Science Task Prescreen
Task Title: EM Radiation Effects: From Dentists to Wi-Fi
Grade: High School
Date: 2024-05-15
SEP: Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
DCI: PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation
CCC: Cause and Effect
Task Purpose: To evaluate whether students can use data generated from an interactive simulation to evaluate the validity and reliability of published claims regarding the effects of different frequencies of EM radiation on matter.
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):
- [x] Warrants further review.
- [ ] Should not be used.
Summary
Summarize your evidence and reasoning:
This task requires students to investigate the specific effects of various EM radiation bands on simulated biological tissue. It avoids rote memorization by having students collect raw data (temperature changes, visual DNA damage markers) and then use that data to evaluate two real-world claims. It effectively integrates the target SEP, DCI, and CCC by requiring students to construct cause-and-effect arguments explaining why high-frequency radiation causes ionizing damage while low-frequency radiation causes thermal effects. Therefore, it warrants further review with the full Task Screener.