OVERVIEW: The Research + Practice Collaboratory continues to provide short, powerful, and easy-to-use tools for the field. The latest resource from this group is PD Tool: Steps to Designing a 3-Dimensional Assessment.

The 5 steps in the process are:

• Step 1: Define what you will assess by analyzing relevant sections of A Framework for K-12 Science Education and crafting learning claims.
• Step 2: Brainstorm Possible Scenarios for Eliciting Student Understanding.
• Step 3: Use Task Formats to Build Questions to Engage Students with the Scenario.
• Step 4: Imagine the Range of Possible Student Responses to the Questions.
• Step 5: Share, Review, and Revise.

This tool is intended to be a companion to two other great tools:

• “Integrating Science and Engineering Practices into Assessments” tool (which suggests activity formats to help teachers create three-dimensional, practice-based assessments)
• “Qualities of a Good Anchor Phenomenon for a Coherent Sequence of Science Lessons” (which outlines criteria to consider when selecting an anchor phenomena or design problem)

AUDIENCE: Teachers, teacher leaders, PD providers, curriculum directors, administrators, others

PURPOSE: This specific tool allows teachers to design Three-dimensional FORMATIVE assessment tasks that allow teachers to make inferences about what students’ are understanding about the disciplinary core ideas, science and engineering practices, and crosscutting concepts.

LINK: http://researchandpractice.org/resources/