Over the last 2-weeks, students have been working on the E1.1 Scientific Inquiry standards, which we will cover throughout the entire year. Currently, students have been learning about "How To Write A Lab Report" and "How To Create A Graph." While covering these topics, students have had a chance to "practice" their understanding through the following labs:
The above labs were Formative in nature (practice) and today was the first opportunity for students to show Mr. Fuzak and Mr. Alkire what they know about the E1.1 Scientific Inquiry standards, based on the Michigan Department of Education's High School Content Expectations for Earth Science (see the standards below):
What is new this year is the connections teachers are making with the College Readiness Standards. These standards are used to help measure a the abilities a student has when taking the EXPLORE, the PLAN, and the ACT. Each of these documents contain A LOT of information, but it is important that parents, students, and teachers are aware of the test results to formulate a plan to meet the individual needs of the individual student.
Students at Hamilton Middle School will take the EXPLORE test twice this year and the data collected during the first test will be used to create a plan for each student throughout the rest of the year. Students will then be assessed again in the spring of 2013 to see if there has been any student growth over the College Readiness Standards.
The Ice Lab is the current summative assessment students are taking to demonstrate their understanding and abilities based on the E1.1 Standards (above), along with the following College Readiness Standards:
- create basic graphs from sets of scientific data
- describe trends and relationships in data displayed in simple graphs
- determine an appropriate method for performing a simple experiment perform simple laboratory activities designed to teach familiarity with a number of commonly used tools (e.g., thermometers, balances, glassware)
- perform experiments that require more than one step
- formulate hypotheses, predictions, or conclusions based on the results of an experiment
- perform several repetitions of an experiment to determine the reliability of results
- evaluate whether the data produced by an experiment adequately support a given conclusion
- determine the hypothesis behind an experiment that requires more than one step
Both Mr. Fuzak and Mr. Alkire witnessed many great things taking place today with our students and are looking forward to a great year!!!
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