Embedded Files
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
This study was conducted at HD Ningbo School, a private K-12 bilingual school in Zhejiang Province, China. The school is open to students from diverse backgrounds, but due to the high tuition fee, all the students come from upper-middle- class families. It offers students a world-class education, preparing them for university study throughout the world. The population of the primary division is about 400. Local Chinese students mainly make up the student body, while around 5% of the students hold overseas passports from USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand and Peru. Approximately one-quarter of the students can use English fluently in daily life and study.
Currently, I am the Head of Science for the primary division and the science specialist teacher for all the Year One and Two students. Our unique science curriculum combines the Chinese National Standard with Cambridge Primary Science Framework. I am also a member of the School ICT Committee and provide training for teachers and parents on educational technology integration.
One week ago, I conducted a Performance Assessment for one of my Year 2 classes, during a science lesson. It required the students to demonstrate what they had learned about circuit components by completing circuits. It provided me the opportunity to check students' understanding through a hands-on activity. I have been teaching this class for one and a half years, so students are familiar with my teaching methods and philosophy. This class is made up of 10 girls and 11 boys, all of them Chinese Native Speakers. All 21 students participated in the performance assessment. Before the performance assessment, we spent one week learning about what is electricity and how we use it in daily life. I also assigned an online digital book called "What is a circuit?" for my students to read and study at home as preparation for the lesson.
Click the book on the right to read and listen to the recording made by Jocelyn =>
Click the book on the right to read and listen to the recording made by Jocelyn =>
At the beginning of the class, I checked how many students had read the digital book I made before the class. I quickly introduced the components we were going to use including battery, battery holder, bulb, bulb holder and wires. I asked the students to put the battery in the holder and check each other to make sure they were in the right position. Then I handed out other materials and each student needed to make a simple circuit with one battery to light up one bulb. I recorded how many students finished the simple circuit. After they finished the first one, they could work as a team to build a circuit with two batteries to light up one bulb, then three batteries. I told them they could not use more than three batteries. Every time they finished a circuit, I took a picture using ClassDojo and upload it to their digital portfolios. At the end of the lesson, students put all the components back and discussed the change of the light while using a different number of batteries.
The next day after the performance assessment was done, I interviewed four students (two girls and two boys) one by one during recess time. Each interview lasted about five to seven minutes. I explained the reason of the interview was for my MSSE assignment, and it would not be used for any grading process for them. All the interviews were in English and I recorded them using my iPad. Finally, I used Google sheets to analyze the data from the assessment and the interviews and uploaded the interview video to YouTube.
DATA ANALYSIS
DATA ANALYSIS
Seventy one percent of the students responded that they had read the digital book before the class (N=21). Six students didn't study the book due to internet problems or they forgot the assignment (Figure 1). By comparing the results of the Performance Assessment between the two groups, the group who read the book showed higher percentage in finishing making the circuits (Figure 2 & Figure 3). All the students who read the book accomplished the one battery one light bulb circuit without help while one student who didn't read the book couldn't do that until the end of the lesson. Eighty percent of the students who read the book successfully finished the second circuit with two batteries and eight of them did the third one with three batteries as well. The percentage for the other group is lower and only one student was able to finish the circuit using three batteries to light up one bulb. Two girls made another circuit with three batteries and two bulbs which is not required by me, and both of them said they read the digital book before the lesson.
During the interview, all four students showed understanding that the purpose of doing this performance was to learn about circuits. Two students thought they were easy but the other two said it could get hard. When being asked what caused some difficulties, two students mentioned that it was not easy to connect the wire to the holder. One girl explained that some batteries were out of power while the other girl was frustrated with broken bulbs. Another boy found connecting two or more batteries was not an easy job. I also wanted to know what else they were interested in learning about electricity. They were excited about learning how switches work, how electricity can be transported, and how to make fruit batteries. One girl said she wanted to "make a circuit puzzle in the science class" because she liked the dark boxes we built during the last unit very much.
CLOSING THE LOOP
CLOSING THE LOOP
Two days after the performance assessment was done, I shared the data analysis results with my students. Since they’d already discussed about what they had completed during the lesson, they were not surprised by the chart. I told the students that whoever had not finished the two batteries, one bulb circuit could try again in the following lesson. The students who were ahead of the others could try to add more components, for example; switches or motors. I also told the students that after they finished their own circuit, they could teach other classmates to earn peer-teaching points on ClassDojo.
I also showed them the interview video of their classmates. They were all very proud that their classmates could do it in English. In addition, I taught them how to check my research reports online. They were very excited to see that what they did is posted on my website. My students have been using this science website at school and home which means they can share the information with their friends and family members. Many students told me they were happy to contribute to my research and they felt it was meaningful.
VALUES AND CLAIMS REFLECTION
VALUES AND CLAIMS REFLECTION
This performance assessment went smoothly, and I received clear data from the students. It helped me notice the students who needed extra help in building circuits. The feedback from the interviews also alerted me to possible issues that may cause problems for the experiment. Next time, I will check all the components closer before the lesson and order more batteries in case some of them are out of power.
It is also the first time I have ever assigned an online digital book made by myself as homework before the class. The students who read and studied the book showed a better understanding as well as more advanced skills during this performance assessment. I was always thinking about flipping the classroom, which means students studying the learning content at home while focusing on experiments and group work in the classroom. I believe this performance assessment will help me develop on mastering the flipping of the classroom.
Google Sites
Report abuse