Dylan William mentioned that “When a teacher teaches, no matter how well he or she might design a lesson, what a child learns is unpredictable. Children do not always learn what we teach. That is why the most important assessment does not happen at the end of learning – it  happens during the learning, when there is still time to do something with the information”  (Assessment for Learning – The Reflective Educator, 2016) 

Without a doubt, summative assessments are important to teachers, parents, and stakeholders as a method to gauge students’ learning and understanding. Not only that,  assessments given out to the students serve as a purpose and guideline to engage the students in and outside the classroom as well as to keep them motivated when the assessments are linked to real-life situations or scenarios (Mohabuth & Ahmad, 2015).  

Subsequently, this summative assessment paper is given out to the students as a take-home task for MYP 1 Science in Quarter 4 AY2020/2021 in a reputable IB World School. In addition, this is the first time, MYP 1 Science students are exposed to an IDU take-home task  combining Science and Design. IDU stands for Interdisciplinary Unit, allowing the students to explore and portray deeper connections to what they have learned by connecting similar topics and interests across subjects or disciplines (INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING,  2020). Interdisciplinary learning functions to provide the students especially young students to make better connections between two or more subjects or disciplines by enabling the students themselves to develop the ability to analyze different scenarios presented to them by coming up with the solutions themselves independently (MYP interdisciplinary study |  International Baccalaureate®, 2019).  

In addition, interdisciplinary learning is one of the unique characteristics of the IB MYP  Program, enabling the students to obtain meaningful learning experiences as the students develop critical thinking skills by integrating multiple disciplines; promoting the transfer of understanding of the students. This will prepare the students to become lifelong learners as the students are able to cultivate a new understanding of complex issues and ideas that revolves around the existing world (Interdisciplinary Learning in MYP, n.d.). Furthermore,  interdisciplinary learning encourages the students to identify between the subjects or disciplines and the real world as well as boost holistic understanding and learning through the key, related concepts and the global contexts which is the core of the IB MYP program. This will allow the students to draw their own conclusions using a myriad of approaches needed to attempt the assessment given to them (Interdisciplinary Learning, n.d.). Besides, this will empower the students to learn independently and deepen their knowledge through research and in-depth explorations across the subjects as the students themselves become motivated to take action on the journey of achieving global competence (Appleby, 2015). 

Firstly, in this take-home task assessment, the students are required to write a scientific proposal on the Mars colonization project as the alternative planet for human inhabitation and design a mascot to promote the Mars colonization project. Furthermore, this summative assessment paper will be assessing the student’s ability to apply what they have learned in  Science about the solar system and beyond through the assessment of Criterion A which is  Knowledge and Understanding as well as their ability to reflect the impacts of the Mars colonization on social, cultural, economical, political, ethical and environmental factors by using Science to solve the problems or issues or challenges faced while trying to colonize a  hostile planet like Mars which falls into Criterion D (Reflecting Impacts of Science).  

Apart from this, at the same time, students are required to be able to create a mascot using a  3D digital platform called Tinker cad by exploring their own creativity and understanding towards the Mars colonization project which falls under Criterion C which is creating the solution and D which is evaluating in Design. Previously the students have been exposed to 

the mascot design in Quarter 3 where they have been preparing the 2D sketches of the mascots as means to promote the Mars colonization project increasing the awareness of the project through the assessment of Criterion A which is inquiring and analyzing and Criterion  B which is developing ideas. 

The global context in question for this unit of inquiry is identities and relationships by exploring the nature and dignity of mankind in making judgments ethically and logical reasonings to ensure the survival of mankind on the planet as well as another frontier for human inhabitation beyond Earth which is Mars. Not only that, the statement of inquiry (SOI) for this unit is “Through understanding the relationship between systems on Earth, we are able to use this evidence to redefine our identity as a species for the betterment of mankind”; linking to the key concept on relationships and related concepts about the systems we have on the planet and the kind of evidence that can support life here on the planet and  Mars itself. Subsequently, this SOI will enable the students to gain better perspectives on how mankind makes better choices and informed decisions to improve the standard of living and ensure the survival of mankind through this summative assessment. 

The MYP 1 students are around 11 to 14 years old and they have been learning about the solar system, its characteristics, and the planetary systems as well as what is beyond the solar system. This aligns well with the summative assessment given to them, giving them ample opportunities to explore the take-home tasks independently as they reflect on how the design of the mascot can help to promote the establishment of a colony for human inhabitation on  Mars. In addition to this, this assessment is authentic and shows validity to enable the students to develop transferable skills such as problem-solving and critical thinking skills across subjects to deepen their knowledge and understanding of the topics in questions posed in the assessment given. Besides, the students will be able to apply what they have learned through this written scientific proposal and mascot design in the future as real-life applications (Appleby, 2015). Subsequently, students will be able to foster a greater understanding of the skills they have developed by applying them in meaningful contexts.  Not only that, through the IDU, students can attain ways of inquiry from multiples disciplines through the integration of conceptual learning which can lead to the creation of new ideas or products to explain certain phenomena by reflecting on the entire IDU experience (IB MYP Interdisciplinary Learning, 2020). 

Although the summative assessment has provided opportunities for the students to explore, there are some limitations to the assessment itself. One of the limitations are the students are exposed to this IDU for the first time in the MYP program and they have difficulties in understanding the task as the task is not age appropriate to fit the level where the students are at as well as the students do not have any prior knowledge or exposure to an IDU before. Besides, the task sheet has too many different sections, and tasks given for one summative assessment are more than two as the students are struggling to complete the assessment in the stipulated time given. Even though, the students are given a guided template equipped with guiding questions as a scaffold to assist them throughout the assessment but the template given is confusing as it combines both Science and Design in the same template. Furthermore, the students are introduced to IDU for the first time, they are not able to synthesize information across the subject groups as they fail to see the connection due to lack of exposure. It took a lot of scaffolding and constant feedback from both the science and design teachers to allow them to have a better grasp in the understanding of the assessment requirements and rubrics. This is a time-consuming process and the scaffolding is done in an online setting by chunking down the task bit by bit as well as a sample answer is provided for the Science section of the assessment whereby the students are facing challenges on their own by struggling to stay on the task due to distractions at home, lack of self-discipline and the mismanagement of time.

Moreover, this assessment lacks differentiation to cater to weaker students that have language barrier issues and different learning styles of the students as the assessment lack clarity and specificity due to the language usage, visual cues, or auditory cues to guide the students to complete the assessment. It should be noted that not all students learn the same way and it is important for the assessment setter to identify the most suitable way to deliver the assessment content to ensure students are given varying opportunities to demonstrate their learning as well as improve teaching and learning strategies used during lessons (Watson, 2020). 

Apart from this, the mascot design did not really match the requirement of the Mars colonization project as it defeats the purpose of having an interdisciplinary unit because the mascot design has minimal relevance to the colonization proposal as it just serves as an insignia for the project’s branding and the existence of the project. Other than that, the mascot design has no other meaning towards the colonization project as the students fail to see the connection and the relevance of the mascot to the scientific proposal. Furthermore, the time given to work on both tasks simultaneously is inadequate as the students are struggling to complete them in the time frame given. Instructions given on the task sheet are not specific and definitive enough to enable the students to work on the assessment independently as they require constant assistance from the science teacher and design teacher. 

In my opinion, the summative assessment needs to be redesigned to be age-appropriate, open-ended, and differentiated in terms of the outcome of the assessment allowing the students to be more free-willed to explore on the topic at hand to express their own thought processes and creativity. A good summative assessment should allow the students to achieve better understanding of the topics being taught through the enhancement of the knowledge the students gain from the assessment itself. The assessment will determine the student’s achievement by assisting the students to have positive learning growth and attainment of skills (Reddy. 2016). Moreover, the students can identify their own strengths and weaknesses 

through self-reflection and evaluation under Criterion D for IDU which is reflecting. The redesign assessment should function as a gateway to the curriculum by allowing the students to be able to communicate their learning and understanding throughout the related relevant subjects. Not only that, a good quality assessment should embody multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning as the students are able to gather information about their own learning through constant descriptive feedback provided. As a result, this will allow the students to develop the necessary metacognitive skills needed and assist the students in achieving their learning goals and targets by identifying their strengths and weaknesses (Redesigning Assessment | Building Student Success – B.C. Curriculum, n.d.). 

Therefore, an improvement of the assessment is to have the students create a colony suitable for human inhabitation on Mars instead of designing the 3D mascot. A colony design serves as a better fit as the students can use the knowledge they have gained through Science to come up with the solutions for the problems and challenges faced when humans are trying to colonize Mars. The design of the colony is whereby the students can explore the materials and substances needed to build the colony and using a 3D rendition or software, the students are able to envision the scientific solutions being put into making the colony design, that complies with the living environment of Mars. In design, the students can explore how to design the colony according to their own creativity and understanding of the inhabitation of a hostile planet such as Mars. Consequently, the design of a colony for human inhabitation on Mars will be more relevant compared to the mascot as the students are able to link the problems and challenges faced by coming up with the solutions necessary to overcome those said challenges on Mars through the colony design. This will be a better integration for both Science and Design as the students are able to see the connections explicitly.

In conclusion, the summative assessment is valid and authentic as well as able to allow students loads of opportunities to explore and work on the assessment using the scaffolding provided. Altogether, proper effective planning and collaboration must be done before the assessment is introduced to make the learning more explicit and the attainment of the students’ learning progress is visible and measurable, providing reliability on the students’  acquirement of knowledge, understanding, and the necessary skills needed between Science and Design to deepen students’ learning outcomes and goals.

References

Appleby, M. (2015). What are the benefits of interdisciplinary study? OpenLearn.  https://www.open.edu/openlearn/education/what-are-the-benefits-interdisciplinary study 

Assessment for learning – The Reflective Educator. (2016, March 16). The Reflective  Educator. https://davidwees.com/content/assessment-learning/ 

IB MYP- Interdisciplinary Learning. (2020, October 30). Vidyalai Blog.  https://www.vidyalai.com/blog/ib-myp-interdisciplinary-learning/ 

INTERDISCIPLINARY LEARNING. (2020).  

https://www.ibo.org/contentassets/901d3baf4a104aea8aaff44364b001e0/interdisciplin ary-learning-claremont-en.pdf 

Interdisciplinary learning. (n.d.). MYP Library Learning Center. Retrieved July 9, 2021,  from https://mypigcse.weebly.com/interdisciplinary-learning.html 

Interdisciplinary Learning in MYP. (n.d.). Retrieved July 9, 2021, from  https://www.rwadubai.com/userfiles/inno 

rwamvc/Documents/Learning/MYP/interdisciplinary-learning-in-myp.pdf Mohabuth, A. Q., & Ahmad, S. M. (2015, September 1). The effectiveness of summative assessment in practice learning. Ideas.repec.org.  

https://ideas.repec.org/p/sek/iacpro/2705029.html#:~:text=Findings%20reveal%20tha t%20most%20students 

Reddy, K. (2016, June 22). Summative Evaluation Advantages and Disadvantages – WiseStep. WiseStep. https://content.wisestep.com/advantages-disadvantages summative-evaluation/ 

Redesigning Assessment | Building Student Success – B.C. Curriculum. (n.d.).  Curriculum.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved July 9, 2021, from 

https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/redesigning

assessment#:~:text=The%20redesign%20of%20assessment%20will 

Watson, S. (2020). Why Instruction Methods Should Be Tailored to Each Student.  ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/differentiated-instruction-and-assessment 3111341

Written by Alyssa Chan