Using the Science Assessment Probe after EIE

I asked Erica what the very best assessment would be for me to use with teaching science. She suggested Uncovering Student Ideas in Science, More Formative Assessment Probes, by Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Joyce Tugel.  I found the one related to Earth Materials, which was the FOSS kit I was teaching at Garner.  So I gave the probe before teaching the FOSS kit, and then again after the FOSS kit.  I also gave it once again after teaching the EIE kit.  I would love to have more time with the students after uncovering what misconceptions still exist, such as that coral is a rock, but I did learn a lot from doing the probes.   The fact that coral is one of the common fossils found in Coralville (near where many of them live), creates an easy misconception that it is a rock. A discussion on that matter needs to take place. This is one reason that using formative assessment correctly requires teachers to have plenty of time for science in order to include time for the curriculum in addition to time to address misconceptions with more than a sentence. I wish I could go back and address some of the misconceptions they still have.
  These are the results of the probes at each stage of teaching:

 

The probe I used was called, "Is it a Rock?" version 2, page 157, Copyright © 2007. Uncovering Student Ideas in Science, Volume 2: 25 More Formative Assessment

Probes, by Page Keeley, Francis Eberle, and Joyce Tugel. Published by NSTA Press.

    The reason that doing the EIE kit increased so much understanding was that one might not have noticed that in studying rocks and Earth Materials that students could not distinguish between what was a rock and what was a mixture made from earth materials such as rocks.  Cement, for instance, is thought to be a rock by a majority of the students. When they did the EIE kit they tested sand, soil and clay for their properties and determined whether these properties were sufficient to make good mortar (and found that they aren't). They then discovered, through the process of Engineering Design, that these very materials had different properties when combined, and that in combining them they could make better mortar (i.e. less breakage and more stickiness). Testing these material designs increased their understanding of the difference between what a rock is and what mixtures containing earth materials are. This was a higher understanding than the important concept  the FOSS kit was aiming at, which had to do with rocks being made up of minerals and that minerals have different properties such as color, texture and hardness.  This expansion through adding the EIE kit provided for 'digging a little deeper', if you will, and to my surprise addressed misconceptions I wasn't even intending to address.  I had been interested in the STEM application, the engineering process, and the real-world connections.  Now I understand that I also "uncovered student thinking" and addressed common misconceptions by adding Engineering is Elementary Curriculum to compliment the FOSS kit while teaching science.  It was a great opportunity for all!