PLI#4

About the Session

This workshop–led by science assessment leaders from BSCS Science Learning, inquiryHub at CU Boulder, and the Learning Policy Institute–will prepare you to evaluate and adapt assessment tasks that center your learners, engage them in using the 3Ds for sensemaking, and surface actionable information you can use to move thinking forward.  In this session, we will:

• Highlight key elements of equitable NGSS assessment design, focusing on the most important features that lead to high quality assessments.
• Discuss how to surface specific learner ideas, experiences, and thinking to use to make assessments more relevant.
• Review, analyze, and use science assessment tools and resources from multiple research-based projects, including a science assessment hub with research-based science assessment tasks, tools, and resources in one place!

Sara Cooper

Sara Cooper is the coordinator for joint projects with CU Boulder’s science curriculum and assessment teams and the Learning Policy Institute’s State Performance Assessment Learning Community. Current projects include; District Assessment Toolkit for Student-Centered Assessment Systems, 5D Master’s Assessment Course, Washington’s Equitable, Curriculum-Anchored Assessment System, and iHub assessment development. She has over fifteen years of experience as an educator in formal and informal settings ranging from elementary to college-level and is a former state department of education science specialist. Sara can be reached at sara.cooper@colorado.edu.

Kelley Aitken

Kelley Aitken is the K12 Science Supervisor for Winchester Public Schools and the Balanced Assessment Workgroup Coordinator for the Virginia Consortium of School Learning.  She has over 20 years of experience in science education and her current projects include working  with multiple divisions to improve teaching and assessment practices in science.  She has led workshops and division teams in developing assessment plans that incorporate student centered and student led assessment practices.   She has over 20 years of experience in science education.

Abe Lo, Ph.D.

Abe Lo, Ph.D. is a Science Educator at BSCS Science Learning, where he designs and studies the efficacy of research-driven instructional materials and professional development programs to promote NGSS-aligned classroom and assessment practices. This work involves working with teachers, districts, states, and pre-service science teachers. He co-led the design of the OpenSciEd middle school professional learning program and currently supports districts in states in developing customized OpenSciEd implementation plans. Prior to BSCS, he was a secondary science teacher and instructional coach. Abe earned his Ph.D. at Northwestern University and earned his BA and MSEd at the University of Pennsylvania. Abe can be reached at alo@bscs.org.

Dawn Novak

Dawn Novak is a Curriculum and Assessment Development Specialist. She currently is part of a curriculum aligned assessment development team working with multiple states to develop equitable 3 dimensional assessments and also leads a development team in the OpenSciEd Developers Consortium to develop professional learning experiences for high school teachers. Dawn has helped write multiple OpenSciEd middle school units as well as a couple of high school units. Dawn has been leading NGSS professional development workshops across the country. Prior to her current position, she taught middle school math and science and served as a science instructional coach. Dawn earned her BS in Elementary Education from the University of Iowa and her EdM in Curriculum and Instruction. Dawn can be reached at dnovak70@gmail.com.