For my unit on engineering design, the pre-assessment will be an Edpuzzle quiz based on the YouTube video "Defining a problem: Crash Course Kids #18.1."
The pre-assessment focuses on main concepts of defining a design problem, including identifying the criteria of success and constraints and determining whether the problem represents a want or a need. It does so in an enjoyable format, since the video itself is quite entertaining and kid friendly. The only drawback of working in this format is that, since the video was only three minutes long, and since I didn't want to interrupt it too much or it would no longer be fun to watch, the pre-assessment ended up with a total of only six questions. The majority of the questions are short answer and will provide useful data, but I do worry a little about making too many instructional decisions based on so few data points. I guess I can mitigate this concern by using my ongoing assessments to adjust my diagnosis of student needs.
Pre-assessments tend to reveal that most students have some superficial knowledge of the upcoming learning, while a few already know it well and a few others lack even a basic understanding of the concepts. I will differentiate for those students who do exceptionally well on the pre-assessment by, for example, challenging them to extend their thinking on the first day's activity. While the entire class will be making ReCap videos in which they identify their own example of a design problem and describe it in detail, I will challenge advanced students to develop a novel solution for the problem they have chosen. In the same activity, I will differentiate for students who lack prerequisite knowledge by engaging them in small-group instruction. Together, we will review each student's ideas and work to identify the criteria for success and constraints. Once students feel comfortable with their examples, and I am satisfied that they understand, they will make their ReCap videos.
For students who possess a moderate understanding of the material at the start, but who need to be challenged to take that understanding to higher levels of cognitive complexity, I will differentiate via group roles. I will give these students the role of peacekeeper in their teams. The peacekeeper's job is to facilitate the collaboration, helping the team to evaluate each team member's design and make a synthesis of the best ideas. The students from this segment of the class who cannot be peacekeepers (because there will only be around eight groups) will fulfill the artist role, creating a visual representation of the team's design synthesis.
After the pre-assessment, I have planned four ongoing or formative assessments and one summative assessment for the unit, to help me track students' progress and respond quickly to needs that arise. As I mentioned above, at the close of lesson one, students will make ReCap videos explaining the concept of a design problem with an example of their choice. In the next lesson, students will complete graphic organizers with information about the egg drop challenge. Struggling students will be given a template to follow, while other students will choose what format to use for their notes. After students have prepared their individual design ideas for the egg drop challenge, they will meet in groups and I will assess their ability to collaborate, solve problems, and use time effectively, using a 21st century skills rubric. Students will complete self and peer assessments in response to each student's design presentation. At the close of the project, students will prepare reflections in the format of their choice (video, article, live presentation) as a summative assessment.
CLICK HERE to see a mind map version of the above information on differentiation strategies and forms of ongoing and summative assessment
One goal I tried to keep in mind in designing differentiated instruction for the unit is to make sure that all students arrived at a basic level of competency. As Carol Ann Tomlinson asserts throughout her work, differentiation does not mean leaving some students behind, it means helping all students to succeed. For example, in the first lesson, the use of small group instruction will help struggling learners to demonstrate the desired learning in their ReCap videos. In this same session, I plan to borrow a strategy described in the article "Differentiation: it starts with pre-assessment," and front load the next day's instruction for these students. That way, when I announce the egg drop challenge in the following lesson, these students will already know about it and can be the experts, teaching their classmates about the details of the challenge.
Reference list
Crash Course Kids. (2015, July 7). Defining a problem: Crash Course Kids #18.1 [online video]. Retrieved Feb. 4, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyTEfLaRn98
Pendergrass, E. (Dec. 2013/Jan. 2014). Differentiation: it starts with pre-assessment. Educational Leadership 71(4). Retrieved Feb. 4, 2017, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/dec13/vol71/num04/Differentiation@_It_Starts_with_Pre-Assessment.aspx
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