All Assessment resources

Lesson Plan

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about decay and decomposers. The probe can be used to determine whether students r...

By Page Keeley, Francis Eberle and Chad Dorsey

Assessment Life Science

Lesson Plan

Digestive System

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the digestive system. The probe is designed to find out whether students rea...

By Page Keeley and Joyce Tugel

Middle School Assessment Life Science

Lesson Plan

Mountaintop Fossil

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about mountain formation. The probe is designed to determine whether students reco...

By Page Keeley

Assessment Earth & Space Science

Lesson Plan

Adaptation

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about biological adaptation. The probe is designed to find out if students think a...

By Page Keeley and Joyce Tugel

Middle School High School Assessment Life Science

Lesson Plan

Ecosystem Cycles

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about the transfer of matter and energy in ecosystems. The probe is designed to re...

By Page Keeley

Middle School High School Assessment Life Science

Lesson Plan

Habitat Change

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about adaptation. The probe is designed to reveal whether students think individua...

By Page Keeley

Middle School Assessment Life Science

Lesson Plan

Is It Made of Parts?

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit children’s developing ideas about structure in living systems. The probe is designed to find out i...

By Page Keeley

Assessment Life Science

Lesson Plan

Plants in the Dark and Light

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about plant growth. The probe is designed to find out whether students recognize t...

By Page Keeley

High School Assessment Life Science

Lesson Plan

Needs of Seeds

The purpose of this assessment probe is to elicit students’ ideas about seeds. The probe is designed to find out what students think most seeds need...

By Page Keeley

Elementary Assessment Life Science

Blog Post

Teaching About How Scientists Work—With a Focus on Claims-Evidence-Reasoning

By Matthew Bobrowsky

Middle School Elementary High School Postsecondary Pre-service Teachers Assessment General Science Inquiry New Science Teachers NGSS Preservice Science Education Science and Engineering Practices Teaching Strategies Three-Dimensional Learning

NSTA Press Book

Instructional Sequence Matters, Grades 9–12: Explore-Before-Explain in Physical Science

Instructional Sequence Matters, Grades 9–12 is the one-stop resource that will inspire you to reimagine your approach to high school physical scienc...

By Patrick Brown

High School Physical Science 5E Assessment Crosscutting Concepts Curriculum Disciplinary Core Ideas Instructional Materials Inquiry Learning Progression Lesson Plans NGSS Pedagogy Performance Expectations Science and Engineering Practices Teaching Strategies Three-Dimensional Learning New Science Teachers Preservice Science Education Professional Learning old Research Teacher Preparation

Journal Article

Science Portfolios

By Lauren Simpson and Brooke Whitworth

High School Pre-service Teachers Assessment Crosscutting Concepts NGSS Science and Engineering Practices Three-Dimensional Learning

Journal Article

Starting at the Beginning

This study examines what prior knowledge and misconceptions about evolutionary theory students bring with them into an introductory biological anthrop...

By Kathryn King

Assessment Evolution Teacher Preparation Teaching Strategies