Andrew Beck and Keith Berger

Formative Assessment Extended ACE, Option 3, 60 Formative Assessment Strategies:

Exit Card

Alignment of the assessment to specific learning objectives:

This formative assessment is given to students at the end of the first lesson on
centripetal acceleration. During this lesson, students worked towards two learning objectives, to
develop and use a model to analyze how a force could cause a constant acceleration through
constantly changing directions and analyze and interpret data from real world scenarios and
apply the free body diagram model to these situations to visualize that any inward force can
cause a centripetal acceleration. In order to assess these learning objectives, we will use one of
the 60 formative assessment strategies, exit cards. This formative assessment allows us to
gather data about how well the students are working towards the learning objectives. The first
learning objective has students using a free body diagram model to rationalize that a force can
cause a constant change in direction. The exit slip assessment has students drawing free body
diagrams which involves naming and indicating the direction of forces that are causing the
centripetal acceleration. If students perform well and show that they are able to use the free
body diagram to model centripetal acceleration, then we know that they are on the right track
with this learning objective. Another objective is for students to be able to transfer this model
from the physics classroom to real life by analyzing real life situations with free body diagrams
where there is a net centripetal acceleration. The exit slip meets this learning objective by
providing students realistic situations in which they can apply their free body diagram model.
These realistic situations are seemingly complex, but students who are at, meeting, or excelling
with the objective will be able to break these situations down and realize what forces are acting
to cause a centripetal acceleration.

Explicitly and soundly measure related student learning:

This formative assessment measures student learning by its structure. The first question
asks students to analyze an Olympic hammer throw setup. The students are asked to analyze
the video from an overhead view and then create a free body diagram. The assessment starts
with the hammer throw because it is a situation where only one force is considered in causing
centripetal acceleration. We will be able to tell right away with this simpler setup if students
understood the overall idea of our lesson, that inward forces cause centripetal acceleration. The
next question asks students to analyze a loop on a roller coaster. This is a setup that involves
only two forces, gravity and the normal force, to cause a centripetal acceleration. Here we will
see if students are able to understand that there can be more than one force causing centripetal
acceleration. The final question checks if students understand that the net force must be inward
to cause centripetal acceleration. In this case there are three forces, gravity, the normal force,
and friction. Students must realize that the forces must sum to point inward on the circle.
Additionally, they must recognize that sometimes only components of certain forces point
inward. Overall, we are able to see how much students understood from which questions they
are able to complete and also what answers they provide.

Principles of sound assessment design and implementation:

To increase the clarity of the assessment, either an image from the video or a diagram
indicating from which perspective we would like the analysis to be done, are provided. This
helps the students by informing them of the expectations and helps the teacher by limiting the
amount of variance in possible correct answers. In this way it also increases the reliability of the
assessment because it prevents misunderstanding of the assessment from influencing the
student product. This way, if a student were to take it and then take it again some other time,
they should be able to produce consistent answers. Because the assessment is rooted in videos
of real life people doing actions that students would have seen before or may even have taken
part in, this is a highly authentic assessment.

This assessment is appropriately complex for where students are at. This is the first day,
so students are just starting out with the centripetal force ideas, but they have used free body
diagrams extensively throughout the course. They dont have to learn free body diagrams, so
that cuts down on the complexity and makes it accessible for all students. Students start with a
problem with one force, then a problem with two forces, and then a problem with three forces.
The complexity increases in a way that is natural for students. The final problem may be seen
as too difficult, but it is appropriately complex for the data we want to receive from students.
Overall, even if they cant draw all of the forces, we will be looking for the main idea that the
sum of the forces will be inwards. Even if students dont give the correct answer, we still get
valid data.

Elicitation Technique:

Prior to the students doing this formative assessment, they will be thinking up real world
examples on their own, so this assessment fits with the natural progression of our lesson. We
will tell students that we will be sharing some of the examples that we came up with and will be
asking them to analyze the situations. After we pass out the papers to all of the tables, we will
briefly go over what we are doing. We will tell students that we will show them the video a few
times. While they watch it we will tell them to write down what forces are being used in each set
up. We will then ask students to draw the force body diagram with these forces. We will tell them
to label the forces that they draw. We will then show them each of the videos for about one
minute while they analyze. After one minute, we will move onto the next video. After this minute,
we will show the last video. We will then collect the papers and analyze what the students know
after class so that we may use the results to influence future instruction.
Hammer throw (T) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnHUAc20WEU first 20 seconds of this
video
Rollercoaster- https://youtu.be/PGRgXWsL-_Y?t=29s
Luge (F, and Normal)) https://youtu.be/ZvmiaRwGc1I?t=27s begin at 0:27
 NAME__________________________

Description of Forces Present and their Free Body Diagram

Direction

Hammer Throw

Roller Coaster
Luge (ice sled)