RUNNING HEAD: Literature Review: Assessing Student Learning 1

Literature Review: Assessing Student Learning

Dale Johnson

National University

In partial fulfillment for TED 690

Professor Weintraub

June 28, 2019

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Abstract

The following document is a literature review on the article Ice Cubes in a Bag, written by Page

Keeley. The article describes an effective strategy for assessing elementary school students in

science. At this time in school, students are learning how to break down and investigate the

complex world into systems, making it convenient for inquiry. In Keeley’s article, she explains

how the “Ice Cubes in a Bag” assessment activity can effectivey assess students in elementary

grades on their ability to use ideas about systems to explain different physical phenomena.
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Assessing Student Learning

Page Keeley’s article Ice Cubes in a Bag discusses how a specific type of assessment

activity is able to assess students in elementary grades effectively. Using the ideas about

systems taken from the framework for K-12 Science Education, Keeley explains that how the ice

cubes in a bag activity is so effective. The following will discuss her article and analyze her

main points of discussion.

Keeley’s article was an interesting read. I was drawn to it because it discusses the

effectiveness of an assessment activity for science that does not just involve paper and pencils.

Her assessment is focused on measuring students’ abilities to meet the NGSS Crosscutting

Concept of Systems and System Models learning target for grades 3-5: A system can be

described in terms of its components and their interactions. According to Keeley, “ One of the

first steps in formatively assessing how elementary students use ideas about systems to explain

phenomena is to determine how they define or recognize the boundaries of a system, starting

with a small observable system” (2015, p. 20). The activity that facilitates this is called “Ice

Cubes in a Bag”.

In the activity, students use the Crosscutting Concept of Systems and System Models to

define the interaction boundaries of a system, in this case the change of state that happens inside

the bag. For example, the situation is set up like so: you are in an argument with a friend about

what happens to the mass when matter changes state from one form to another. To prove your

theory to your friend, you put three ice cubes in a plastic ziplock bag and record the mass of the

ice in the bag. After ten minutes the ice has melted, and you record the mass of the water in the
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bag. Which of the following best describes your results? After that, there are three choices 1)

the mass is greater 2) the mass is less 3) the mass is the same. Students must provide a

description of their thinking and an explanation of their answer.

By examining students answers, it is evident that there were some “misunderstandings

about properties of matter, change in state, and conservation of matter in the context of a

physical change” (Keeley, 2015, p. 21). Students did not fully understand how to use the

concept of a close system to answer the question correctly in their explanations. For example,

since plastic bag is sealed, this represents a closed system. In a closed system, no matter can

leave, and no new matter can enter the system, so by that definition, the mass of the ice cubes

will be equivalent to the mass of the water. Through the student responses, the teacher can now

use this information to ask questions to students, guiding their inquiry to further understanding

open and closed systems. Keeley ends her article with the conclusion “Taking the time to

uncover and then develop this important key idea about simple open or closed systems will help

students explain various phenomena and prepare them for later grade when they encounter more

complex systems” (2015, p. 22).

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Reference

Keeley, P. (2015). Ice cubes in a bag. Science and Children, 52(5), 20-22. Retrieved from

https://nuls.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search-proquest-

com.nuls.idm.oclc.org/docview/1644296387?accountid=25320