Leading for Change in Science Assessment

Leading for Change in the Science Assessment Practice

Graduate Certificate

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Center your science classroom around phenomena.

In this certificate, you will learn how to adapt, develop and pilot assessments that elicit students’ integrated understanding of disciplinary core ideas and crosscutting concepts.

Although course materials draw on iHub secondary biology materials, the certificate is open to teachers of all age ranges.

At the end of this certificate, you should:

  • have a suite of piloted assessments and scoring guides that you can use in your classroom;
  • learn strategies for eliciting students' interests; and
  • discover how students’ own identities can be leveraged in instruction.

We strongly encourage students to take the core courses in sequence.

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Paula Battistelli

Paula Battistelli

Course Descriptions

Asynchronous Subject Courses (2 Credits Each)

In this course, you will learn about the A Framework for K-12 Science Education, the Next Generation Science Standards and phenomena as an organizational framework for science assessments. In particular, you will explore the way that assessments may be designed using the 3D (3-dimension) approach which includes Practices, Crosscutting Concepts and Core Ideas. The end result of the course will be a set of potential phenomena that you choose based upon a student survey that you’ll administer and a potential student explanation you develop.

In this course, you will design an assessment that addresses student interest and identity. To begin, you will select a phenomenon, develop a claim for that phenomenon and identify potential facets of the claim made in the assessment. Identifying facets pinpoints particular Science and Engineering Practices (SEPs), Crosscutting Concepts (CCCs) and Disciplinary Core Ideas (DCIs) related to the scenario being created. Interest and identity as assessment dimensions come into focus as you evaluate the drafted assessments using the SAEBL checklist (Science Assessments for Emergent Bilingual Learners Checklist). The course ends with your drafted assessments being piloted with a group of students and/or colleagues for feedback and scoring purposes.

In this course, you will return to the results of our assessment pilot and look at them from the standpoint of different assessment types, including summative/formative, socio-cognitive and cultural formative assessments, with a lens on equity in enacting assessments. Throughout, you will create our own versions of the assessment types and pilot those, as well.

Synchronous Captstone Course (2 Credits)

In the capstone course, you will explore the "assessing and grading" practice and the role of the science education leader in critiquing traditional assessment models in favor of more equitable and just assessment in complex systems.

Visit the University Catalog for a complete summary of the program as well as its requirements, course descriptions and learning outcomes.