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Helping Students Make Sense of the World Using Next Generation Science and Engineering Practices

Background information and examples of high-quality units and assessments designed for NGSS

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Adapted from OpenSciEd Student Discussion Transcript

NextGenScience@WestEd

End-of-Module Assessment Task, PhD Science Module 1 Matter, Grade 2 (This is an open educational resource.)

This assessment task is published in the OpenSciEd science unit 7.3 Metabolic Reactions. Students complete this assessment at the unit of the unit.

From the website: Aneesha Badrinarayan, former director of Special Projects and Initiatives, of Achieve’s Task Annotation Project in Science (TAPS), joined us on Episode 33 of the podcast to talk 3D Task Assessment Resources. Listen as Aneesha walks us through 3D assessments and what the most important features of high-quality science tasks are.

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We are focusing our work in this series on the Science Assessment Task Screener (not the Prescreen)

Source: OpenSciEd Unit 7.2 Chemical Reactions & Energy

STEM Teaching Tool 16: The Informal Formative Assessment Cycle as a Model for Teacher Practice

This document contains a nine-step process designed to help teams develop three-dimensional assessment tasks in science that connect to students’ interests, experiences, and identities.

Prompts for Integrating Crosscutting Concepts into Assessment and Instruction

Scroll to find "Tasks by Grade Band" for quality examples of three-dimensional assessment tasks.

The Task Annotation Project in Science (TAPS) surfaced some features that routinely distinguish NGSS tasks from science tasks that are not designed for the NGSS. This resource describes the “must-haves” of any NGSS assessment.

Three-dimensional tasks require students to make sense of phenomena and problems using science and engineering practices, disciplinary core ideas, and crosscutting concepts. This resource?describes the lessons-learned about how tasks elicit sense-making.

This resource?describes how assessment tasks frequently include crosscutting concepts (CCCs), and discusses which approaches are most effective for providing evidence of students’ understanding and ability to use the CCCs.?

How can assessments be more equitable, and do assessments—classroom-based and external—have a role in promoting equitable approaches to science teaching and learning? By examining a wide range of tasks for how diverse learners can demonstrate progress, the Task Annotation Project in Science (TAPS) surfaced key ways science assessments can help make sure all students are supported in meeting their science learning goals.

The Task Annotation Project in Science surfaced the significance of phenomena in science assessments, and what features define high-quality phenomena for assessments. This resource provides educators and assessment developers with recommendations for phenomena that can support all students and reveal students’ ability to sense-make using the three dimensions.??

This resource describes how science and engineering practices (SEPs) can be used in science assessments and tasks. This resource identifies common misconceptions around the use of SEPs in assessments, while also providing effective and meaningful ways assessment tasks can elicit evidence of students' engagement in SEPs.?

An interview with Brian Reiser