Assessment Ideas

When students interact with simulations, they are engaged in a very different type of learning that when they are reading. The goal of the PSI Sim™ designers was to promote the development of deeper, more personal ways of thinking about science. To help address the differences between rote memorization and interactive, inquiry-based methods for assessment purposes, we believe it is necessary to go beyond typical questioning strategies used in most text books. That is, different types of learning require different types of assessment. Of course, assessment must relate directly to program goals and course objectives.

You may find it convenient to use the PSI Sims™ themselves as part of assessment. For example, the teacher might set up a scenario in the PSI Sim™ and print it out along with a "What-if" or "What will happen now" question. Be warned that non-traditional questioning strategies need to be introduced carefully so that students "learn" that you expect them to think differently about their responses. It is wise to try out new assessment strategies with self-assessments before using them for grading purposes.

Let's consider some basic examples of alternate assessment strategies. In a rote learning assessment, a student might be asked to state a definition of "electrolyte". Another method of assessment might be to "give an example of an electrolyte and an example of a non-electrolyte." Perhaps the students might "draw a diagram of an electrolyte being used in a practical way." Another example might be, "what problems might arise in an experimental situation if a non-electrolyte were replaced with the electrolyte by accident." PSI Sims™ sometimes include real-time graphing components. In these cases, students might be asked to make connections between reading a meter and reading a graph. When should one be used rather than the other? PSI Sims™ often allow the student to manipulate more than one variable. Questions can be asked to see how the student would anticipate the result of modifying the two variables in certain ways, noting the relationship between the variables. The advantage of the PSI Sim™ in this case is that it offers a concrete, interactive example of the model.

Below we present concrete examples of a few types of assessment that you may find useful when using PSI Sims™.

Case Assessment

Police officers need quick and easy tests that they can use on the street to determine if people have illegal drugs. Choose an illegal drug and create a "battery" of tests that could be used to by the police officers to identify the drug.

Quotation Assessment

Read the following quotation. Write a one or two paragraph essay about what it means and how it relates to the science concepts presented in this investigation.

"Half of the modern drugs could well be thrown out of the window, except that the birds eat them" - Dr. Martin Henry Fischer

Comprehensive Achievement Test

1. A substance with a pH of 3 would best be classified as…

(A) a base (B) an acid (C) a neutral substance (D) a solvent

2. Substances that contain the phenol group (OH) turn purple in the presence of iron (III) chloride. As the number of phenol groups increases, the purple color becomes darker. Some iron (III) chloride is added to an unknown substance and a light purple color develops. Which of the following is correct?

(A) The unknown substance contains large amounts of the phenol group (B) The unknown substance is iron (III) chloride (C) The unknown substance contains no phenol groups (D) The unknown substance contains small amounts of phenol group.

3. Which of the following is correct regarding physical change?

(A) A physical change does not result in a new substance with different chemical and physical properties.
(B) An example of a physical change is the burning of a piece of wood.
(C) An example of a physical change is the reaction of iron with oxygen to produce rust.
(D) A physical change results in the formation of a new substance with different chemical and physical properties.

Informal Assessment

Imagine that you are in charge of creating a system that contains information about the chemical and physical properties of different chemicals in a database. Create a standard form that would include all of the necessary information about each chemical. Include MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheets) information in your form so your teacher can use your forms to track his/her chemical materials.

Project Based Assessment

Aspirin is an important tool in modern medicine. Research the structure of aspirin and write a brief report on your findings. Include in your report a simple method for finding the percent purity of aspirin in various tablets. Since purity is related to effectiveness, find data on aspirin purity for different brands. Discuss whether you should pay more for brand-name aspirin than generic aspirin?

Traditional Assessment

1. A substance is soluble in water. Does this mean that the substance will be chemically changed when placed in water? Please explain your response.

2. When an acid is added to an unknown substance containing the carbonate group bubbles appear. What substance was given off in the form of the bubbles?

3. A white powder is found. The powder looks like aspirin. Does this mean that the powder must be aspirin? Please explain your response.

You -Grade - It Assessment - Based on the question in the first panel below, have the students grade the student responses in the next three panels.