Science Task Prescreen
Task Title: Big Bang Evidence Explorer Task
Grade: High School
Date: 2023-10-27
SEP: Constructing Explanations and Designing Solutions
DCI: ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars; PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation
CCC: Energy and Matter
Task Purpose: To evaluate students’ ability to construct a scientific explanation for the Big Bang Theory based on astronomical evidence (redshift, composition of matter, and CMB).
Instructions
- Before you begin: Complete the task as a student would. Then, consider any support materials provided to teachers or students, such as contextual information about the task and answer keys/rubrics.
- Prescreen: Answer the following high-level questions to identify any major red flags (🚩) in your task. If you find one or more red flags, consider the purpose of the task and the evidence gathered to determine whether the task warrants a deeper dive.
Prescreen Questionnaire
| Question | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Is there a phenomenon or problem driving the task? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
| 2. Can the majority of the task be answered without using information provided by the task scenario? | [ ] 🚩 | [x] |
| 3. Can significant portions of the task be answered successfully by using rote knowledge (e.g., definitions, prescriptive or memorized procedure)? | [ ] 🚩 | [x] |
| 4. Does the majority of the task require students to use reasoning to successfully complete the task? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
| 5. Does the task require students to use some understanding of disciplinary core ideas to successfully complete the task? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
| 6. Do students have to use at least one science and engineering practice to successfully complete the task? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
| 7. Are the dimensions assessed separately in the majority of the task? | [ ] 🚩 | [x] |
| 8. Is the task coherent and comprehensible from the student perspective? | [x] | [ ] 🚩 |
Recommendation
Based on your assessment needs and the task purpose recorded above, make a recommendation about this task moving forward (choose one):
- Warrants further review.
- Should not be used.
Summary
Summarize your evidence and reasoning:
The task uses a multi-faceted interactive simulation as the driving phenomenon, modeling three pieces of evidence for the Big Bang Theory. Students must observe simulated data (redshifts, Hubble’s law, nucleosynthesis compositions, and CMB spectra), analyze it, and synthesize it to form a coherent scientific explanation. The task actively avoids rote memorization by having students manipulate variables (like time/expansion) and interpret the resultant data shifts to understand why the Big Bang Theory is the accepted model. Since no red flags were triggered, the task warrants further, deeper review using the full Task Screener.