Example Technology Performance Assessment Task

 

Task #1

Create a poster using a visual organizer and paint program

Grade:

2

Content Area (s):

Science

Unit Title/Theme:

Plant Growth Stages

Task Developer/Author:

Lauren Baker

 

 

 

 

1.     Setting the Context

 

The general context is a Life Science unit covering life cycles and ecosystems.  The students will have a hands on activity of planting and observing seeds grow over a two week period.

 

2. Grade Expectations

 

Technology

 

IT1-2:3  Students use technology/ productivity tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity by…

 

Word Processing

 

 

 

IT 1-2 :3  Students use technology/ productivity tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity by…

 

Paint/Draw

Note: It is suggested you look specifically at students’ ability to effectively use common paint tools such as the line, oval, rectangle, paint brush, text, selection, spray can/air brush, and eraser.

Visual Organizer

Note: Students should demonstrate their ability to add text, change symbols (block to oval, etc.), change color of symbol backgrounds, increase/decrease font sizes, add symbols, add connecting lines to symbols, and manipulate connecting lines between symbols.

 

Content

 

S1-2:31

Students demonstrate their understanding of Reproduction by…

 

S1-2:34

Students demonstrate their understanding of Energy Flow in an Ecosystem by…

 

 

3. The Performance Task

Students will demonstrate their understanding of the stages of growth of a plant through use of a visual organizer and paint program.

 

Goal(s): Create an electronic poster demonstrating the stages of development of a plant and conditions for successful growth.

 

Role:  The students will be the scientists, planting, caring and observing their seeds and documenting their findings.

 

Audience:  Students will share their electronic posters with their findings with the class and the teacher. Optionally the teacher could assemble all of them into a slide show or post on a web site.

 

Situation:  The students have received an urgent message from the President asking for help in determining how astronauts could grow their own food in space. The students will learn what is needed for a plant to grow and the stages of growth so they can let the president know through a poster presentation what the astronauts will need to grow their own food.  They will then plant two seeds – one to grow with normal conditions and one without an essential condition.

 

Product/Performance:  An electronic poster created with a Visual Organizer and Paint Program. 

 


4. Activities

Preparation for Task:

Students will have planted two seeds in separate pots.  One planting would be a control placed in a sunny place, watered etc..  The second planting would be deprived of one thing surmised to be essential for example light or water.  Students will observe daily for 10 days the growth of both and record their findings with hand sketches in a journal or worksheet format provided by the teacher.  Teacher should provide small paper rulers for measuring height.

Teacher will need to prepare a visual organizer template that includes graphics and text elements that the students can arrange, edit and connect to demonstrate an understanding of the growth stages (include at least 4).

Assessment Task 1:

Students access teacher created template and arrange and edit items to show the order of stages of the plant’s growth, using their growth journals or worksheets as a reference.  They should edit the label text, (change font color, size) to identify the stage or necessary condition. They should connect the items to show the proper sequence of the growth sequence.

Assessment Task 2:

After students have completed subtask #1 they can then use a paint program to develop their own drawings of the stages (at least 4), in order and label each with text.

5. Materials and Resources

Seeds, pots, dirt – enough for 2 per student

Journal or worksheet provided by teacher to record daily growth observations

Small paper rulers for students

Visual organizer and teacher created template

Paint Program

Projector and screen

Web site (optional)


6. Criteria/Rubric

 

 

4

3

2

1

0

Description of the plant's life cycle

Excellent: Visual representations demonstrate a clear understanding of the changes that take place in the seed during germination, the young plant that bears seed  leaves, the more mature plant that flowers and mature  plant that produces seeds.

Adequate: Visual representations demonstrate an understanding of the stages that a plant goes through, germination, growth, flowering, and seed production.

Basic:

Visual representations demonstrate  some understanding that the life cycle starts with a seed and ends with a seed. Other stages may be vague.

Inadequate: Some misconceptions evident in the visual representations such as some inappropriate stages of the plant may be shown.

Did not try

Identification of conditions needed for plant growth

Visual representations include all necessary conditions clearly labeled.

Visual representations include most conditions with labels.

Visual representations include some conditions but may not be labeled.

Conditions are not identified or are incorrect.

Did not try.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grade Expectation

Introduced

With Assistance

Met the Standard

Basic Operations

Not Assessed

 

 

 

Social, Ethical & Human Issues

Not Assessed

 

 

 

Productivity Tools

Entering, selecting, deleting text

 

 

 

Manipulating styles (e.g., bold face, italicize and underline).

 

 

 

Illustrating a simple concept using a paint application.

Note: It is suggested you look specifically at students’ ability to effectively use common paint tools such as the line, oval, rectangle, paint brush, text, selection, spray can/air brush, and eraser.

 

 

 

 

Entering information into a teacher created template (e.g. concept map).

Note: Students should demonstrate their ability to add text, change symbols (block to oval, etc.), change color of symbol backgrounds, increase/decrease font sizes, add symbols, add connecting lines to symbols, and manipulate connecting lines between symbols.

 

 

 

Communication

Not Assessed

 

 

 

Research, Problem Solving & Decision Making

Not Assessed

 

 

 

 

7. Checklist

1.      Seeds planted and observations taken for 10 days

2.      Visual Organizer template completed

3.      Paint ‘poster” completed and ready to share