Design Pattern On Model Use In Interdependence Among Living Systems (Large-Scale Assessment Technical Report 13)

Abstract

Design  patterns  are  an  important  resource  for  supporting  the  development  of  unique  and  complex  assessments, such  as  technology – supported  scenario –based  tasks.  Design  patterns  encourage  coherence in  task  design  by making explicit relations among critical knowledge/skills/abilities (KSAs) to assess, evidence in student work that demonstrates  proficiency in KSAs, and features of tasks that can elicit KSAs. The “Model Use in Interdependence among  Living  Systems”  design  pattern  was developed  to facilitate  the design  of storyboards  and items  for the Science Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment. This design pattern articulates an assessment argument describing families of tasks to elicit evidence  of students’  abilities to use models in the context of life science.   The report outlines the key elements of the design pattern, describes the design pattern development process, and illustrates with examples how the design pattern supports storyboard and item design for interactive science assessments.