Study Guide
Field 109: Family and Consumer Sciences
Sample Constructed-Response Assignment
Recommendation for individuals using a screenreader: please set your punctuation settings to "most."
The following materials contain:
- Test directions for the constructed-response assignment
- A sample constructed-response assignment
- An example of a strong and weak response to the assignment, and a rationale for each
- The performance characteristics and scoring scale
Test Directions for the Constructed-Response Assignment
This section of the test consists of one constructed-response assignment. You are to prepare a written response of approximately 300 to 600 words on the assigned topic. You should use your time to plan, write, review, and edit your response to the assignment.
Read the assignment carefully before you begin to write. Think about how you will organize your response.
As a whole, your response must demonstrate an understanding of the knowledge and skills of the field. In your response to the assignment, you are expected to demonstrate the depth of your understanding of the content area through your ability to apply your knowledge and skills rather than merely to recite factual information.
Your response to the assignment will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:
start bold PURPOSE: end bold the extent to which the response achieves the purpose of the assignment
start bold SUBJECT MATTER KNOWLEDGE: end bold accuracy and appropriateness in the application of subject matter knowledge
start bold SUPPORT: end bold quality and relevance of supporting details
start bold RATIONALE: end bold soundness of argument and degree of understanding of the subject matterThe constructed-response assignment is intended to assess subject matter knowledge and skills, not writing ability. However, your response must be communicated clearly enough to permit valid judgment of the scoring criteria. Your response should be written for an audience of educators in this field. The final version of your response should conform to the conventions of edited American English. Your written response must be your original work, written in your own words, and not copied or paraphrased from some other work.
Be sure to write about the assigned topic. You may not use any reference materials during the test. Remember to review what you have written and make any changes you think will improve your response.
Sample Constructed-Response Assignment
Competency 0018
Analyze lesson plans for family and consumer sciences, including student work or assessment data, and describe subsequent activities that address student needs that are evident from your analysis.
start bold Use the information provided in the exhibits to complete the assignment that follows. end bold
Write a response of approximately 300 to 600 words in which you analyze the data provided. In your response:
- explain how the specific instructional strategies and student activities related to the lab assignment and assessment promote the learning objective(s) from the content standards stated in the lesson plan;
- analyze the assessment results provided in terms of student learning for the identified student(s); and
- describe how these assessment results can be used to inform future instruction in this content area of family and consumer sciences and what you would do differently to promote student learning for this lesson.
Exhibit 1: Class Context
A family and consumer sciences teacher in a rural high school setting has 24 students of mixed ability levels in a Culinary Arts class. The class has completed instruction on measuring, recipe conversions, and recipe math prior to applying this knowledge in the kitchen. The students read the information in the textbook, completed two worksheets, and took a quiz. Five students performed excellently with the written work, receiving perfect scores. Three students did not understand how to begin answering the math questions on the worksheets. Ten students scored well with the math when it was whole numbers but struggled with the fractions. The remaining six students scored well enough to pass but clearly missed some vital information.
For lab experiences, the classroom is equipped with six kitchen stations where four students will work together. The lab assignment for this lesson was to make muffins. The students were required to fill out a lab plan to designate jobs to individual students. The students were also required to use their previous skill knowledge of recipe conversions and recipe math to change the recipe from a yield of 4 muffins to a yield of 12 muffins. Students had to choose which equipment to use to measure most efficiently.
Exhibit 2: Lesson Plan
Course Name: Culinary Arts
Unit Subject: Modifying Recipes
Subject of the Lesson: Changing the Yield of Recipes
National Standards for Family and Consumer Sciences: 8.5.3 Demonstrate knowledge of portion control and proper scaling and measurement techniques.
Bloom's Taxonomy: Application
Instructional Strategies: Cooperative Learning, Problem Solving
Materials: lab plan, including health nut blueberry muffin recipe
Learning Objectives: Given the lab plan and recipe, the students will be able to work cooperatively in groups to change the yield of the recipe from 4 to 12 muffins. Students will also be able to plan for the upcoming lab to prepare the muffins.
Assessment: Students will be evaluated on using mathematics skills to correctly change the recipe to yield 12 muffins.
Exhibit 3: Assignment with Results
Shown below is the lab assignment with the teacher's evaluation of one group's work.
Lab Plan
Cooking Jobs
1. Chef 2. Cook 3. Assistant Cook 4. Manager Responsibilities:
- Read the recipe
- Fill out lab plan
- Main cook for the day
- Clean range
- Supervise other cleaning jobs
Responsibilities:
- Assemble equipment
- Assist the chef
- Clean the table
- Wipe the counters/walls
- Put laundry in washer
- Check cleanup
Responsibilities:
- Preheat oven
- Get/measure supplies for recipe
- Set table
- Wash dishes
- Clean the sink
- Wipe off table
Responsibilities:
- Dry the dishes
- Put dishes away
- Sweep the floor
- Extra duties as assigned
Group Member Assignments
Student 1 Name:
Mike
Student 2 Name:
Junko
Student 3 Name:
Devon
Student 4 Name:
Kris
Cooking Job:
cook
Cooking Job:
cook
Cooking Job:
cook
Cooking Job:
cook
start bold Step 1: Recipe Unit Conversions end bold
start bold Directions: This recipe's yield is 4. Change the yield to 12. Multiply each ingredient amount by 3 Then calculate any conversions necessary to use the proper measuring equipment. end bold
Recipe: Health Nut Blueberry Muffins
teacher comment:Note: You did not convert for easier measuring. 3 teaspoons equals question mark question mark
start bold Step 2: Sensory Evaluation Form end bold
start bold Directions: Use the form below to rate your muffins. Make a check mark in the box you feel best describes your muffins. end bold
start bold Teacher Comment: end bold Overmixed. The crown of these muffins is too high.
start bold Teacher Comment: end bold Check your measurements. Some are incorrect.
start bold Teacher Comment: end bold Overmixed. Large tunnels in the muffins.
start bold Teacher Comment: end bold Acceptable aroma.
start bold Teacher Comment: end bold Overall moderately unacceptable. Imprecise measurements and overmixing. Muffins could be much better.
Step 3: Classroom Management Evaluation Form
Directions: Use the form below to provide your group's evaluations.
Sample Strong Response to the Constructed-Response Assignment
start bold Please note: The sample response provided below is for review purposes only and should not be used in a response on an operational exam. Use of the exact words and phrases presented in this sample response will result in a score of "U" (Unscorable) due to lack of original work. end bold
The learning objectives for this lesson include: "Given the lab plan and recipe, the students will be able to work cooperatively in groups to change the yield of the recipe from 4 to 12 muffins. Students will also be able to plan for the upcoming lab to prepare the muffins." The initial instructional strategies addressing the math skills needed for recipe conversion were completed before this cooking lab, as explained in the class context. This makes activation of prior knowledge important for this lesson. Students demonstrated skills related to the learning objectives, including cooperative learning, following recipes, and creating a baked product. These skills require students to be accurate with the steps and procedures involved, and we can see that this was an issue for this group.
For this lesson, the teacher could use heterogeneous grouping and assign each member to the role best suited to their ability. The students in the given exhibit clearly did not understand the importance of each ingredient in the recipe. They missed that leaving out one ingredient could have a negative effect on the overall product. This would be an opportunity for the teacher to address the importance of understanding omissions or substitutions of ingredients in recipes, especially when baking, due to the chemical reactions that take place in the baking process. This could be an appropriate point to have a short direct instruction lesson on food chemistry so students could better understand the chemical reactions involved in baking. While some ingredients may be able to be omitted without changing the desired outcome, omitting others could mean the muffins wouldn't rise.
When completing the lab plan, it appears the students rushed through the activity. They did not assign themselves the required range of job responsibilities, instead assigning each member the cooking job of "cook." Additionally, the students did not correctly convert the fractions to measure ingredients accurately. This resulted in a dry muffin that was "moderately unacceptable" (Sensory Evaluation Form). This type of activity, which is multistep in nature, also shows natural consequences of inaccuracy. When the students did not complete the correct conversions, the muffins did not turn out as planned.
The students seem to have completed the Evaluation Form quickly and without effort. The group gave themselves high marks, overestimating their success. In the future, the teacher should focus on leadership skills for group work, discuss what is involved in cooperative learning, and explain self-evaluation. This will help students in future lab scenarios and would encourage students to take more time planning, measuring, reading, and following recipes.
Future instruction in this class should focus on understanding the role of ingredients in cooking, strengthening students' recipe math skills, highlighting the skills needed for conversion, and understanding equivalent measurements (i.e., 3 teaspoons is equivalent to 1 tablespoon, or 4 tablespoons is equivalent to a quarter cup). A follow-up activity focusing on remaining weaknesses in recipe math prior to the next cooking lab would help students improve the accuracy of conversion measurements. In addition, the teacher could help students improve their interpersonal and leadership skills by helping them understand the roles they play in their groups and how to be objective and reflective in their evaluations.
To further improve student learning, the teacher should provide continual feedback to students throughout the activity. If the teacher notices the students are off track, they could ask a probing question to help students slow down and evaluate their work. If the teacher checks for understanding throughout, it will provide students the opportunity to adjust as they work, which would improve their ability to be successful.
Rationale for the Sample Strong Response
Please note that the response is evaluated based upon the four performance characteristics of Purpose, Subject Matter Knowledge, Support, and Rationale. Please also note how the score point descriptions are based upon how the examinee attends to the performance characteristics. You should be very familiar with the CEOE performance characteristics and score scale and refer to them when reviewing this rationale.
The purpose of this assignment is largely achieved. The response addresses all bullet points of the prompt and provides a generally accurate and appropriate application of subject matter knowledge. The response provides an analysis of the lesson plan in relation to the learning objectives. A stronger response would have emphasized the relationship between the learning objectives and the instructional strategies and student activities, as well as the lab assignment and assessment. The response provides an accurate analysis of the assessment results and provides sound, high-quality, relevant examples throughout. The response provides specific examples from the exhibits throughout the response, demonstrating a generally accurate and appropriate understanding of the topic. In addition, the response provides ample support to back up their analysis of the assessment results ("students in the given exhibit clearly did not understand the importance of each ingredient," "they did not correctly convert fractions," etc.). The rationale given for future instruction is sound and demonstrates appropriate content and pedagogical knowledge for this activity. Overall, the response reflects a general understanding of the subject matter
Sample Weak Response to the Constructed-Response Assignment
This is a good lesson for students because it challenges them to make the necessary conversions in ingredient amounts to produce 12 muffins instead of 8 muffins. If they understand the basic math required to make these conversions, then they will be successful in their baking. However, if they are careless or ineffective at working together as a group, then they are not likely to produce edible results.
The group profiled in this example made multiple errors in its calculations, resulting in the wrong amount of baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla being used. Additionally, they apparently left walnuts out intentionally because they "don't like walnuts." They obviously didn't learn anything from this lesson, however, because they gave themselves consistently high marks on their evaluation. Not only did they fail to recognize how unappetizing their muffins were (probably because of the inaccurate measurements), but they also gave themselves too much credit in the areas of planning, lab work, and cooperation. Though the teacher's own assessment was appropriately critical in all these areas, the opportunity for students to learn through practice was lost.
In the future, I would suggest that the teacher break up the lesson into smaller parts so that they can see in advance if a group has done the math wrong and is going to fail at making edible muffins. This would allow the teacher to correct the measurements in advance of the baking, and the students' result would be better, perhaps aiding in their confidence and enthusiasm for cooking. The teacher could also encourage students to help one another by having students check each other's measurements and making sure they know what they are doing throughout the lab activity. Oftentimes, kids want to go too fast and aren't careful in their work at the critical early stages. Pointing this out as mistakes are made is a good way to show them the error of their ways.
Rationale for the Sample Weak Response
Please note that the response is evaluated based upon the four performance characteristics of Purpose, Subject Matter Knowledge, Support, and Rationale. Please also note how the score point descriptions are based upon how the writer attends to each of the performance characteristics. You should be very familiar with the CEOE performance characteristics and score scale and refer to them when reviewing this rationale.
The purpose of this assignment is only partially achieved. The response attempts to address all bullets of the prompt, but does so in a limited, often inappropriate manner. The response demonstrates limited subject matter knowledge as it provides a superficial analysis of the lesson plan in relation to the lesson objectives. The analysis of the assessment results is slight, and though examples are given, it amounts to little more than a summary or restatement of the results and provide no additional insight. Similarly, the discussion of how the results can inform future instruction does not go beyond a cursory look at where students erred, and the response loses sight of the larger lessons contained within the learning objectives. In fact, the response provides some inaccurate supporting evidence in relation to planning future instruction. For instance, the response recommends "having students check each other's measurements." While this could be a good idea, the class context explains that only five students in the class excelled at recipe math, which means nineteen other students did not, so having the students check each other's measurements may not be beneficial. This reflects a poorly reasoned understanding of how to plan future instruction. Overall, the response provides a limited, poorly reasoned understanding of the subject matter.
Performance Characteristics
The following characteristics guide the scoring of responses to the constructed-response assignment.
Scoring Scale
Scores will be assigned to each response to the constructed-response assignment according to the following scoring scale.