4.1 Content Significance

4.1 Content Significance: The mathematics or science content chosen was significant, worthwhile, and developmentally appropriate for this course (includes the content standards covered, as well as examples and activities chosen by the teacher).

In this item, the emphasis on worthwhile captures the degree to which important mathematical or scientific ideas are central to the lesson. Since the significance of content is highly context-specific and based upon the intended goals of the course being observed, the rater should rely on his or her judgment as an expert in the content area in order to determine whether the content was truly worthwhile for the students. Further, the rater should use knowledge of applicable national and state standards, as well as the developmental appropriateness (i.e., whether it is appropriate for the grade level of the class) of the content presented. Beyond just considering the content’s connectedness to accountability standards, the rater should consider the significance of the examples and activities the teacher used to cover these standards, and whether these examples incorporate worthwhile mathematical or scientific concepts appropriately.

General Rubric

1. This item should be rated a 1 if the content covered and/or tasks, examples, or activities chosen by the teacher were unrelated to the science or mathematics content of the course.
2. This item should be rated a 2 if the content covered and/or tasks, examples, or activities chosen by the teacher were distantly or only sometimes related to the science or mathematics content of the course. This item should also be rated a 2 if the content chosen was developmentally inappropriate—either too low-level or too advanced for the students.
3. This item should be rated a 3 if the content covered was significant and relevant to the science or mathematics content of the course, but the presentation, tasks, examples, or activities chosen were prescriptive, superficial, or contrived and did not allow the students to make meaningful connections to mathematical or scientific ideas. This item should also be rated a 3 if the content covered was focused toward general standardized test preparation in mathematics or science for the grade level rather than the specific content objectives of the course.
4. This item should be rated a 4 if the content covered and/or tasks, examples, or activities chosen by the teacher were clearly related to the significant science or mathematics content of the course, and the tasks, examples, or activities that were used allowed for some student development of worthwhile connections to the mathematical or scientific ideas.
5. This item should be rated a 5 if the content covered and/or tasks, examples, or activities chosen by the teacher were clearly and explicitly related to significant science and mathematics concepts in ways that allowed students to gain a deeper understanding and make worthwhile connections to the mathematical or scientific ideas.

Specific Examples of Supporting Evidence

Mathematics

1. This teacher showed the movie A Beautiful Mind to the class while she sat at her desk.
   
    
2. The teacher covered Algebra II concepts with beginning Algebra I students. She said she wanted to see what would happen if she tried to cover this more advanced material. The students were confused and had difficulty participating in the lesson.
   
    
3. The topics covered during this class period did not relate to this high school course. The content was over topics from previous courses, including elementary and middle school courses. The teacher said that students needed to know this content for their state standardized test and to continue successfully in mathematics classes.
   
    
4. The teacher’s objectives for this lesson were to demonstrate some specific concepts in geometry. This material is assessed on state tests and is in the curriculum and has a few applications to the real world. However, the teacher mentioned that these concepts were not central to the discipline and were not often used for anything.
   
    
5. During this algebra lesson, the teacher first reviewed some foundational concepts on linear functions and then had students explore quadratic functions in a project-based context. The teacher accentuated that using quadratic functions to accomplish the goals of the project was an authentic and useful mathematical skill for the students to learn. The teacher made it clear that the project was designed directly from the state standards for quadratic functions, and that that the department had used these standards to come up with an engaging and rigorous project.

Science

1. The teacher showed the movie Jurassic Park to the 9th-grade biology class while she sat at her desk not interacting with the students. No guidelines for viewing or discussion of how the movie related to the content, concepts, or specific objectives of the course were provided. Some students watched the movie, while others had their heads down on their desks or chatted/texted each other.
   
    
2. The teacher challenged her Biology I students to write essays on a prompt from a released AP Biology test: “Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce, and to maintain dynamic homeostasis.” The teacher told the students that she wanted to see what would happen if they tried to work on this more advanced material without any introduction or explanations to scaffold the content. Although a few students worked diligently, most of the students were openly confused and had difficulty participating in the activity.
   
    
3. The teacher told the students that the objectives for this lesson were for them to be able to identify and describe the characteristics of living things. The material is aligned with state standards, and questions on the high-stakes state tests often ask students to demonstrate mastery of this objective. Although the distinction between living and non-living is relevant and important to the discipline of biology, the students were observed simply copying notes from a PowerPoint presentation. Both students and the teacher asked questions that were focused on logistics, such as, “Should we put these notes in our Biology folder and turn them in to you at the end of class?” [student] or “What are the 7 characteristics of life?” [Teacher read the seven characteristics of life from the slide to illustrate what information the students should be putting into their notes].
   
    
4. The teacher provided each student pair with a copy of the seven characteristics of life. The students were instructed to compare and match each characteristic of life with a list of 21 living and non-living things ranging from cell phones to tadpoles by drawing lines on a worksheet. Students shared their results but did not discuss reasons why they made the choices they did.
   
    
5. The teacher provided each student pair with a copy of the seven characteristics of life. The students were instructed to compare and match each characteristic of life with a list of 21 living and non-living things ranging from cell phones to tadpoles. Students shared their results in a lively and interactive debate.