Work Sample & Commentary: Paper Towels
The task
Students in a physical science class were asked to test the effectiveness of one of several different common products. The task required them to perform detailed and accurate testing and report results in a form for public presentation. Further, the students were asked to design and give a presentation promoting the most successful product.

Circumstances of performance
This sample of student work was produced under the following conditions:
alone in a group
in class as homework
with teacher feedback with peer feedback
timed opportunity for revision

Students had two weeks to complete the task which was part of a unit on scientific methodologies. While students videotaped a portion of their presentation, it is not included here.
This work sample illustrates a standard-setting performance for the following parts of the standards:
a Scientific Connections and Applications: Big ideas
and unifying concepts.
b Scientific Connections and Applications: The designed world.
a Scientific Thinking: Frame questions to distinguish cause and effect; identify or control variables in experimental or non-experimental research settings.
a Scientific Communication: Represent data and results in multiple ways.
a Scientific Investigation: Controlled experiment.

Science required by the task
Paper towel testing is a common middle school activity, but many students select variables that are social in nature (e.g., cost, appearance) and are more easily measured than are strength or performance. This project tackled variables that required more imagination and effort to measure



What the work shows
a Scientific Connections and Applications: The student produces evidence that demonstrates understanding of big ideas and unifying concepts, such as…form and function….
The student related the thickness (form) of towels to the characteristic of strength (function).

b Scientific Connections and Applications: The student produces evidence that demonstrates understanding of the designed world, such as…the viability of technological designs.
The student provided evidence of thinking through the design of paper towels and how well they would serve the intended purpose.

a Scientific Thinking: The student frames questions to distinguish cause and effect; and identifies or controls variables in experimental and non-experimental research settings.
There is ample evidence of the student’s recognition and control of variables.

a Scientific Communication: The student represents data and results in multiple ways, such as numbers, tables…drawings, diagrams, and artwork….
The experimental set-up is communicated in both words and drawings.
The results are communicated in tables, graphs, and words. The histogram is more effective than the pie chart. There is a reversal in the table for Test #2 (data for “Job Squad” and “Bounty”), but the multiple representations actually allow the reader to figure that out.

a Scientific Investigation: The student demonstrates scientific competence by completing a controlled experiment. A full investigation includes:

  • Questions that can be studied using the resources available.
  • Procedures that are safe, humane, and ethical; and respect privacy and property rights.
  • Data that have been collected and recorded (see also Science Standard 6) in ways that others can verify, and analyzed using skills expected at this grade level (see also Mathematics Standard 4).
  • Data and results that have been represented (see also Science Standard 7) in ways that fit the context.
  • Recommendations, decisions, and conclusions based on evidence.
  • Acknowledgement of references and ... of others.

Although the students did research, the sources of information were not acknowledged and should have been.

  • Results that are communicated appropriately to audiences.
  • Reflection and defense of conclusions and recommendations from other sources and peer review.

The student presented the work to others, though evidence of the presentation is not shown here.