Secondary

Science - Google Forms (Assessment Tool)

Normally I would use Google forms for conducting surveys, however in the Science department I saw the Google Form being used in an ingenious way to create quizzes and conduct student assessment by using the add-on app Flubaroo. 

Please read below on how Mr Ahmed Maqbool Head of Science has used Google Forms and Flubaroo to conduct a summative assessment activity on his grade 11 students on the topic of Cell Biology.

Why use Flubaroo?

Flubaroo takes all the responses from the student quiz and;

• Marks the quiz for you.
• It breaks down the data to identify, what mark each student got for each question
• It also creates a chart for you as a teacher to see which questions students struggled on and what they found easy, so you are able to focus on areas of weakness.
• It allows students to also reflect and understand where they need to improve their knowledge.

Why use Google Form? Hope the below information answers this question for you.....

Teacher Preparation

• Created a Quiz/Test in Google form. Press the hyperlink to see the quiz/test that the teacher has created.  Topic 1 Unit Test (part - 2)
• The teacher has used a variety of questioning techniques within the test (Magnification, Calculation, Labeling diagrams, Multiple choice etc)

Below are examples of the type of questions that were created in Google Form

Example 1

Example 2

Example 3

• Students have been sent the link beforehand but were restricted to only viewing the test not to submit answers.

Student activity:

• Students were given 15 minutes to complete the test
• They were restricted to only submitting one response 

Advantages of using Google Form and Flubaroo:

• No marking/grading for the teacher
• Students are engaged 
• Feedback from the test can be analysed almost instantaneously
• Helps with future lesson planning
• It has an option to Email grades to students very easily
• It has an option to summarise how the class has done as a whole.

Example of Student Submission from the Google Form

Example of student response data for each student (the names of the students have been blocked out) 

Example of Grading report 

Secondary

Science - Google Docs

I was pleased to see some exciting things happening in the Secondary Science department with the use of Google Docs. I believe that this method of IT integration can be used with all subjects within the Secondary division.

Lesson Title: Ecology - 4.1:Modes of Nutrition in Ecosystems

Grade: 11

Teacher Preparation: 

• Created a Google Doc and shared the link for the Google Doc with the rest of the class.
• Teacher had taken statements from the syllabus/curriculum on the above topic and placed them into the Google Doc
• Identified students to work in pairs based on ability
• Students notified to bring in mobile devices (Laptop or iPad) 

Student Activity:

• In pairs, students to go to the Google Doc (the teacher has created) read the statement allocated to them and convert the statement into a question as well as creating a mark scheme that goes with the statement. 
• Students are now asked to answer the questions using the tools within Google docs.Research Tool to search for specific information related to the topic, they are able to cite and, create footnotes to reference the information.
• Once all questions have been answered students will have an opportunity to peer assess and make comments against each answer, these comments are color coded automatically to identify the additions made to the answer

Advantages of using Google Doc for this activity:

• All students have access to the same document and work collaboratively to create a question bank with notes.
• Information is cited/referenced to allow students to conduct further research and get a deeper understanding of the topic in question.
• All students are engaged to complete their part of the activity, as they are aware that the whole class is able to see their contribution.
• Teacher has access and can check the history to see who and how much a pupil has contributed to the activity.
• Teacher acts as facilitator. 

An example of the Google Doc used, for further information and to view the full document, please click on the link below.

Student activity: Modes of Nutrition in the Ecosystem