Science assessment tasks for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) can come in many different forms, but what should you look for when choosing an assessment?  Or what should you make sure to include when creating your own assessment?

Fortunately, the Task Annotation Project in Science (TAPS) gives us 5 must-have essentials to include in any high quality NGSS 3D Performance Task Assessment. 

Today, we’re going to take a look at these 5 essentials

1. Be focused on a phenomenon or problem.

 Assessment tasks must focus on addressing a problem or making sense of a phenomenon.

If we want assessments to reflect what students have learned and what they can do, students need to be motivated to engage in tasks. With this, phenomena and problems in an assessment should be compelling and presented so that students clearly understand why what they are figuring out is important or relevant.

This is a must-have essential to assessments, because our goal for student...

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Summary:

John Russell is a Research Associate at Math ƒor America and instrumental in supporting research-practice partnerships that bolster MƒA’s efforts to encourage its model nationally. John discusses the powerful collaboration between science and math educators that is taking place in the Math for America program in New York and shares with us their model.

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 Show Highlights

• 02:00 - 03:30   What is Math for America?
• 03:30 - 05:15   How does Math for America work?
• 05:30 - 12:30   How math and science teachers collaborate through Math for America
• 15:30 - 17:30   An example of math and science teachers collaborating around the standard of precision
• 18:15 - 23:30 ...

Summary:

Meet plant biologist, Dr. Steven Burgess. In this episode Dr. Burgess talks about his research in improving photosynthesis to increase crop yields. He also tells us about important skills needed to be a scientist which he believes are important skills for everyone. Are we teaching these skills in our NGSS classrooms? You’ll have to listen to find out!

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 Show Highlights

• 02:30 - 08:25    Learn about Steven's work with the RIPE lab
• 06:30 - 11:45    Computational modeling and genetic modification
• 12:15 - 13:30    How does this impact global warming? 
• 15:30 - 19:00    How Steven got involved with this research
• 19:30 - 23:55    Chlorophyll and light absorption
• 24:30 - 29:30    Skills Steven thinks students need to pursue careers in...

 Summary:

Looking for practical and powerful tools for teaching science? A framework that ensures instruction is rigorous and equitable for students from all backgrounds? Then you must add the book, Ambitious Science Teaching, to your resource library. Co-author Dr. Melissa Braaten joins our show today and discusses modelling tools and productive talk moves to use in your K-12 science classrooms.

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 Show Highlights (with time stamps)

• 05:45 - 07:25   Revisable models for scientific explanation 
• 10:30 - 13:15   Practical tips for revising models in the classroom
• 15:00 - 20:00   Teaching science with slides (a Kindergarten example)
• 21:00 - 22:30   Acting out models: "Energy Theater"
• 23:00 - 26:25   The "Gotta Have It Checklist"
• 31:15 - 35:55   "Back Pocket Questions"
• 39:45 - 41:15   Modeling...

  Summary:

Meet Wanda Faye Bryant, a 7th grade NGSS science teacher at Detroit Public Schools Community District. Wanda shares with us what resources and strategies she uses to successfully implement NGSS in her classroom. She describes the lessons she’s learned through four years of experience in implementing NGSS in her classroom and details various methods and exercises which have been useful in engaging students through NGSS.

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Show Notes:

In this episode we discuss...

• Introduction of Guest Wanda Bryant,  science teacher and veteran of NGSS implementation
• Discussion of the various NGSS training programs Bryant has experienced
• How did Bryant approach beginning NGSS teaching?
• The driving question board within the 3D teaching approach.
• How to respond to student questions concerning different investigations
• Discussion of the...

   Summary:

Struggling with creating NGSS 3D assessments? Meet Brendan Finch of Inner Orbit. In this episode he tells us his strategy for creating summative and formative 3D assessments and shares his most useful resources. He also tells us about Inner Orbit, an online program that helps teachers easily build and assign NGSS assessments.

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Show Notes:

• Innerorbit is a website for teachers to build NGSS three-dimensional assessments, select questions, and assign them to their classes.
• RocketLit is a product that customizes lessons to each student’s reading level.
• Brendan starts his process with phenomena that aren’t easily explained, using sources like: NGSS phenomena and San Diego Country Office of Education - Project Phenomena.
• It is great to reuse phenomena and ask new questions about it.
• Pick one phenomena for your...

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 Summary:

Meet Dr. Janine B. Krippner, a Volcanologist, Postdoctoral Researcher, and Science Communicator, originally from New Zealand, currently located in West Virginia.  In this episode, we discuss common misconceptions as well as important core information that science teachers should be teaching their students about volcanoes. We also discuss the various ways that people can make themselves more knowledgeable and safe in regards to volcanic eruptions.

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Show Notes:

• Dr. Krippner is currently working on a volcanic ash project linking global data bases in West Virginia
• Eruptions can have deposits that travel across countries
• Many lives during “The Boxing Day Tsunami” were saved because of basic warning signs.
• United States Geological Survey (USGS) is where you go for the right information about volcanoes.
• Volcanic ash is...

Summary: 

In this episode, Margaret O'Sullivan discusses the basics of NGSS innovation 3: Progressions; 4: Integrating Math and ELA and 5: All Standards All Students. Join our Facebook group to continue the discussion and be entered in our monthly give away!

 Resources: 

• DCI progressions
• Science and Engineering Practices progressions
• Cross Cutting Concepts progressions
• Engineering Design progressions
• Learning STEM Through Design: Students Benefit from Expanding What Counts as "Engineering"
• All Standards All Students Appendix
• Why it is crucial to make cultural diversity visible in STEM education
• How to avoid known pitfalls associated with culturally responsive instruction
• Teaching STEM In Ways that Respect and Build Upon Indigenous Peoples' Rights
• Skype a Scientist 
• Skype a Scientist NGSS Lesson plan and Student Activity Sheet

 Summary

Meet Jay McTighe and Dr. Judy Willis authors of Upgrade Your Teaching: Understanding by Design Meets Neuroscience. How can we use neuroscience research to improve curriculum, instruction, and assessment so our students achieve deep learning and understanding? We talk about merging insights from neuroscience with Understanding by Design® , and NGSS to create units of instruction and authentic assessments that emphasizes contextual understanding rather than recall.

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Show Notes:

• Find out how Judy and Jay started to integrate neuroscience findings into classroom strategies and integrations to strengthen the student’s results.
• There is value in cross disciplines.
• How to reinforce lessons and knowledge with neuroscience techniques
• Integrating performance tasks into a lesson allows students to actively learn
• When...

Summary:

Meet Pawandeep Jandir, a former particle physicist who worked at the Large Hadron Collider and is currently a data scientist.  In this episode, we discuss his work at the Large Hadron Collider, where he was working at the time of the 2012 discovery of the Higgs Boson! We look at the importance of science and physics in the world today and the ways in which students become and stay interested in it.

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And remember, you’re phenomenal!

Show Notes:

• Introduction of Pawandeep Jandir, a particle physicist who worked at the Large Hadron Collider, and a description of the nature of the Large Hadron Collider.
• The ways particles are controlled magnetically within the accelerator, and accelerated to 99.9999% the speed of light.
• The nature of the data extracted from the collision experiments of the LHC; data from collisions with familiar results can be discarded
• The nature of the...