Science Lab

[Unregistered]

Has anyone created their own method to grade a lab? I printed one off this site but being a new teacher it looks chinese to me.

Can anyone share what they use when doing a science lab with your students for a grade?


Thanks

[Lisa's Hotscakes]

I don't think anyone can tell you how to grade it because we don't know the objective of the lab. What was important for them to learn by performing the activity? Did they learn it? That is essentially what you need to score.

In my opinion assigning full lab writeups at anything below college level is counterproductive.

[Unregistered]

Hi, this is my 3rd year as a science teacher and I've decided that grading labs on a "Check" system is the most productive. I teach 6th grade so after we complete a lab, we go over it, I collect them, if they completed it to the best of their ability, or beyond the required assignment then they get a check +. If they did just the "rewuired" amount they get a check and if they hand it in incomplete it is a check -. It makes your life a lot easier- Then the "labs" portion of my grade is figured in. It would be virtually impossible, and time consuming to give every lab some kind of letter/number grade. Good Luck! Marcella

[Redd]

Grade it the same way you are graded while in university, just maybe not as harsh.

I'm no teacher, just an engineer - however, I feel students need to learn the scientific method early.

Mark it out of 10:
1 point for a clear objective
1 point for detailing the supplies/apparatus used in the lab
1 point for visual aides
2 points for the procedure
1 point for showing or graphing data
2 points for answers to questions you ask about the experiment
2 points for conclusions based on findings

[Unregistered]

I agree with the previous reply. I have all my labs set up using the scientific method. My kids get so many points for each part and usually they try to take the easy way on some parts like gathering background information & recording data. Once I take off points a couple of times, they usually get the message. Someone in their group who wants a good grade will see that it gets done. Using this method also helps when it comes to the science fair. At our school my 6th graders are required to do a science fair project in the spring. By using the scientific method in all my labs, they understand better how to do certain things like graph their results. Hope this helps! This is my rubric:
State the problem: 15 points
Gather background information: 15 points
Form a hypothesis: 15 points
Perform experiment to test hypothesis: 25 points
Record and Analyze data: 15 points
State a conclusion: 15 points

If I have behavior problems, it is always doing lab work. When my 6th graders get to me, they have never worked cooperatively in a group (Can you believe it?) I also have a point system where they get so many points for coming in quietly, lab safety, working cooperatively, etc. This cuts down on alot of my problems & the class with the most points at the end of the 9 weeks gets a free lab that is easy like making something with Kinex.

[Unregistered]

At our school my 6th graders are required to do a science fair project in the spring.

I would re-evaluate this requirement, especially if the project is designed to be done at home. In my opinion, science fair projects place unnecessary burdens on families and produce very little that is academically valuable. Think of the time the student could be using to study for English quizzes, or reading books. Now compare that to the time he is shopping at Wal-Mart for materials and listening to Mom and Dad complain about the cost. Also, compare the reading of a history book to the fudging of data that a student employs to make his science fair project appear acceptable.

By the time a student finishes high school they have done numerous science fair projects and still wouldn't know one end of a good experiment from a hole in the ground. Totally pointless, in my opinion.

Now, if the science fair projects are completed IN CLASS, then that would be a more worthwhile activity. But as a home project? Bah!! Worthless!

[Unregistered]

I give them a worksheet with the Scientific Method. (blanks are after each step.) For example:

1. Objective (purpose)

2. Materials:

3: Hypothesis:

4. Experiment:(Test the Hypothesis)

5. Observation:(What happened during the experiment)

6. Conclusion

We begin the lab by going over our purpose and all students write it down on there sheet. Then we include the materials we will be using. Each student is to write their own hypothesis and then on to the experiement. After we do the experiment we go back to the worksheet and write what we did and the observations. Finally we write a conclusion together bases on our objective.

I also give each student a clip board to put their worksheet on. This works really well and we don't have books in the way or loose papers.

I take them up at the end of class. Each part should be filled out so they should make a 100, but if any part is left out or not written properly, they would miss points. (ex. 5/6 = 83 etc.)

Good luck and I hope this helps!

[Unregistered]

I give them a worksheet with the Scientific Method. (blanks are after each step.) For example:

1. Objective (purpose)

2. Materials:

3: Hypothesis:

4. Experiment (Test the Hypothesis)

5. Observation (What happened during the experiment)

6. Conclusion

We begin the lab by going over our purpose and all students write it down on there sheet. Then we include the materials we will be using. Each student is to write their own hypothesis and then on to the experiement. After we do the experiment we go back to the worksheet and write what we did and the observations. Finally we write a conclusion together bases on our objective.

I also give each student a clip board to put their worksheet on. This works really well and we don't have books in the way or loose papers.

I take them up at the end of class. Each part should be filled out so they should make a 100, but if any part is left out or not written properly, they would miss points. (ex. 5/6 = 83 etc.)

Good luck and I hope this helps!

[dhom]

In my classes, since lab results tend to differ a lot from what's "supposed" to happen :), I grade the students mainly on following directions. One percent is subtracted for each spelling or punctuation error, and (100/number of questions) percent is subtracted for questions where a student obviously doesn't understand what she is saying or where she didn't seem to read the question. Since my questions tend to be things like "what kind of problems did you have and how did you solve them" or "give a reason for your hypothesis", they can get good grades if they know what they're talking about.