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Race To The Top, The Need For Science Assessment Kits Next Generation Science Standards

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States are in varying stages of developing their NCLB science assessments. Typically, states contract with assessment companies which have a history of producing standardized, norm referenced tests, e.g., the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS), the Tera Nova, the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT-9, SAT-10).
These new NCLB science tests must include either criterion-referenced assessments or augmented norm-referenced assessments, or both. The world of the standardized, multiple-choice, norm referenced test is disappearing as standards-aligned, criterion-referenced tests emerge.
Because many states’ science standards include science inquiry and science process skills that are difficult to assess with conventional multiple-choice questions, more and more science assessments are taking on a different format and look. To assess a student’s skills, students must “perform”.
Hands-on performance assessment is moving us “beyond the bubble” of Scantron forms. When students are asked to perform, they are better able to utilize their unique learning styles (kinesthetic, visual, aural, etc.) as they tap into their own content knowledge of science. Student work from hands-on performance assessments better informs the teacher (and student) of what the student understands versus what bubble he may have guessed to be right.
Hands-on performance assessment in science requires students to perform various science skills (observation, data collection, organizing data, data analysis, drawing conclusions, etc.) as they manipulate equipment. Science equipment, typically organized in classroom sets, is delivered as science kits.
As the need for criterion-referenced science assessment of inquiry skills takes hold, the demand for science kits will continue to increase. States, districts, and schools are realizing that to assess science inquiry adequately, kits are a necessary, essential part of the assessment program. Educators also realize that if they are to meet the NCLB requirements for science assessment, i.e., to use up-to-date measures to assess mastery of science standards, and the states’ science content standards include science inquiry, then the tests themselves need to include student hands-on performance tasks. And since “what gets tested gets taught,” we will see an increasing number of science inquiry learning activities in classroom curriculum throughout the school year.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) program has been using science kits (HOTs) as part of its science program since the 1990s. These science tests are administered every four years to a small sample of students across the nation. Although this national assessment program advocates the use of performance assessment requiring hands-on manipulation of science equipment, it is limited in scope. The more powerful influences that are changing science assessment nationally stem from the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.

In a recent report, NAEP discusses the value of hands-on tasks.

Science education is not just about learning facts in a classroom its about doing activities where students put their understanding of science principles into action. Tasks were designed to assess how well students can perform scientific investigations, draw valid conclusions, and explain their results. In 2009, in addition to the paper-and-pencil questions, fourth-, eighth-, and twelfth-graders also completed a new generation of hands-on tasks during which students worked with lab materials and other equipment to perform experiments. These tasks help us understand not only what students know, but how well they are able to reason through complex problems and apply science to real-life situations. While performing the, hands-on tasks, students manipulate objects and perform actual experiments, offering us richer data on how students respond to scientific challenges.1

The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) are written as performance expectations that are composed of all three components of the Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas.2 Core ideas, practices, and crosscutting concepts are elements of each performance expectation. These expectations are written to address one goal of the Framework, i.e., a more seamless blending of practices with core ideas and crosscutting concepts. Hands-on performance assessment tasks can be used to effectively assess science practices and core ideas simultaneously.

1The Nations Report Card: Science in Action: Hands-On and Interactive Computer Tasks From the 2009 Science Assessment (NCES 2012-468).

2A Framework for K-12 Science Education: Practices, Crosscutting Concepts, and Core Ideas, National Research Council, 2012.

The Science of Lust and Love

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Pheromones are the smell chemicals that signal sexual attraction or repulsion. No matter how much you like someone, if they do not smell good to you, the sexual attraction just doesn’t work. It’s said that women on birth control pills will subconsciously seek out men who smell like good protectors and fathers because the pill simulates pregnancy. But sometimes when these women go off the pill, they suddenly find their mate doesn’t smell attractive anymore. Bummer!

In conclusion: the attraction chemicals fade at about 2 to 3 years and are replaced by the bonding chemicals. The bonding chemicals actually interfere with the exciting “in love” chemicals and create a more “comfortable” bonding love which lasts another few years.

Evolutionarily, the theory is that the couple stays together long enough to raise a child out of infancy. Then both men and women (yes, women are not built for monogamy either) move on and repeat the process. It’s good for the gene pool.

So, if you are addicted to the love/lust chemical high, it’s very important to keep your sexual and romantic life exciting and new. How to do that? Well, that’s a good question for a relationship/marriage counselor!

Resources: The Chemistry of Love” by Dr. Susan Block http://www.counterpunch.org/block02122005.html “The Science of Love Cupid’s Chemistry” by Claire McLoughlin http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/articles/article/clairemcloughlincolumn1.htm/ Labels: chemistry, love, relationships, self-improvement, sexuality

Science Experiment How To Make A Sundial

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At the same time the Egyptians invented the “shadow clock”, other cultures also developed a need to organize their time more efficiently. Amongst others, the Chinese, Greeks and the Romans developed another device for telling the time known as a “sundial”. Sundials do not necessarily work better than shadow clocks; it is just a slight variation to the shadow clock. Make your own “sundial” to tell the time in this science experiment:

WHAT YOU NEED:

“Protractor
“Stiff card
“Compass
“Thick cardboard
“Glue
“Scissors

HOW TO PROCEED:

1.On a stiff piece of cardboard, draw a right angled triangle as in the diagram above. The short sides of the triangle should be about 150mm long, whereas the long side will be about 200mm, depending on the longitudinal angle used for your town. Make sure that you also add the base, below the dotted line.
2.Cut out the triangle, and make a fold along the dotted line to form the base for the triangle to stand on.
3.Make a thick base for your sundial out of corrugated cardboard or wood of about 150x300mm in size. Draw a semi-circle on the base as shown in the diagram above.
4.Glue the folded part of the triangle firmly to the base and place the sundial on a flat surface outside so that the triangle points north / south.
5.Mark the position of the shadow that falls on the base every hour. Notice that the shadow travels the same distance along the semi-circle every hour. On a sunny day you will now be able to tell the time by looking at the position of the shadow on your sundial!

In the above science experiment we have built a time indicating device called a “sundial”. This works because of the fact that shadows change direction, depending upon the time of day. The position of the sun in relation to a specific location on earth changes throughout the day as the earth rotates around its own axis every 24 hours. A “sundial” like this one, uses a shadow’s position to tell the time. The position of a shadow on the semi-circle depends on the time of day, but it also depends on the season of the year. That’s because the sun’s position at a certain time of day is different in different seasons.

MORE FACTS:

The obvious problem with “sundials” and “shadow clocks” is that they don’t work during night time! The king of Egypt, was not satisfied having to check the position of the stars to know what the time is during the night, so one of his princes made him a water clock. A water clock works by taking a big bucket of water, fills it with water up to a specific line and then cut a small hole in the bottom of the bucket and marked off lines on the bucket after each hour had passed. The problem with a water clock is that water flows more slowly or quickly when the temperature changes. The same principle was used but the water was substituted with sand to make a sand clock. The inventor of the sand clock is unknown, but the sand clock or hourglass was commonly used in ancient times and is still used today.

Kabbalah The Science of the Concealed

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Some people think of Kabbalah as a mystery, a new age religion, mysticism, or magic. In fact, Kabbalah is none of these, yet even Kabbalists call it “a concealed wisdom.” At first, this seems like a paradox: How can Kabbalah be something thats “concealed,” yet not be a mystery?

The key discernment here is to understand that by “concealed,” the Kabbalists do not mean that Kabbalah is something which can never be understood or comprehended. When one looks at the many charts and diagrams in Kabbalah books, with their arrows and sketches, one may instantly think that this wisdom is too complicated to ever be understood. In a way, they are correctsince Kabbalah is not meant to be understood through our regular mind and concepts. But “concealed” also doesnt mean that this wisdom is unattainable or that it is a secret only a few are willing to share. Rather, “concealed” means something which is presently concealed to us, but that can be revealed.

According to this definition, Kabbalah is a science. It gradually reveals broader and broader layers of reality that were previously concealed to the student, doing so to the degree that the student is able to grasp and comprehend. It is like a child in the first grade who learns that the world he lives in is the earth. But in the second grade, the child learns that theres an entire solar system and even a galaxy. Finally, in the fourth grade, he discovers that he lives in an infinite universe.

In a similar way, Kabbalists also learn about parts of reality that they were not aware of at first and that were concealed to them. In Kabbalah, these concealed layers of reality are called “the Upper Worlds.” And just like no one would call the new knowledge a child learns in the fourth grade “mystical” or “mysterious,” but rather a “science,” so Kabbalah is a science that reveals new, spiritual layers of reality to a student in a clear, scientific manner.

In Hebrew, Kabbalah means “to receive.” This means that what Kabbalah students learn is how to receive or feel the concealed, Upper Worlds. There is no secret here. The only mystery or concealment is that there is always more to attain, just like in college there are always more advanced levels of mathematics or physics you can learn. And as a person walks further along the spiritual path, he becomes more “mature,” in the spiritual sense, and his world expands. Things that were a mystery yesterday become second nature today.

The most famous Kabbalistic book, the Bible, allegorically explains how a Kabbalist feels as he discovers the Upper Worlds: It describes how Abraham leaves a familiar country, only to be led to a place he does not know. In a similar way, one who is on the spiritual path often feels that many new discoveries are ahead and that he is walking in uncharted territory.

Hence, the purpose of all Kabbalistic books is to help us reveal the Upper Worlds, or parts of the universe that are presently concealed to us. There is nothing mystical, magical, or religious about this wisdom, but rather its a universal science thats available to all who want to learn it. Therefore, there are no restrictions on race, age, or gender. One doesnt even need to know Hebrew to study. All one truly needs is a willingness for the concealment to be lifted.

Basic Materials Used In Making A Picoturbine Windmill For Your Science Fair Project

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Magnet, copper wire, aluminum wire, screws and clips, cardboard, and wood are the basic materials to used in making your own PicoTurbine windmill science fair project.

A PicoTurbine is a small windmill structure functioning to produce a small scale electric energy. A windmill structure is a very suitable science project idea for renewable energy topics. It is an ideal science fair project because it can be built easily. The materials used to make such project can also be easily found in any hardware store. PicoTurbine windmill is basically made from the list of items below.

Magnet

The magnet is basically used to attach with the rotor disk place above the wooden base of the PicoTurbine. It’s securely attached with a double sided tape to a thick cardboard to function as a rotor mechanism. When the rotor spins the magnet’s magnetic field will release enough voltage to light the light emitting diode or LED.

Copper wire

A copper wire is used as a pathway of the PicoTurbine’s electric circuit. It is generally used in building the stator segment of the turbine. It is also use to transport the voltage in lighting up the light emitting diode or LED. Expose the copper wire on the end of the coils with sandpaper. Remember to get rid of any enamel left on the copper to have an efficient stator.

Aluminum wire

An aluminum wire is used to assemble the base and yoke of the windmill. Wrap the aluminum around the dowel. Bend and loop the aluminum wire with pliers to form the yoke as well. The yolk and dowel can then be placed on the center of a wooden base by screwing it with Philips head screw.

Screws and clips

Screws and clips are essential bearing parts that are used in assembling the different segments of a PicoTurbine windmill. A Philips head screw is specifically used to attach the yoke and the axle of the windmill. Retaining clips are metal clips that fastened the dowel to the rotor. Screws and clips are the joints and tendons of the whole PicoTurbine skeletal structure.

Cardboard

The cardboard is the base support of the paper blade and turbine patterns. A cut-out paper template is glued to the cardboard to give it more weight. A cardboard is also used to support the magnet and the rotor.

Wood

Wood is basically used as a foundation of the PicoTurbine. Since wood is a solid material and can easily be screwed, it is an essential base to hold all of the windmill’s parts. An 8? by 5? wood is the ideal size for an 8? PicoTurbine windmill. A half inch thickness of the wooden base is also a complementing support.

Prepare all the necessary materials completely before you will start building your PicoTurbine windmill. PicoTurbine windmill kits are also available in the market to ensure that you have all the materials that you need. Scissors, screw driver, and ruler are the tools that may come in handy.