ASSESSMENT of LEARNING

What SCIENCE UNDERSTANDING(s) do I want the students to know, or to understand?

The content descriptor in focus for this unit of work is: Earths rotation on its axis causes
regular changes, including night and day (ACSSU048). More specifically, students will:
recognise that the Earth, the sun and the moon are spheres
know sizes of the Earth, the sun and the moon relative to each other
represent the Earth, the sun and the moon using models (ensuring their sizes correspond)
recognise the sun as the largest celestial body in the solar system
understand that the apparent movement of the sun from east to west is attributable to the
Earths rotation
know that the Earth orbits the Sun and this journey takes one year (365 days)
know that the moon orbits the Earth and the journey takes 28 days
know that the Earth spins around on its axis every 24 hours
What SCIENCE INQUIRY SKILLS do I want the students to have?
From this unit of work students will acquire and utilise a range of science inquiry skills
including: questioning and predicting, planning and conducting, processing and analysing
data and information, evaluating and communicating. However, this unit focuses on
developing the students skills in communicating. The students will:
Engage in small group and whole class discussions to share ideas and observations
Represent ideas using informal representations
Collaborate ad communicate with other students to plan and carry out an investigation
Discuss with group members what was discovered in an investigation
Represent information using informal and formal representations
What understanding of SCIENCE AS A HUMAN ENDEAVOUR do I want the students to
carry out?
This unit will help students to realise that science involves the construction of justifiable
explanations to improve their understanding of the natural world. The students will:
making predictions about changes and phenomena in the environment
WHEN and HOW will I gather and record this information?
The assess the students learning of the relevant Science Understanding(s), Science Inquiry
Skills and their understanding of Science as a Human Endeavour, I will assess the students
throughout the unit using formative assessments. This will include:
Observation
Class discussions
Group discussions
Brainstorming sessions
Guided questioning
Exploratory/investigative play
At the end of the instructional unit, I will use a summative assessment to evaluate the
students learning in relation to the intended learning outcomes (as detailed above). Students
will write an information report on a topic related to space and/or the solar system of their
choice.

Lesley KONG 100096415

EDUC 5192 SCIENCE M 2016

YOUR EVALUATION OF THE UNIT (not assessment related)

Choose two things to evaluate (reflect upon) during or after the unit.
1. To what extent did the unit provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their
knowledge, understandings and skills of the curriculum content?
The unit provided students with the opportunity to demonstrate a wide range of
understanding. The open ended poster (summative assessment) allowed the students to
demonstrate their understandings of the science concepts covered without restraint.
However, some students needed assistance in the construction of their posters to ensure that
they included all the important information relevant to their topic of choice.
2. What range of achievement of learning was demonstrated by students?
The students demonstrated a wide range of learning. At the beginning of the unit, most of the
students demonstrated basic understanding of the science concepts covered. As the unit
progressed, their understanding developed and they demonstrated a more comprehensive
grasp of the science concepts. This was evident from the formative assessments conducted
throughout the unit and the summative assessment at the end of the unit.

Lesley KONG 100096415

EDUC 5192 SCIENCE M 2016