How can I make sure the observations I publish online are complete and rigorous?
Overview
Before students publish their data to the Vital Signs website and make it available to the public, their data must undergo a Quality Assurance Check and an optional Peer Review. The Quality Check is a first step in the online review process to ensure that the data entry form is complete, and jives with the Vital Signs site policy. Peer Review is a process the scientific community uses to critique and validate scientists’ work before it is published. A combined Quality Check and Peer Review is the very best way to make sure that students’ very best work is available for the Vital Signs community to use.
Standards (MLR)
Science & Technology Standards
B1. Skills and Traits of Scientific Inquiry. Students plan, conduct, analyze data from, and communicate results of investigations, including simple experiments.
B1f. Communicate, critique, and analyze their own scientific work and the work of other students.
Learning Objectives
Students will understand the importance of data quality in scientific practice
Students will contribute complete, rigorous, scientifically useful data to Vital Signs that reflects their best possible work
1. After a team of students has entered all of their data into the online Vital Signs data entry form, they finish on the Review & Submit Data Tab that conveniently summaries all of their data for them.
2. Pass out the Quality Assurance Check worksheet
3. Ask the team to go through the Quality Assurance Checklist themselves and check off in the Team Quality Check column that they have completed each task, or met the standard. Have students fix whatever needs fixing until they are pleased with their work.
4. Ask someone outside the team (preferably a student peer) to go through the team’s online Review Tab and check off in the Peer Quality Check column that the team has completed each task, or met the standard. The more thoughtful the check, the better!
Note: It may take several rounds of back and forth between the team and Quality Checker before the Checker is satisfied. Allow enough time for this process to work its magic.
5. When the Checker is pleased with the team’s work, they enter their username in the required Quality Check field at the bottom of the Review Tab.
6. Pass out the Peer Review worksheet
7. Ask the team to go through the Peer Review handout themselves to critique and improve their own work. Have students improve whatever needs improving until they are pleased with their work.
8. Ask someone outside the team (preferably a student peer) to go through the team’s online Review Tab and fill out the Peer Review handout. The more thoughtful the review, the better!
Note: It may take several rounds of back and forth between the team and Peer Reviewer before the Reviewer is satisfied. Allow enough time for this process to work its magic.
9. When the Reviewer is pleased with the team’s work, they enter their username in the Peer Review field at the bottom of the Review Tab.
10. Once a team’s data has been published online, their species observations will be closely reviewed by a Vital Signs Species Expert. Their entire observation will undergo an informal Community Review by students, teachers, scientists, and citizen scientists in the Vital Signs Community.
Reflection/Formative Assessment Ideas
In the Reflection section of their online Vital Signs Science Notebooks, ask students to note whether or not they benefited from the Peer Review Quality Check.
Did they feel more confident about the data they published?
How would they improve the process next time?
Extension Ideas
Have an idea for extending or enhancing the peer review or data quality aspects of this lesson? Share it with us in the comments section below.
Resources
Have a great peer review resource you want to tell us about? Leave it in the comments section for everyone to see and use.
References
Have the perfect reference for this type of peer learning? Please share it with us in the comments section below.
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Quality Check & Peer Review
Author(s):
Sarah Morrisseau, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, Vital Signs Program
Table of Contents
Question(s)
How can I make sure the observations I publish online are complete and rigorous?
Overview
Before students publish their data to the Vital Signs website and make it available to the public, their data must undergo a Quality Assurance Check and an optional Peer Review. The Quality Check is a first step in the online review process to ensure that the data entry form is complete, and jives with the Vital Signs site policy. Peer Review is a process the scientific community uses to critique and validate scientists’ work before it is published. A combined Quality Check and Peer Review is the very best way to make sure that students’ very best work is available for the Vital Signs community to use.
Standards (MLR)
Science & Technology Standards
B1. Skills and Traits of Scientific Inquiry. Students plan, conduct, analyze data from, and communicate results of investigations, including simple experiments.
B1f. Communicate, critique, and analyze their own scientific work and the work of other students.
Learning Objectives
Materials
Time Needed
10-20 minutes
Activity Procedure
Activity Procedure
1. After a team of students has entered all of their data into the online Vital Signs data entry form, they finish on the Review & Submit Data Tab that conveniently summaries all of their data for them.
2. Pass out the Quality Assurance Check worksheet
3. Ask the team to go through the Quality Assurance Checklist themselves and check off in the Team Quality Check column that they have completed each task, or met the standard. Have students fix whatever needs fixing until they are pleased with their work.
4. Ask someone outside the team (preferably a student peer) to go through the team’s online Review Tab and check off in the Peer Quality Check column that the team has completed each task, or met the standard. The more thoughtful the check, the better!
Note: It may take several rounds of back and forth between the team and Quality Checker before the Checker is satisfied. Allow enough time for this process to work its magic.
5. When the Checker is pleased with the team’s work, they enter their username in the required Quality Check field at the bottom of the Review Tab.
6. Pass out the Peer Review worksheet
7. Ask the team to go through the Peer Review handout themselves to critique and improve their own work. Have students improve whatever needs improving until they are pleased with their work.
8. Ask someone outside the team (preferably a student peer) to go through the team’s online Review Tab and fill out the Peer Review handout. The more thoughtful the review, the better!
Note: It may take several rounds of back and forth between the team and Peer Reviewer before the Reviewer is satisfied. Allow enough time for this process to work its magic.
9. When the Reviewer is pleased with the team’s work, they enter their username in the Peer Review field at the bottom of the Review Tab.
10. Once a team’s data has been published online, their species observations will be closely reviewed by a Vital Signs Species Expert. Their entire observation will undergo an informal Community Review by students, teachers, scientists, and citizen scientists in the Vital Signs Community.
Reflection/Formative Assessment Ideas
In the Reflection section of their online Vital Signs Science Notebooks, ask students to note whether or not they benefited from the Peer Review Quality Check.
Extension Ideas
Have an idea for extending or enhancing the peer review or data quality aspects of this lesson? Share it with us in the comments section below.
Resources
Have a great peer review resource you want to tell us about? Leave it in the comments section for everyone to see and use.
References
Have the perfect reference for this type of peer learning? Please share it with us in the comments section below.