Refining our thinking with exoplanet Gliese 832C

eliciabullock81
Sep 21
3 min read

Teaching is always a process of refinement, and for the last several years, I've been working on reshaping my assessment practices, moving away from memorization-based high-stakes assessments and toward fostering the authentic skills my students need. This has been a long-term journey of trial and reflection, leading to the current version of my 6th-grade "Creative Creature Project." It’s my attempt at building what Lorrie Shepard (2000) calls a true "learning culture."

The project begins with a real-world hook: the exoplanet Gliese 832C, a planet NASA notes has an Earth Similarity Index of 0.81. I provide my students with data packets describing the fictional unique biomes on this distant world—its climate, vegetation, and existing organisms. Their mission is to apply their understanding of ecosystems to this new context. They must design a creature with specific adaptations to survive in one of the biomes and then construct a food web to show how their creature fits into the flow of energy.

Video to introduce Gliese 832C by Science Cercret

The most critical part of this assessment, which I've reworked several time now, is the multi-layered formative assessment (assessment for learning) process. During dedicated class periods, my initial role is to act as a guide, providing targeted feedback and posing probing questions as students work. But the feedback loop doesn't stop with me. A key step is introducing the rubric we'll use for the assessment. As a class, we analyze an example I've created, assessing it in groups and discussing the feedback together.

This modelling paves the way for peer and self-assessment. Students use the rubric and specific guidelines to offer constructive feedback to their classmates. Then, they turn that critical eye to their own work, completing a self-assessment. This entire process is a series of low-stakes assessment opportunities designed to empower students. They are given further class time to make revisions based on this wealth of feedback before the final step.

Student feedback for for the Peer feedback on Creative Creature project.

The in-class test is the summative assessment or assessment of learning, and it’s where all the pieces come together. It is structured to assess competency, not recall. Students bring their refined creature designs and food webs with them. The questions then ask them to use their own creations to build scientific explanations—to describe their creature's role, predict changes in the food web, and justify their adaptation choices. This final step is also a crucial check on the assessment's validity. In an age of Generative AI, students could potentially create a project without deep understanding. However, because they must explain the why behind their creation during in class sessions and on the test, they cannot succeed without genuinely grasping the concepts. This ensures I am assessing their thinking, not just the final product.

Questions from the summative piece for the Creative Creature project.

My work on this project has been a deliberate effort to move away from the pressures of high-stakes assessment that can narrow the curriculum (Au, 2008). By incorporating principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and creating a robust feedback cycle, the assessment becomes a more authentic and supportive part of the learning journey. It’s an ongoing experiment, but one that has shown me the power of assessing for growth, not just grades.