| In
this section the marking criteria used in the NEMP assessments are
considered for a number of the tasks which were judged to involve
reflective thinking. The intention is to examine the extent to which
the criteria capture the reflective thinking aspect of the tasks.
In the table below the tasks selected are given together with those
parts of the marking criteria which relate to the reflective thinking
aspects of the tasks. The coding categories for the responses are
also given.
|
|
|
|
| 6.3.1
Science |
| 1995 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
9 |
Separating mixtures |
Y4/8
|
Team |
|
| |
Plan
an experiment. Talk and think about it. |
| Marking
Criteria: |
| |
Planning
– without knowledge of equipment |
|
|
|
| Consideration
of useful equipment |
Good
|
Moderate
|
Weak
|
Absent
|
| Qualities
of the material discussed |
Good
|
Moderate
|
Weak
|
Absent
|
| Planning
– with knowledge of equipment |
| Discuss
uses of equipment in relation to materials |
yes
/ no |
|
|
| Attempts
to find a use for all equipment |
yes
/ no |
|
|
| Selectively
chooses the pieces of equipment to be used |
yes
/ no |
|
|
| Comment: |
| |
The
marking criteria do not seem to capture the reflective thinking of
the students particularly well. |
| |
| 1999 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
44 |
Emptying rate
|
Y4/8 |
Team |
|
| |
Plan
and conduct an investigation. Discuss the results |
| Marking
Criteria: |
R12 |
Discussion (related to time for tomato sauce + arguments) |
| |
Very
good: – good ideas and interpretive skill demonstrated |
| Moderate:
- some good ideas and interpretations, but inconsistent |
| Poor:
- lacking good ideas and interpretive skills |
| Comment: |
| |
Again
the marking criteria do not seem to capture the reflective thinking
of the students very well. |
| |
| 6.3.2
Art |
|
1995 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
43 |
Two sculptures
|
Y4/8
|
1
- 1 |
|
|
| |
|
What
do you think these sculptures are about? How do they make you feel? |
| Marking
Criteria: |
| |
|
Responsiveness
(how it makes you feel)
sense of engagement
curiosity
confidence
feelings / empathy |
| |
|
undeveloped |
slightly
developed |
moderately
developed |
highly
developed |
|
| Comment: |
| |
|
The
criteria seem to capture the reflective thinking nature of the task
particularly well. |
| |
|
|
| 1999 |
| Task: |
| Page
42 |
Landscapes
|
Y4/8 |
1
– 1 |
|
| |
|
Match
paintings. Explain |
| Marking
Criteria: |
R7 |
Similarities between pic1 and pic4 |
R8 |
Differences between pics 2 / 7 and pics 9 / 11 |
| |
Explains
3 features or elaborates well on 2 or more features
Explains 2 features
Explains 1 feature
Any
other response |
| Comment: |
| |
|
The
criteria seem to capture the reflective thinking nature of the task
reasonably well. |
| |
|
|
| 6.3.3
Graphs, Tables and Maps |
| 1995 |
|
| Task: |
| Page
10 |
Car
race |
Y4/8
|
Station |
|
| |
|
What
do you notice about the weight of each car and the distance each travelled? |
| Marking
Criteria: |
| |
3. |
No appropriate comment |
| |
|
Greater weight further distance |
| Comment: |
| |
|
The
criteria do not seem to capture the reflective nature of the task.
Only the ‘correct’ answer is considered appropriate. |
| |
|
|
| 1999 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
33 |
North
Island / South Island |
Y8 |
1
– 1 |
|
|
| |
|
Why
do you think the North Island grows faster? |
| Marking
Criteria: |
R13 |
Some explanation referring to jobs, weather, etc. |
| |
|
2
or more good ideas
1 good idea
anything else |
| Comment: |
| |
|
The
criteria do not seem to capture the reflective nature of the task
particularly well. |
| |
|
|
| 6.3.4
Music |
| 2000 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
32 |
Two
pieces |
Y4/8
|
1
– 1 |
Maori |
|
| |
|
Tell me
some things about the music which you thought were specially interesting.
|
| Marking
Criteria: |
| |
R4 |
Indication of personal response / engagement |
| |
|
Strong
Moderate
Weak
Absent |
| Comment: |
| |
|
The
criteria do seem to capture the reflective nature of the task. |
| |
|
|
|
6.3.5 Technology |
| 1996 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
23 |
Sports
bag |
Y8
|
Station |
|
|
| |
|
Write
down all the things you would need to think about when designing the
sports bag. |
| Marking
Criteria: |
| |
1. |
Merit of things to consider |
| |
3. |
Merit of reasoning associated with choice of material(s) |
| |
4 |
Merit of ideas for checking whether the sports bag is going to be
good |
| |
|
Weak
|
Moderate
|
Strong
|
|
|
| Comment: |
| |
|
The
criteria do seem to capture the reflective nature of the task. |
| |
|
|
| 6.3.6
Reading and Speaking |
| 1996 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
56 |
Agree
to disagree |
Y4/8
|
Team |
|
|
| |
Try
to talk others into agreeing with your opinion. |
| Marking
Criteria: |
1. |
Relevance of ideas to topic. |
| |
Weak |
Moderate |
Strong |
|
|
| Comment: |
| |
The
criteria do seem to capture the reflective nature of the task. |
| |
|
| 2000 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
57 |
Special
visitor |
Y4/8 |
Team |
|
|
| |
See
how many short answer / long answer questions you can think of to
ask a visitor. |
| Marking
Criteria: |
| |
For
each short and long answer question: (up to five questions of each
type) |
| |
Invites
extended answer
Invites short answer
No question
|
R11 |
Overall appropriateness |
| |
Highly
appropriate
Moderately appropriate
Slightly appropriate
Not appropriate
|
| Comment: |
| |
The
criteria do seem to capture the reflective nature of the task. |
| |
|
| 6.3.7
Information Skills |
| 1997 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
14 |
Mary
Borg |
Y4/8 |
1
– 1 |
|
|
| |
Try
to think of 3 important things you would want to know about a visitor’s
country. |
| Marking
Criteria: |
2a |
Number of relevant questions |
2b |
Look at the first three questions only and code the content (there
are 6 content categories) |
| Comment: |
| |
Since
the quality of the relevant questions is not assessed, the criteria
do not capture the reflective nature of the task very well. |
| |
|
| 2001 |
| Task: |
| Page
18 |
Funny taste
|
Y4/8 |
Team |
|
|
| |
The
water tastes funny. Select four people to help. Think of questions
to ask them. |
| Marking
Criteria: |
| |
Selecting
people |
R4 |
How many of the people chosen are good choices? (based on child’s
argument) |
| |
Asking
questions |
R3-5 |
Appropriateness of question |
R7 |
Amount of useful information likely to result from set of questions |
| |
High
Moderate
Low
|
| Comment: |
| |
The
criteria do seem to capture the reflective nature of the task. |
| |
|
| 6.3.8
Social Studies |
| 1997 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
19 |
Drinking
Fountain |
Y8 |
1
– 1 |
|
|
| |
Think
about what you could do to persuade the school to put in a drinking
fountain. |
| Marking
Criteria: |
1 |
Range of distinct ideas |
| |
Several
appropriate ideas
1 – 2 appropriate ideas
No appropriate ideas
No response
Not asked
|
| Comment: |
| |
The
criteria do seem to capture the reflective nature of the task. |
| |
|
| 2001 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
21 |
A
good team member |
Y4/8 |
1
– 1 |
|
|
| |
Think
about the qualities of good team members. |
| Marking
Criteria: |
R7 |
Reasons for choice of most important thing. Merit of justification. |
| |
Excellent
Good
Moderate
Poor
|
| Comment: |
| |
The
criteria do seem to capture the reflective nature of the task. |
| |
|
|
6.3.9 Listening and Viewing |
| 1998 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
27 |
Coca
Cola |
Y4/8 |
1
– 1 |
|
|
| |
Two
TV commercials. Why are there two? Who would like to watch each? Why
might the commercials make them want to buy Coke? Why didn’t
the advertisers tell us more about Coke? Which is the best? |
| Marking
Criteria: |
R1 |
Why two? Key concept = appealing to different markets to ensure product
sales |
| |
Clearly
articulates concept with appropriate examples
Good ideas but not fully expressed
On the right track but vague
Any other response
|
R2/3 |
Techniques used in the two commercials |
| |
Expresses
a range of relevant ideas and gives appropriate examples
Good ideas but not fully expressed
On the right track but vague
Any other response
|
R4 |
Why the ad didn’t tell us more about Coke |
| |
Well
articulated good ideas
Some good ideas
Any other response
|
| Comment: |
| |
Responses
to some of the questions in the task were not coded in the marking
criteria:
Who do you think would
most like to watch the polar bear/pop and rock commercial?
Why do you say that
one commercial is better than the other?
However, the criteria seem to capture some of the reflective thinking
involved in the task. |
| |
|
| 2002 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
18 |
The
wind and the sun |
Y4/8 |
1
– 1 |
Maori |
|
| |
What
does the message in the fable mean? |
| Marking
Criteria: |
| R24 |
How well does the student’s explanation of the lesson/main message
fit with the words of the message: It is easier to influence people
with gentleness than with force. |
| |
Very
well |
Moderately
well |
Poorly |
|
|
| Comment: |
| |
The
criteria do seem to capture the reflective nature of the task. |
| |
|
| 6.3.10
Health and Physical Education |
| 1998 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
15 |
Being
healthy |
Y4/8 |
1
– 1 |
|
|
| |
What
is the most important thing on your list of what a person needs to
do to be healthy? Why? |
| Marking
Criteria: |
R11 |
Why would that be the most important? |
| |
Essential
for life
Prevention
Mental – emotional wellbeing
Enhancement / Positive body images
Negative repercussions
Other |
| Comment: |
| |
The
criteria did not evaluate the responses, only recorded them. Consequently
the reflective thinking of the students was not evaluated in this
item. |
| |
|
| 2002 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
15 |
Self-worth
|
Y4/8 |
1
– 1 |
Maori |
|
| |
Think
about positive thinking. |
| Marking
Criteria: |
| |
What
might happen if a person thinks negatively? / positively? |
R1/11 |
Consequences for feelings |
R2/12 |
Consequences for behaviour |
| |
Very
good insight and awareness
Some understanding
Simplistic awareness / Any other response
|
| Comment: |
| |
The
criteria seem to capture the reflective thinking nature of the task
particularly well. |
| |
|
| 6.3.11
Writing |
| 1998 |
|
| Task: |
|
| Page
35 |
Bike
for Sale (advertisement) |
Y4/8
|
Station |
|
|
| |
Write
a short advertisement. Think about the important information you will
need to give. |
| Marking
Criteria: |
| R7 |
Ability to be persuasive
How effective
is the advertisement |
| |
Highly effective
Moderately effective
Low level of persuasiveness
Not effective
|
| Comment: |
| |
The
criteria do seem to capture the reflective nature of the task. |
| |
|
| 6.4
COMMENTS |
| • |
Tasks involving reflective thinking skills were found in 11 of the
12 curriculum assessment areas. |
| • |
Health and Physical Education contributed the most tasks with the
rest spread widely over the curriculum areas. |
| •
|
As
one might expect from the general nature of reflective thinking there
are a very wide range of questions and contexts. In a large number
of the tasks the student is asked to “think about ….” |
| |
• |
The marking criteria seemed to be capturing the
nature of the students’ reflective thinking quite well.
|
| |
• |
27(49%) of the 55 tasks use a 1 – 1 interview task approach
and this indicates that many of the tasks have greater potential to
assess the nature of the thinking used by students. |
| |
• |
Again, it seems that a list of tasks of this nature would be a useful
teacher resource. |
