SCIOS Secondary - June 2024

SCIOS: To Know

Thisjournalaimstopromotetheteachingof sciencewithafocusonclassroompractice It providesameansofcommunicationbetween teachers,consultantsandotherscience educators Opinionsexpressedinthis publicationarethoseofthevariousauthors anddonotnecessarilyrepresentthoseofthe ScienceTeachers’AssociationofWestern Australia(STAWA),theeditorialcommittee,or thepublisher

STAWAOffice Unit1/7GympieWay, Willetton,WA6155

CONTACT

Phone:(08)92441987

Email:admin@stawanet Web:wwwstawanet

EditorialCommittee

Allan Knight

John Clarke - STAWA

Lyndon Smith Mady Colquhoun

EditorialCorrespondence admin@stawanet

GraphicDesigner

Pamela Getalado

Marketing & Communications Coordinator Contact email: admin@stawanet

AdvertisinginSCIOS

If you would like to advertise in SCIOS, please follow the link here to express your interest and submit your deliverables

©2024TheScienceTeachers’Association ofWesternAustralia(STAWA) Allrights reserved Nopartofthispublicationmaybe reproducedorcopiedinanyformorbyany meanswithoutthewrittenpermissionof STAWA Unsolicitedmaterialiswelcomedby theEditorbutnoresponsibilityistakenfor thereturnofcopyorphotographsunless specialarrangementsaremade

ISSN0157-6488

WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR

FEATURED ARTICLES

WELCOME FROM THE EDITOR

AbouttheEditor

AllanKnightisoneofthesciencecurriculumconsultantswithSchool CurriculumandStandards Hehastaughtscience,includingseniorschool chemistryandphysics,athighschoolandbeenauniversitychemistry lecturer Hehasco-authoredanumberofseniorsecondarychemistry textbooksandwrittenteacherresourcesforseniorsecondaryphysicsforWA andotherAustralianstates

Welcome to the second issue of SCIOS - Secondary for 2024!

In this issue, Heather Valentine describes how to develop multiple questions on assessment design, Wendy Payne from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation, and Attractions describes education resources developed as part of the Return to 1616 Dirk Hartog Island restoration project and Lyndon Smith provides data on trends in ATAR course enrolments and university enrolments

We hope that you find the articles informative and interesting

Allan Knight (SCIOS - Secondary Editor)

ASSESSMENT DESIGN - MULTIPLE CHOICE

Heather Valentine

HeatherhasbeenalowerschoolscienceandPhysicsandChemistryteacherfortwentyyears Herrecentrolein TeachingandLearninghasgivenherinsightintotheartofteachingandthescienceoflearning Sheiskeentoshare examplesofbestpracticetopeers

Each category of assessment has its advantages and limitations It does not stand alone as a single measure of student achievement, but part of a suite of tasks throughout an academic year Designing assessment tasks requires consideration of various key factors In this article, I will be discussing Multiple Choice Questions that feature in most Science assessments This is the first of a two-part series on Assessment Design

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

ADVANTAGES

Highly objective and reliable for testing large cohorts

Can assess student learning across a wide range of disciplinary knowledge

Efficient for assessment of concepts and marking

Easy to implement as an online test

A bank of questions can be recombined on several occasions

LIMITATIONS

Questions can frequently test lower order thinking skills

Students receive ineffective feedback

Students may acquire false knowledge as 75% of the information is inaccurate

Designing effective questions is time consuming

Designing effective questions that test higher order thinking is challenging

TECHNIQUES FOR WRITING EFFECTIVE MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

Test comprehension and critical thinking, not just recall knowledge

Use simple sentence structure and precise wording

Put most of the words in the question stem, rather than in the answers

Write the stem as a complete question when possible

Make all distractors plausible, a similar length and presented in a logical order

Focus the question on a single learning outcome

EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVES SHOULD BE:

plausible - Implausible alternatives are non-functional distractors and should not be used Common student errors provide the best source of distractors

stated clearly and concisely - Items that are excessively wordy assess students’ reading ability rather than their attainment of the learning outcome mutually exclusive - Alternatives with overlapping content may be considered “trick” items by students Excessive use can erode trust and respect for the testing process homogeneous in content - Alternatives that are heterogeneous in content can provide clues to students about the correct answer, decreasing the validity of the assessment. giving no clue about the correct response - Alternatives should have grammar consistent with the stem, that is parallel in form, similar in length and uses similar language presented in a logical sequence to avoid bias toward certain positions

AN EFFECTIVE STEM SHOULD:

be meaningful by itself and present a definite problem, allowing the focus on the learning outcome

only contain relevant material to increase the reliability and validity of the test scores

be positively stated to align with learning outcomes

be a question or a partial sentence. A question stem is preferable to support the student to focus on answering the question rather than holding the partial sentence in working memory

TESTING HIGHER ORDER THINKING

When writing multiple choice items to test higher-order thinking, design questions that focus on higher levels of cognition requiring application, analysis, or evaluation of alternatives

(source:https://schoolworkhelpernet/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Benjamin-Bloom-Taxonomyjpg)

Rather than lower order questions that focus on remembering and understanding, rewrite the questions to focus on applying, analysing, or evaluating

Items can be ‘flipped’, by presenting the specific instance in the item stem, and asking the student to identify the underlying rule or concept instead The correct response requires the students to have a complete understanding of the alternative distractor concepts

POST VALIDATION PROTOCOLS

Statistical analysis of the results can give insights into the validity of the items in multiple choice questions and used to inform future planning

Difficulty index:

If more than 70% of the cohort answered the questions correctly, it is considered to be too easy.

If fewer than 30% answered it correctly, it is too hard. Between these two parameters, the question is acceptable.

Review those questions whose percentages are close to those parameters

Table 1 shows a spreadsheet with the percentage of students getting each question correct

Questions 1, 4, and 11 are too easy

Questions 3, 6, and 20 are too hard

Questions 2, 10, and 19 can be reviewed to make them easier to interpret.

Table 1: Percentage of students getting each question correct for a set of multiple-choice questions

Discrimination index

This demonstrates how well the item can distinguish between students in the top 27% and those in the bottom 27% of the cohort

To ensure stability, it is preferable that the groups include larger numbers (greater than 100) of students Each multiple-choice question needs to be individually analysed

It can be determined by:

Where:

U is the number of students in the top group who answered the question correctly.

L is the number of students in the lower group who answered the question correctly

N is the number of students in the largest of the two groups

When more students in the lower group than in the upper group selected the correct answer of the item, the question is invalid

Range of the discrimination index Item category (Table 2)

D ≥ 0.40 very good

0.30 ≤ D ≤ 0.39 reasonably good (possibly subjected to improvement)

0.20 ≤ D ≤ 0.29 marginal (necessity of revision)

D ≤ 0.19 poor (necessity of major revision or elimination)

Table 2: Discrimination index for each question for a set of multiple-choice questions

Distractor analysis examines the quality of the distractors Each distractor must be both plausible and incorrect

One simple approach of distractor analysis includes determination of the proportion of students who selected each of the alternatives (see Table 3 for exemplar spreadsheet) These proportions can be particularly informative

For example, when the proportion of students who selected a given distractor is greater than the proportion of students who selected the correct answer, then the item should be examined to determine if the correct answer is mistaken

The distractor analysis can also reveal implausible distractors For example, if the students consistently fail to select a given distractor, this may be evidence for its implausibility

Distractors not selected by 5% or more of the students are considered ineffective and should be revised or eliminated

Table 3: Exemplar spreadsheet for determining the proportion of students who selected each of the alternatives in a set of multiple-choice questions

In the next issue of SCIOS, I will be discussing the features of Short Answer Questions This is part of an ongoing collaboration between Laetitia Riches, a Languages Teacher at Duncraig Senior High School, and I This project all started as an incidental conversation we had when standing by the photocopier one day Laetitia has been pivotal in the development of this project and her ongoing contribution is invaluable I presented the findings on Multiple Choice Questions and Short Answers at the STAWA Conference in April of this year The aim is to prepare two presentations each year at subsequent annual conferences

References/Resources:

Brame, C , (2013) Writing good multiple choice test questions Retrieved from 28th November 2023 https://cft vanderbilt edu/guides-sub-pages/writing-good-multiple-choice-test-questions/

https://www csu edu au/division/learning-teaching/assessments/assessment-types/exams/multiplechoice-questions

https://www elearning fse manchester ac uk/fseta/writing-multiple-choice-questions-a-handy-guide/

https://www sproutlabs com au/blog/how-to-write-effective-multiple-choice-questions/ https://tatp utoronto ca/teaching-toolkit/assessments/assessment-writing-guide/tips-rmultiple-choice/

Bothell, T W (2001) 14 Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Questions

Chan, C (2009) Assessment: Short Answer Questions, Assessment Resources@HKU, University of Hong Kong [http://ar talic hku hk]

https://crowdmark com/blog/eight-tips-for-designing-short-answer-questions/

https://carleton ca/tls/teachingresources/assessing-student-work/short-answer-questions/

Jovanovska, J (2018) Designing effective multiple-choice questions for assessing learning outcomes

Leacock, C & Chodorow, M (2003) C-rater: Automated Scoring of Short-Answer Questions Computers and the Humanities 37: 389–405

Monash University Language and learning online (2007) Breaking down the question Retrieved 29 July 2011, from http://www muelc monash edu au/lls/llonline/study/exam-it/3 2 2 xml

Scully, D (2017) Constructing Multiple Choice Items to Measure Higher-Order Thinking

University of Adelaide Academic Learning and Language Learning Guide (2009) Short answer exams Retrieved 29 July 2011, from http://www adelaide edu au/clpd/all/learning guides/learningGui de shortAnswerExams pdf

University of Wisconsin (2001) Communication in the Biological Sciences Answering essay and short answer exam questions

Retrieved 29 July 2011, from http://www uwlax edu/biology/communication/answeringessay questions htm

https://www matrix edu au/beginners-guide-to-acing-hsc-english/how-to-prepare-for-short-answerquestions/

RETURN TO 1616: EDUCATION RESOURCE FOR PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Wendy Payne

WendyisacommunityengagementofficerintheScienceDirectorate–BiodiversityandConservationScienceatthe DepartmentofBiodiversity,ConservationandAttractionsandhasbeeninvolvedinthedevelopmentofresourcesfor theReturnto1616DirkHartogIslandNationalParkEcologicalRestorationProject

When teaching students about restoration of the Australian environment, finding education resources with valuable, real-world examples for students to study can be a challenge It can be even more challenging to find examples that provide a positive outlook for the future The free Return to 1616 Education Resource is both real world and positive, and offers so much more for both students and teachers

The resource is based on a Department of Biodiversity, Conservations and Attractions (DBCA) project that is happening right now in Western Australia (WA) The Dirk Hartog Island National Park Return to 1616 Ecological Restoration Project is one of the most important restoration projects in Australia and of global significance.

When first encountered by Europeans in 1616, the island was pristine Since that time, the introduction of feral cats, goats and sheep have degraded the island and many of its original native animals became locally extinct The Return to 1616 restoration project began in 2012 and aims to turn back the hands of time and restore the island’s ecology to something more closely resembling that seen by early explorers Since its inception, the project has made Dirk Hartog the world’s largest island to have achieved the complete eradication of feral cats, goats and sheep and is making amazing progress with native fauna reintroductions

The education resource was officially launched in 2022 at the Science Teachers Association of WA conference CONSTAWA and more recently was showcased in 2023 at the Australian Science Teachers Association, CONASTA 70 where the theme “space to innovate” allowed some of the more intriguing aspects of the resource to be displayed in a workshop including exercises using virtual reality and 3D imaging technology

Although the Return to 1616 Education Resource was originally intended for students from

Kindergarten to Year 6, it has recently been revised to include students up to Year 10 In addition, WA Year 11 and 12 geography students are now using the package to study global environmental change The education resource is also closely allied with the Science Teachers Association of WA’s (STAWA) material produced for Year 9 students studying ecosystems and chemistry

The resource has many exciting exercises and is vast, which can be overwhelming To assist teachers in choosing exercises appropriate for their year and subject, the package has been “salami sliced” into “bite-sized” pieces to make the resource easily accessible and user friendly Activities are divided up by subject and year level, detailing the relevant achievement standards and assessment pointers The education resource meets achievement standards in English, HASS, Technologies and Science and, to assist teachers in assessing student progress, it also provides a teacher section with Assessment Pointers up to year 10 All activities are easy to download as either PDF files or PowerPoint slides

The official home for the education resource is on Sharkbay org where more Return to 1616 background information can be found To make the resource more readily accessible to teachers Australia wide, it has also been made available on Scootle

To assist teachers and students with projects involving science as a human endeavour, the resource also contains an information hub that boasts an impressive array of study resource material including magazine articles, newsletters and key scientific publications written on the project available from the DBCA online library

With ongoing updates to keep up to date with the restoration project as it progresses, the Return to 1616 Education Resource promises to be a tremendous educational tool for years to come The project is funded by the Gorgon Barrow Island Net Conservation Benefits Fund and runs through to 2030

SharkBaybandicootphoto-SteveReynolds(DBCA)

THE FUTURE OF ATAR - SOME NOTES AND DATA

Lyndon Smith

In the last 70 years, Australia has moved to a more University focus. In 1950, some 4% of Australians attended a university and now government and universities are advocating at least 50% Figure 1 shows the rise in university attendance in Australia and correlates it against the financial models adopted such as full fee, no fee and the modern Higher Education Contribution Scheme where the government pays varying proportions of the university fee depending on the perceived worth of the course to Australia

For those entering university directly from high school, an ATAR score has been the main mechanism through which universities have selected these students into their courses Figure 2 data suggests that interest in ATAR is waning

Figure 1: University attendance in Australia correlated against financial models

Figure 2: ATAR course enrolment trends (source: School Curriculum and Standards Authority Annual Report 2022–23 p 40)

Recommendations have been proposed to support ATAR by broadening its base In the “Pathways to Post-School Success – Review of Western Australian senior secondary pathways” the Expert Panel Report (Consultation Draft March 2024) they state in recommendations 19 and 20:

Rec 19: SCSA and TISC to work to expand the types of courses and programs that can contribute to an ATAR, with a view to expanding what students are able to have recognised through an ATAR

Rec 20: SCSA to commit to working with DTWD and TISC to enable as many VET qualifications as possible to contribute to the combined score from which an ATAR is calculated; and to implement this change as quickly as possible, drawing on SCSA’s current WACE refreshment process

The report is now open for public consultation and for those interested in making a submission on the recommendations in the report the draft report and a link for making a submission can be found here https://pathwaysreview wa edu au/expert-panel-report-consultation-draft

In determining the ATAR score, TISC uses a scaling process to bring all the WACE examinations onto the same scale For example, in 2023 Integrated Science ATAR had an examination mean of 59 00 and was scaled to have a mean of 45 5 The inclusion of VET courses will require a process that brings the achievements in these courses onto the same scale as the achievements in WACE ATAR courses

While University applications and University entrance has grown, the essential degrees of medicine, dentistry, physiotherapy, pharmacy, engineering etc have had high subsidies from the government and high application rates from students

The funding has been to address perceived needs in Australia

Funding Cluster Part of Funding Cluster

Funding Cluster 1 Law, Accounting, Administration, Economics, Commerce, Communications, Society and Culture

Funding Cluster 2 Education, Clinical Psychology, English, Mathematics, Statistics, Allied Health, Other Health, Built Environment, Computing, Visual and Performing Arts, Professional Pathway Psychology, Professional Pathway Social Work Education, Postgraduate Clinical Psychology, English, Mathematics or Statistics

Allied Health, Other Health, Built Environment, Computing, Visual and Performing Arts, Professional Pathway Psychology4 or Professional Pathway Social Work

Funding Cluster 3 Nursing, Indigenous and Foreign Languages, Engineering, Surveying, Environmental Studies, Science Nursing, Indigenous and Foreign Languages

Engineering, Surveying, Environmental Studies or Science

Funding cluster 4

Dentistry, Veterinary Science, Pathology

You will note nursing and teaching only cost the student $4445 per year while a BA in Society and Culture costs 400% more

In 2023, Curtin University reported

The UWA reported similarly

These courses are in high demand and it might be expected that this would be reflected in ATAR science course enrolments in secondary schools

However, the absolute numbers show a decline in enrolments in recent years with some sciences such as physics seen to suffer more than others (Figure 3) The anomalous dramatic decrease in 2014 is referred to as “The half cohort” because, 12 years earlier, half the students spent an extra half year in preschool and that small cohort flowed through in Year 12 in 2014

Figure 3: Absolute Enrolments in WACE ATAR Science courses 2001–2023

School Registrations for the 2024 Science Talent Search are STILL OPEN!

Register here.

SCHOOL REGISTRATIONS CLOSE ON MONDAY, 22ND JULY 2024.

WHAT IS THE SCIENCE TALENT SEARCH?

An amazing opportunity for your students to do their own real science WHO IS IT FOR?

Students from Kindergarten to Year 12 can enter, though different categories have some specific age requirements. Make sure you check the rules for each category.

CAN GROUPS OF STUDENTS ENTER?

Yes-besuretochecktherequirements

WHATCATEGORIESARETHERE?

ScienceInvestigations

ScienceCommunication-includingposters,videos andphotography

Engineering

HOWMANYCATEGORIESCANMYSCHOOLSUBMIT?

Therearerequirementsforschoolstoprovideteachers tojudgeentriesoveracertainnumberofstudent entrants,sobesuretocheckthisoutveryearly.

WHERECANIFINDMOREINFORMATION?

LookundertheStudentActivitiestabontheSTAWAwebsite whereallyourquestionswillbeanswered

NEVERBEENINVOLVEDWITHSTS?

Whynothaveagothisyear?Perhapsstartwithjusta fewstudententriesandlearnhowitallhappens

CONASTA 71 in Melbourne

The Science Teachers Association of Victoria (STAV) is excited to be hosting CONASTA 71 at The University of Melbourne, Parkville from Sun. 7 - Thurs. 11 July 2024 with the theme Perspectives: Science Educators Shaping Tomorrow

CONASTA has a strong reputation for offering high quality and stimulating professional learning experiences for science teachers, school laboratory technicians/managers and others with an interest in science education There are also a range of exciting social functions on offer Register for CONASTA by scanning the QR code below or by following the link here

Website: https://scienceiq net

ScienceIQ is an online science quiz for school teams of four students

Teams have one hour to complete up to 12 science questions and problems in two separate rounds of competition Each round is a week apart and teachers choose the days and time to do each quiz To win, students will need to finish in the shortest time with the most questions correct

Participation certificates, first, second and third place prizes, and other great stuff

TERM 3

Years 6 and 9

Rd 1 week of 12 Aug

Rd 2 week of 19 Aug

TERM 4

Year 8 and a joint Years 5 & 6 competition

Rd 1 week of 4 Nov

Rd 2 week of 11 Nov

Registration fee:

$25 (+ GST) per year group per school

ScienceIQ will test student skills and understandings of the Natural Sciences: astronomy, physics, chemistry, Earth science, and biology

Register via the STAWA website.

Log-in details and instructions to access the practice quiz will be sent to the teachers of the registered schools prior to the competition date

MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION

Here are just some of the benefits and opportunities for STAWA Members Please check our website for details, and to find out what else STAWA does - PLUS what STAWA can offer you! (www stawa net)

SERVICES AND SUPPORT Resources

A range of resources for both Primary and Secondary teachers is available on the website Look for the Resources Tab There are resources available to members and non-members. Members can also share resources through the STAWA website. You can download resources directly from the website or request to upload resources by contacting the Office (admin@stawa.net).

Catalist (Secondary teachers)

Catalist is an email communications list which reaches over 800 Science Educators and is used to share information, ask questions, and discuss current issues To subscribe to Catalist, look under the Teachers Tab on the website

Australian Science Teachers’ Association (ASTA) Affiliation

Full fee-paying members enjoy the benefits of affiliated membership to the national association This includes access to ASTA’s online journal, Teaching Science, and the Chrysalis online learning community

PUBLICATIONS

STAWA Members receive:

SCIOS (STAWA online journal)

STAWA SPARKs! (Primary Science Committee online publication)

Teaching Science (ASTA journal),

Spotlight on STAWA (e-newsletter)

Information about Science activities for students and teachers

Professional Development & Conference programs

MEMBER DISCOUNTS

Members receive discounts for STAWA Professional Development Workshops, a range of services and attractions, STAWA texts and resources, plus attendance at STAWA Conferences and events, including:

CONSTAWA (WA Science Educators Conference)

Future Science (WA Science Educators Conference)

Psychology Teachers Convention

Marine and Maritime Teachers Convention

CONASTA (Australian Science Educators Conference, ASTA)

PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION

STAWA recognition of teacher achievement and service through annual awards –de Laeter Medal

Jeff Cahill Early Career Teacher Award

Support for primary Science teachers is given through the STAWA Early Career Primary Science Scholarship

OPPORTUNITIES

Teaching employment opportunities, curriculum review and development, government policy input, science equipment advice and professional development. An independent voice through STAWA’s representatives on many education bodies and committees.

WELCOME PACK

New members receive a Welcome Pack containing a Members USB, Pen, and Notepad

STAWA LIFE MEMBERSHIP

Each nomination for STAWA Life Membership is considered on its individual merits Nominations, accompanied by relevant supportive evidence, must be submitted to the President of STAWA Life Membership, if awarded, is bestowed at the AGM Please refer to the specific details on the STAWA website

STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES

Science Talent Search

Physics Day

Synergy Schools Solar Challenge

MEMBERSHIP QUERIES

If you have any queries with regards to your membership, please email us at admin@stawa net

HOW TO CONTRIBUTE?

CAN YOU CONTRIBUTE TO SCIOS?

YES, of course you can Contributions from teachers, laboratory technicians, students, academics and industry are all welcome

We are keen to increase the number and variety of types of articles published in the SCIOS So, if the answer is YES to any of the following questions, please consider submitting an article to the editor

Have you recently conducted an experiment (investigation or hands-on activity) that worked well?

Is there a great demonstration that always gets your students’ attention?

Have you tried a new teaching technique that really engaged your students?

Do you have some helpful hints for new (and not-so-new) teachers?

Are there some safety hints and tips that you would like to pass on?

Are you using some new technology that has improved the effectiveness of your students’ learning?

Are your students involved in a science project outside of school?

Have you recently attended a useful/interesting professional development activity?

Email your contributions to admin@stawa.net.

GUIDELINES FOR AUTHORS

These notes are a brief guide to contributors who should also refer to recent issues of the journal for guidance with style

Longer articles - should not normally exceed 3000 words plus figures, tables and any references Please use headings and sub-headings to give your article structure

Shorter articles - We also welcome shorter articles of approximately 500-1000 words plus figures, tables and any references Again, use of headings and subheadings may assist to give your article structure

Send the following to the editor:

1

Please send your document as a word file with photographs and other images embedded where you need them to be

2

3.

Photographs and other images (e g diagrams) should be sent as separate files

Photographs often increase the clarity and interest level of your work Send your photographs as tiff or highest quality jpeg files with a resolution of at least 300 dot per inch (dpi) Note to teachers: a signed parent permission slip must be obtained for any photographs of students to be included in SCIOS.

4.

Copyright for any part of your contribution that is copyright of a third party needs to be obtained in writing (email acceptable)

COPYRIGHT

No other publisher should have published your manuscript, nor should you submit for publication elsewhere If SCIOS publishes your manuscript then your text and graphics will become copyright of STAWA STAWA will, however, agree to your use of the contents of your paper for most reasonable non-commercial purposes

Contact admin@stawa net to submit your articles

ADVERTISING IN SCIOS

We are currently trialing the new format of SCIOS targeted to Primary and Secondary Teachers

If you are interested to advertise for SCIOS, please follow the link here to submit your interest and the deliverables