The Survival of the Fittest: CMS Assessment

I previously compiled a list of 10 assessment features of Canvas in my critical review of a CMS. To build on that, I am sharing this post to present an assessment I designed on the same platform. My CMS assessment of Canvas is designed for middle school science and focuses on animal adaptations.

The standard from the NGSS that I will be focusing on is MS-LS1-4, From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes.

Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.

This being the first assessment I have designed after creating my Assessment Design Checklist (ADC 3.0), I realized how my thought processes have changed while assessing an assessment to meet all the criteria and through planning the initial design of an assessment. It includes two tasks that address multiple cognitive skills to gather evidence of student understanding. In turn, I will receive and provide effective feedback so that students can master the lesson objectives and close any learning gaps.

Below you will find a screencast that will guide you through my assessment design and provide you with an overall picture of how it is aligned with principles of my ADC and the affordances/constraints of the assessment features of Canvas.