Activity 3.2

Spectrum of Assessment Activity

(Revisiting Bloom's Taxonomy and Alternative) Assessment

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Purposes:

1. To find the strongest matches between assessment methods and kinds of thinking (using Bloom's Taxonomy)

2. To practice the "can-do" verbs that indicate levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy

3. To explore assessments that elicit complex thinking skills

Uses:

This is an intermediate level activity that can be used in Chapter 1 to illustrate the need to match assessment method to the learning targets being assessed, or in Chapter 3 to help teachers design the tasks that assess all levels and types of student thinking skills. Prerequisites might include (a) an activity on the rationale for alternative assessment (e.g., Activities 1.1—Changing Assessment Practices..., 1.6—Comparing Multiple-Choice and Alternative Assessment, or 1.12—Assessment Principles); (b) Chapter 1 text or Activity 1.7—Target Method Match; and (c) Chapter 2 text or an activity, such as 2.3—Ms. Toliver, illustrating integrating assessmenty tasks into instruction.

Rationale:

This activity will make participants aware that different types of assessments elicit different types of thinking from students. Multiple-choice and short answer questions tend to require simpler thinking on the part of students than performance assessments, for example. Participants will be given the opportunity to review Bloom’s Taxonomy in a non-threatening manner in order to review the various types of thinking skills we want to develop in students. Next, they will look at a series of assessment tasks (questions and problems) and rank them along a spectrum according to their cognitive complexity. The goal is to point out that it is usually the alternative assessment that requires higher level thinking. Participants can then review the questions they themselves ask students and rate them for cognitive complexity.

As with other activities in the Toolkit98, we want participants to understand the match between targets (student learning goals) and assessment methods. Simple targets require simple tasks while complex targets, like higher-order thinking skills, require complex tasks, like those involved in a performance assessment.

This activity is broken into two parts: Part A is "Revisiting Bloom's Taxonomy"; Part B is "The Spectrum of Alternative Assessment."

PART A—Revisiting Bloom’s Taxonomy

(This review is based on the old version of Bloom’s and not the proposed revision.)

Materials:

• Overhead projector, screen, Post-itÒ notes, markers, chart paper

• Overheads A3.2,O1—Spectrum of Assessment Activity Purposes, A3.2,O2—Bloom’s Taxonomy Pyramid, A3.2,O3—Discussion Questions (Parts 1 and 2), A3.2,O4—Application Discussion Questions

• Handouts A3.2,H1—Choral Reading, A3.2,H2—Bloom's Taxonomy Blocks, and A3.2,H3—Using the Question (Assessment Task) Quilt With Students

• Other manipulatives: flower blooms (cut from paper as signs for each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy that can be worn around the neck), thumb tacks, masking tape, wolf hat, bow ties (felt or paper), 1-3 different versions of the "Three Little Pigs," and play sunglasses (large frames)

• Prepare a "Question (Assessment Task) Quilt" on chart paper that looks like the following:

Question (Assessment Task) Quilt for the "Can Do" Verbs
Recall
Application
Analysis
Synthesis
Evaluation

• Prepare cards containing each verb on Handout A3.2,H2—Bloom's Taxonomy Blocks. Make the verbs for each level of Bloom's Taxonomy a different color. For example, all the "Analysis" verbs might be green and the "Evaluation" verbs might be blue.

• Hang up five sheets of chart paper with a horizontal line dividing each into two equal parts. Bloom’s Taxonomy levels of Recall, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation should be written across the top of the sheets. (See the diagram below. Recall includes both Knowledge and Comprehension.) Pull the bottom of the chart paper up toward the top and tape it to cover up the words until you are ready for them.

  Recall	Application	Analysis	Synthesis	Evaluation

  Time:

  90 minutes to 2 hours

  Facilitator’s Notes:

  1. (5 minutes) Explain the purposes for this activity. Use A3.2,O1—Spectrum of Assessment Activity Purposes.
  2. (5-10 minutes) Introduce the Three Little Pigs Activity.

     a. You might say: "Participants are here today to study higher-order thinking skills. We decided to use some difficult books to work with and hope you will not be turned off." Hold up the three different versions of "The Three Little Pigs" and ask if anyone remembers the basic story?

     b. Ask each participant to write (on a Post-itÒ note) a question one might ask a child (aged 8-14) about the story of "The Three Little Pigs." (No talking or sharing for now).

     c. Unveil the chart paper with the Taxonomy Levels and say, "Place your question on the chart paper above the line in the level of Bloom’s Taxonomy to which the question belongs." (Many participants will feel very uncomfortable with this, but reassure them that mistakes will not be pointed out).

     Reference Box Gregory P. Risner, and others, 1991. Levels of Questioning in Current Elementary Textbooks: What the Future Holds. ERIC ED#344 770

  3. (5-10 minutes). Ask participants if there are any particular areas where there were more questions posted? If so, why? Ask participants if they were uncertain of the level of question they asked and whether they remember Bloom’s Taxonomy? Some information to point out: In 1991, three authors (Risner, Micholson, and Myhan) determined the percent of questions, based on Bloom’s Taxonomy, that were used in popular fifth-grade science textbooks: 58% were Knowledge Level, 36% were Comprehension Level, (combined as Recall—94%), 6%—Application, all other levels—0%). The rest of the activity is intended to refresh participants' memory of Bloom's Taxonomy to ensure higher level questions are asked in the classroom.

  4. (45-60 minutes) Review Bloom’s Taxonomy

     a. Ask for seven volunteers to play the parts in the choral reading, using Handout A3.2, H1—Choral Reading, and distribute their props:

     • One volunteer represents the WOLF (prop: Wolf hat)
     • One volunteer represents Lenny (prop: sunglasses)
     • The other five represent the Blooms (prop: paper flower blooms that have each level of Bloom’s Taxonomy spelled out indicating which level of Bloom’s they represent, i.e., recall...)
     • The rest of the group represents the Chorus (prop: felt bows that can be used as a bow-tie or hair-ribbon)

     b. Read the choral reading, "The Big, Bad, Wolf Meets the Blooms." (A3.2, H1—Choral Reading). After the story is read, review each level of the Taxonomy with the participants by asking them to explain the meaning of each level by relating the levels to the choral reading context. Use Overhead A3.2,O2—Bloom’s Taxonomy as a guide. (Also explain to the participants that this choral reading models an alternative instructional approach they can use with their students.)

     c. Hand out a card containing a verb from Handout A3.2,H2—Bloom's Taxonomy Blocks to each person and a new posting note. Have each participant write a new question or assessment task about "The Three Little Pigs," using the verb on the card. Ask the participants to place their new question or task on the chart paper below the horizontal line in the level of Bloom’s to which the question belongs.

     d. Post the "Question (Assessment Task) Quilt." Have participants place their verb on the Quilt in the appropriate level. (In the "Materials" section of the facilitator's notes, you were directed to color code the verbs so that they'll produce a pattern when placed on the Quilt. For example, all the verbs in the "Analysis" row might be green.) Participants will catch on to the coding scheme and some might then want to move the question or task they wrote using the verb to another level on the Bloom's Taxonomy sheets. The point here is the importance of using the verbs as a way to ensure that teachers daily ask questions in the classroom at higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.

     (Note: There might be a discussion of factors other than the verb that determines the levels of Bloom's Taxonomy addressed by a question or task. For example, multi-step tasks makes a question more complex, as does asking, "Why?")

     e. Ask participants to discuss the questions on A3.2,O3—Discussion Questions.

     f. Using Handout A3.2,H2—Bloom’s Taxonomy Blocks with the "can do" verbs and possible products, review the alternative assessment possibilities with the participants. (Make sure that participants recognize that when writing questions or tasks for students, the verb used is the action the student does and not just a word in the question or statement. For example, if a student is asked to contrast something, you need to specify how this contrasting will be completed— in graphic form, in chart form, in outline form, in a summary, or what? What will the product be?)

     • Make sure that participants realize that all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy must be used (Recall-Evaluation); each level builds on the other.
     • Emphasize the "products vs. verbs" on the blocks in A3.2,H2 and tell them to create more "can do" verbs and products, etc.

     g. Ask for comments, questions or concerns about higher-order thinking skills.

  5. Extensions:

  a. (30 minutes) Apply Knowledge—Give each group of 6 (or so) teachers a column of verbs from the Questions (Assessment Task) Quilt. Have them construct a question or task using their column of verbs after doing one or more of the following.

  • Watch a video segment (National Geographic is good)
  • Bring in lesson notes (If told before the workshop)
  • Use state benchmarks or objectives
  • Use textbooks or other resource books

  Ask participants to share their questions and other assessment tasks and discuss the points on Overhead A3.2,O4—Application Discussion Questions.

  Reference Box Other taxonomies besides Bloom's can be used to generate assessment questions and tasks that measure the full range of thinking skills we want to develop in students. For example: Robert J. Wilson, 1996, Assessing Students in Classrooms and Schools, pp. 21-28. Allyn & Bacon Cananda, 1870 Birchmount Rd., Scarborough, Ontario, M1P 2J7. Jay McTighe, Maryland Assessment Consortium, c/o Urbana High School, 3471 Campus Dr., Iamsville, MD 21754, (301) 874-6039.

  b. (15 minutes) Using the Question (Assessment Tasks) Quilt with students: Remind teachers that higher-order thinking questioning works best in classrooms when students are aware of Bloom’s Taxonomy and they can sometimes help develop the questions. It is okay if students help. HOW? Pass out and review Handout A3.2,H3—Using the Question (Assessment Task) Quilt With Students.

  Part B—Continuum (Spectrum) of Assessment

  Materials:
  • Overheads A3.2,O5—Spectrum of Assessment, A3.2,O6—The Key to Student Success, A3.2,O7—Choosing the Right Tool, A3.2,O8—Range Indicator for Tasks, A3.2,O9—Instructions, A3.2,O10—Summary, A3.2,O11—Final Thoughts

  • A3.2,H4—High School English Questions, A3.2,H5—Elementary/Middle School Science, A3.2,H6—High School Social Studies Questions, Handouts A3.2,H7—Elementary Social Studies, A3.2,H8—Elementary Social Studies-Blank

  Set Up:

  Run the handout sheets (by subject) on different color paper and cut the questions apart (with letters attached). Place these cut out sets into envelopes.

  Time:

  90 minutes

  Facilitator’s Notes:

  1. (5 minutes) Talk about a spectrum (like the electromagnetic spectrum) and how we can create a spectrum of assessments from "Simple" to "Complex" (roughly corresponding to "traditional" to "alternative") depending on our need. Relate this spectrum to the levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy from Recall to Evaluation using Overheads A3.2,O5—Spectrum of Assessment, A3.2,O6—The Key to Student Success, and A3.2,O7—Choosing the Right Tool. You might say: "When we move from traditional to alternative assessment, can we say we move from recall to a higher level on Bloom’s taxonomy? We know that some multiple choice, true/false and matching can be used to assess various levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, but how often do we spend time making sure our "traditional" methods assess the higher-order thinking skills important for students?"

  2. (5 minutes) Ask participants to group themselves into pairs.

  3. (5 minutes) Display overhead A3.2,O8—Range Indicator for Tasks, to explain how assessments in any content area can illustrate moving from "simple to complex" or "recall to evaluation." Ask: What are some things we need to look for when writing assessment questions and tasks to assess the higher end of Bloom's Taxonomy? A few things to think about are: (a) the ‘can do’ verbs from Bloom’s used in the question that reflect what a student is asked to do, (b) the number of things a students is asked to do in a question (multi-stepped tasks), and (c) allowing for many types of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences.

  4. (5 minutes) Allow pairs of teachers to pick an envelope with elementary/high school social studies, elementary/middle school science, or high school English questions depending on their comfort with the subject. Place Overhead A3.2,O9—Instructions on the screen and go over the directions with the whole group. Directions are:
     • Place each task on a spectrum from the most "simple" (more traditional) assessment to the most "complex" (alternative) assessment—decide if the order goes from "recall" to "evaluation."
     • Each group should try to reach a consensus on their spectrum order but a difference in opinion is allowed.

  5. (20 minutes) Allow sufficient time for participants to sort their tasks.

  6. (20 minutes) Ask each group to report out their "spectrum" order. This can be done orally or on index cards. If time is a factor, ask groups to report their most traditional (or recall level) task and their most alternative task (or most evaluative level). Ask them to clarify their orders.

  7. (10-20 minutes) Discuss ways to use this activity at the classroom level to help teachers design better assessments.

  8. (5 minutes) Use Overheads A3.2,O10—Summary and A3.2,O11—Final Thoughts to summarize important points.

  9. Wrap-up: Evaluate session (identify levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy) WHAT WILL YOU TRY?