselectexamplesofassessedworktopresentatthereview

meeting;oneexamplefromeachofthethreelevelsofachievement.Theexamplesshouldnotcarry

thestudent’sname.FurtherdetailsonmanagingtheSubjectLearningandAssessmentReviewprocess

canbeaccessedathttp://www.juniorcycle.ie/Assessment/Review-Meeting

Afterthemeeting,eachindividualteacherre-considersthejudgementoftheirstudent’sworkbased

ontheoutcomesofthemeetingandwherenecessarymakestheappropriateadjustmentstothelevel

ofachievementawardedtothework.

UsingFeedback

ProvidingeffectivefeedbackisacrucialstepinusingtheSSItosupportlearninginscience.Students

willbeinformedoftheDescriptortheyhavebeenawardedoncetheSLARmeetinghastakenplace

anditsoutcomeshavebeenprocessed.However,effectivefeedbackgoesbeyondthenamingofthe

Descriptorawarded.Feedbackonthestrengthsofthestudent’swork,andonareasforimprovement

canbeusedtosupporttheirfuturelearning.InformationgatheredduringthecompletionoftheSSI,

andfromtheSubjectLearningandAssessmentReviewmeetingcanbeusedtoinformplanningfor

futureteachingandlearning.

35

Appealingorqueryingaresult

Studentappeals regardingthestate-certifiedexaminationgrade, inclusiveof theAssessmentTask,

willbeprocessedasperthecurrentappealarrangements.QueriesinrelationtoSSI,wheretheyarise,

willbedealtwithbytheschool.

36

Appendix1

InvestigationPlanforClassroom-BasedAssessment1

Studentname: Date:

Class:

Researchquestion:

Equipmentandmaterialsrequest:

Proposedmethod:

Approvedby: Date:

37

Appendix2

Evaluatingthesuitabilityofatopicforinvestigationfor

Classroom-BasedAssessment2

Sampletopic1:Nuclearpowerplants

Isthistopiccourse-related,anissueof

personalinterest,oronewithlocal

relevance?

Course-related(ES6,PW8)andpossiblyanissueofpersonal

interest.

Canthetopicberesearched? Thereisenoughavailableinformationattheappropriate

levelofcognitivedemandforstudents.

Isthereasoundbaseofscientific

understandingandideas?

Yes

Aretheretwoormoresidestothestory? Therearemanyscientificandsocietalargumentsforand

againstnuclearpowerplants.

Canitturnedintoaspecificresearch

question?

Yes

Conclusion:

ThisisasuitabletopictochooseasabasisforCBA2.

Sampletopic2:Electronicpassports

Isthistopiccourse-related,anissue

personalinterest,oronewithlocal

relevance?

Studentsmayfindthroughresearchthattheelectronics

aspectsarebeyondthescopeofJuniorCycleScience,but

maypursueitasascience-relatedsocietalissueofpersonal

interest.

Canthetopicberesearched? Thereisenoughavailableinformationattheappropriate

levelofcognitivedemandforstudents.

Isthereasoundbaseofscientific

understandingandideas?

Yes

Aretheretwoormoresidestothestory? Onewouldexpectmainlysocietalargumentsforandagainst

electronicpassportstofeatureinthisSSI.

Canitturnedintoaspecificresearch

question?

Yes

Conclusion:

ThisisasuitabletopictochooseasabasisforCBA2.

guidelines for the classroom-based assessments and … · 2018-04-04 · science knowledge,...

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