Probe Bundles
Eliciting students’ ideas, activating prior knowledge, and checking on whether students have learned precursor ideas from previous grades is an integral part of assessment for learning. Using a single probe can reveal significant information about students’ thinking. Sometimes students’ ideas are so strongly held that they apply across different contexts. Other times they may be influenced by the context used to elicit their ideas. Consider using more than one probe to understand how students are thinking about a concept or phenomenon at different points during a sequence of instruction. Use the suggestions, organized by grade spans, provided below or create your own bundle of probes. You can also create bundles by disciplinary core ideas using the correlation guides.
Collections of K-2 and 3-5 probes. K-2 probes can be used in grades 3-5 to check for precursor ideas. Modifications are included in the teacher notes.
Collections of probes appropriate for eliciting grades 6-8 students’ ideas. Core ideas from grades 3-5 are included to check for gaps in precursor knowledge.
Collections of probes appropriate for eliciting grades 9-12 students’ ideas. Core ideas from grades 5-8 are included to check for gaps in precursor knowledge.