About Science Instructional Strategies: A Look at the OGT

Science Instructional Strategies: A Look at the OGT provides classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, and other leaders in science education with resources and information for preparing students for the science section of the Ohio Graduation Test and for helping them to become scientifically literate citizens. Read articles that focus on topics such as item analysis, strategies for revisiting past content while moving forward with new material, and the use of released OGT items in instruction. Watch 30-minute webcasts that elaborate on the content of the articles. And take advantage of the mini-collections—small sets of ORC resources—created to support the articles and webcasts by providing additional examples and materials.

About the archived 2007-2008 series:

• "What Do Wrong Answers Tell Us?" focuses on how item analysis of released OGT questions can shed light on student misconceptions and how these questions can be used in instruction.



• "So Your Students Are Not Where They Are Supposed To Be..." addresses the importance of the verbs in the science benchmarks and grade level indicators, the relationship between the standards language and released OGT items, and instructional strategies for helping students who are under prepared get ready for the OGT.



• "Using OGT Items in Learning Cycle Lessons" looks at the learning cycle instructional model and demonstrates how released OGT questions can be used in learning cycle lessons.



• "Building a Test Bank of OGT-Like Items to Help Prepare Students for the Science OGT" describes a process for determining the standards alignment and cognitive demand of OGT-like items (past Ohio proficiency test items, NAEP items, items from other states) and discusses the instructional use of these items.



• "Nonfiction Reading and Science Instruction" concentrates on science vocabulary acquisition, graphic organizers, how fiction reading is different from science content reading, teacher feedback on students' formative assessment, and a look at implications for the OGT.

The 2008-2009 series is expected to begin in October 2008 and run through February 2009. Details will be available in the fall.