ERIC Number: EJ1272419
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Mar
Pages: 6
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0036-8148
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Model, Assess, Repeat! A Rubric for Assessing Student Understanding of Models in Grades 3-5
Boughey, Sarah; Henriques, Laura
Science and Children, v57 n7 p34-39 Mar 2020
When teachers first wrap their heads around scientific modeling, it can be a bit tricky to distinguish scientific models from diagrams and three-dimensional models. If a fifth grader draws and labels a food web, it's a model. Right? Not necessarily. When creating a model, students should be representing a system inspired by an inquiry or phenomenon. Because models represent "their" current understanding, students' models will differ from each other. Additionally, the models will change throughout the unit of study as student conceptual understanding matures. This article describes how one teacher created a three-dimensional rubric to assess students' digital models--a way to assess students' conceptual understanding and their progress on the components of modeling, as well as connection to the crosscutting concepts. The article describes a digital modeling activity that students completed and then explores ways to use the rubric to assess their understanding.
Descriptors: Grade 5, Elementary School Students, Models, Food, Units of Study, Concept Formation, Scoring Rubrics, Student Evaluation, Visual Aids, Science Instruction, Teaching Methods, Grading, Standards, Educational Technology
National Science Teaching Association. 1840 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, VA 22201-3000. Tel: 800-722-6782; Fax: 703-243-3924; e-mail: membership@nsta.org; Web site: https://www.nsta.org/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education; Grade 5; Intermediate Grades; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A