Analysis of Student Work Protocol

Context for Student Work (5 minutes) This will form the lens for evaluating this student work.

2. Trends in Student Understanding/Conceptions Review student work samples (15 minutes)

Each teacher should grab two pieces of work samples. Place the rest of the work in the middle of the table.
- Read the relevant section of each student work sample.
- Each teacher should read as many samples as they can in 10 minutes..
As you read, make a sticky note describing what you notice about how the student is thinking.
ONE CONCEPTION for ONE STICKY NOTE. Guiding questions:
- What concepts and practices are students drawing on?
- What underdeveloped ideas are present?
- What distracting concepts or ideas are misleading students??
- Remember that not all trends will be inaccuracies- some students may have conceptions that agree with current science!
- Don’t forget the SEPs and CCCs!
When you notice a work sample with similar thinking already noted on a sticky, add that student’s name or number to the sticky (Very Important).
Note student names or number of particularly good examples of each trend on the sticky note.
Shift stacks to next reviewer. If you are waiting for a reviewer to finish reviewing or get back a sample that you’ve already seen, you may grab a sample from the pile. Continue identifying student conceptions.
After each teacher has reviewed for at least 10 minutes, place all work samples in the middle of the table.

3. Complete Table 1: Trends in Student Understanding on your “Analysis of Student Work” Google Document (10 minutes)

Discuss the trends in the student work samples.
- Trends should be relevant to the goal defined in step 1.
To ensure equity of voice, ask each team member to share one (and only one!) trend and write each idea on chart paper. Share trends that are common across students. You may stop going around the circle once you reach trends that tend to be only 1-2 students.
Members who noticed the same trend should pass their sticky note with that trend to the person who shared it.
As members gather sticky notes, count how many students fit in each trend.

Identify 3-5 trends that reflect a majority of the student work samples. There may be a few that don’t fit into the categories you choose, but attempt to choose categories that are inclusive of the range of student ideas. Some work samples may fit in 2 or more categories.
Each group member chooses one category and finds a piece of student work that is representative of that category. Make sure at least one person is looking for an example of each category.

4. Complete Table 2: Describe an Individual Work Sample (20 minutes)

In pairs, review one sample per category. Write the number of the category(ies) that describe this work and answer the following questions on Table 2: Individual Work Samples Sheet:
- How does this student understand the big ideas and/or processes related to our goal?
- What questions would you ask the students about their work if you had the opportunity?
- What feedback and instructional scaffolds would you provide to the student to help shift his conception toward the lesson goal?
Repeat the process for the case study students (if they have not been represented above).

5. Debrief your analysis (15 minutes)

How would you change the assignment to make it more useful to you as a teacher for the purpose of uncovering student ideas or meet the needs of ELLs?
What did our work reveal about students and how they learn these particular concepts?
How would you change the instructional sequence?
What was easy/hard/useful about describing how our students understand these concepts?

6. Key Findings (10 minutes)

As a group discuss this question and record in your "Analysis of Observation Form":
- What are the key findings from the evidence collected and analyzed today (observation and student work?

7. Path Forward (5 minutes)