EARTH SCIENCE ASSESSMENT THROUGH DIAGRAMMING

Not surprisingly, teachers often assess their students in the ways that they themselves were assessed. In many cases, objective tests –multiple choice and true-false, with some fill-in-the blank and listing questions– are strongly preferred because of the relative ease in grading. Although the self-preservation of the teacher should be considered in grading particularly for large classes, a method of assessment for smaller classes is here proposed because it better serves our students and provides them not only a means of understanding but also of retaining information about Earth systems.

Illustrations are, for good reason, standard features of textbooks and other instructional materials. The old adage, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” may not always hold true, but in a middle- or high-school Earth Sciences setting, labeled diagrams can not only serve well during discussions and direct instruction, but also during assessments.

Complex material can be communicated in logical, orderly ways through diagrams. With my sixth-grade Earth Science students, I use diagrams that summarize the: 1) philosophy of science (epistemology), 2) Sun, 3) Moon, 4) solar system, 5) structure of the atmosphere, 6) eclipses, 7) greenhouse effect in the atmosphere and the carbon cycle, and 8) ozone-layer formation, function, and care in the first semester alone.

This method serves students well because of the steady review demanded in the learning process; improved retention also increases the likelihood of a future wise citizenry. Moreover, this approach avoids an atomization of knowledge that fails to comport with reality and emphasizes the essential connectedness of what might otherwise be considered disparate facts. Consequently, assessment through diagramming fits well into an Earth Science systems approach.