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Informal Assessments with InnerOrbit

Engage students in sensemaking with scaffolds and support!

Erin Cooke avatar
Written by Erin Cooke
Updated over a week ago

InnerOrbit's phenomena and 3D questions are great for formal, independent assessments where students demonstrate mastery without scaffolds.

But did you know you can also use the same assessment items in a more scaffolded, informal way?

We call these informal assessments because students are not demonstrating independent mastery—yet you can still gather anecdotal data on their progress while introducing new phenomena and building 3D thinking skills.

What This Help Article Covers:


🧠 What are Informal Assessments?

Informal assessments offer low-stakes, scaffolded ways for students to explore scientific thinking, discuss ideas, and build skills collaboratively.

What it is:
Use InnerOrbit’s 3D questions and phenomena in group activities or routines, with built-in support such as teacher guidance, peer discussion, or whole-class scaffolding.

Benefits:

  • Scaffolds complex thinking

  • Encourages peer learning

  • Supports ongoing NGSS skill development

  • Helps teachers monitor student progress informally


💬 Phenomenon Discussion

Why this matters:
Before students can analyze novel phenomena independently, they need practice discussing and exploring them together. This builds background knowledge and promotes curiosity.

What it is:
A class discussion centered around one figure or phenomenon. Students observe, question, and make connections to prior learning.

How to set it up:

  1. Go to the Build tab

  2. Search by standard, keyword, or use the browse tiles

  3. Select one phenomenon from "Build From Phenomena and Questions" sections

  4. Choose at least one question

    • This can be a question to discuss or just a placeholder question so you're able to create an assessment in your Library with the phenomenon.

  5. Click View Your Assessment, then title and save it

How to facilitate:

  1. Go to the Library tab

  2. Click the 3 dots on the assessment tile

  3. Select Preview Assessment

  4. Introduce the phenomenon by:

    • Reading aloud the whole phenomenon (or have volunteers read aloud).

    • Focusing on one figure (click on figure to expand whole screen).

  5. Ask students:

    • “What do you notice?”

    • “What do you wonder?”

    • “How is this phenomenon/figure similar or different from what we've explored in class?”


🔁 Transfer Stations

Why this matters:
Rotating through different phenomena and question types helps students apply learning in new contexts and practice 3D thinking collaboratively.

What it is:
Groups rotate through stations containing phenomena and 3D questions, then reflect and discuss.

How to set it up:

  1. Choose your structure:

    • Option 1: One standard, different phenomena at each station

    • Option 2: One standard, one phenomenon, 1–2 questions at varying rigor per station

    • Option 3: Multiple (3-5) standards from a unit, one per station

  2. In the Build tab, search by standard, key word, or use the browse tiles

  3. Select a premade assessment or build your own assessment for each station

  4. Select questions for each station

  5. Click View Your Assessment, title, and save it

  6. Repeat to create a station for each activity

  7. Go to the Library tab and click the 3 dots on each assessment tile to Print

How to facilitate:

  • Place printed station activities around the room

  • Assign group roles (reader, note-taker, timer, etc.)

  • After rotations, bring the class together to reflect:

    • Discuss answers to the questions

    • “What skills did you use across stations?”

    • If all stations are the same standard but different phenomena, ask: "How were these phenomena all similar to each other?"

    • “How is this phenomenon/figure similar or different from what we've explored in class?”

📖 Want to print station questions? How to Print an Assessment


📅 Question of the Day Routine

Why this matters:
This routine gradually builds up student thinking from simple recall to full sensemaking—while reinforcing one phenomenon all week long.

What it is:
Each day, students explore one question tied to a single phenomenon, increasing in complexity throughout the week.

How to set it up:

  1. Go to the Build tab and search by standard or keyword

  2. Select one phenomenon in the Build from Phenomena and Questions section

  3. Choose 5 questions, one per day:

    • 💡 Pro Tip: Look at the question level tags to know the level of rigor for each question

      • 🟡 Monday: Prior Knowledge (1D)

      • 🟧 Tuesday: Core Content (1D)

      • 🟩 Wednesday: Content and Concepts (2D)

      • 🟦 Thursday: Content and Practices (2D)

      • 🟪 Friday: Sensemaking (3D)

  4. Click View Your Assessment, then title and save it

How to facilitate:

  1. Go to the Library tab

  2. Click the 3 dots on the assessment tile

  3. Select Preview Assessment

  4. On Monday:

    • Read through the phenomenon

    • Ask “What do you notice? What do you wonder?”

    • Discuss the Prior Knowledge question

  5. Tuesday–Friday:

    • Review the phenomenon

    • Discuss one new question each day

      • 🟧 Tuesday: Core Content (1D)

      • 🟩 Wednesday: Content and Concepts (2D)

      • 🟦 Thursday: Content and Practices (2D)

      • 🟪 Friday: Sensemaking (3D)

  6. On Friday, reflect:

    • “How is this phenomenon similar or different from others we’ve seen?”

    • “What helped you understand this better than at the start of the week?”


Need more help?

For additional assistance, click on "Send us a message" in the site chat or email us support@innerorbit.com.

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