Use these targets, vocabulary, rubrics, examples, and score sheet with the instructor's approved lesson and procedure. This is an assessment companion, not a complete lesson or safety authorization.
Student lessons, data, and worked answers: Unit 04 learning pathway.
The student demonstrates the following:
Five science criteria plus separately reported integration (Page 3).
Use the supplied source, inputs and practice; this does not certify unobserved hands-on technique.
Instructor-selected new variant or observation, with approved references and accommodations.
Keep source/date, chosen level, calculations, uncertainty and practical/safety review.
You are making a decision, not adding up points. For each criterion, decide whether the work is Developing, Proficient, or Mastery — the column language tells you which. A criterion counts as mastered only when the student can both do the technique and justify the biology behind it. Each student has three tokens per term; each token retries one rubric criterion. Approved accommodations, equipment failures, and approved absences are handled separately and do not consume these tokens.
Accept listed synonyms; use the distinction column to resolve near-matches.
| Term | Accepted explanation | Distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Reception | Signal detection by receptor | Exposure alone does not make every cell responsive. |
| Transduction | Intracellular signal relay | Distinct from the final response. |
| Negative feedback | Response opposes a change | Not a synonym for harmful. |
| Positive feedback | Response reinforces a change | Needs a stopping boundary, not merely amplification. |
| Checkpoint | Regulated progression decision | Links cell conditions to division, not a conscious choice. |
| Mitotic index | Mitotic cells / scored cells | A fraction, not a direct phase duration or diagnosis. |
| Sister chromatids | Replicated chromosome copies | Count chromosomes by centromeres in the stated model. |
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cell cycle & mitosis stages | Confuses replication with division. | Orders phases with incomplete DNA counts. | Orders interphase/mitosis and tracks chromosomes versus DNA molecules through replication and sister separation. |
| Signal transduction | Confuses ligand, receptor and response. | Traces a pathway with help. | Traces reception, transduction and response; interprets block/rescue controls with causal limits. |
| Feedback regulation | Calls any large response positive feedback. | Names feedback without predicting its direction. | Predicts how negative or positive feedback changes a condition and explains how checkpoints regulate cell division. |
| Cancer as cycle dysregulation | Treats one count as a diagnosis. | Names checkpoints without their consequence. | Explains cancer as lost checkpoint control of the cell cycle, without inferring diagnosis from a synthetic count. |
| Microscopy of mitotic stages | Forces uncertain cells into stages. | Identifies stages with guidance. | Identifies stages with stated sampling/scale limits; separately demonstrates approved prepared-slide microscopy or the agreed practical. |
| Integration (cross-domain) | Makes no supported connection between the source and the science. | Uses the source but needs help connecting evidence, writing, or limitations to the science. | Independently connects History, Reading, and Writing using a cited source, appropriate evidence, a limitation, and a scientific explanation. |
Public, nonsecure calibration. Students attempt first; an instructor supplies a fresh variant or observation for assessment.
A new synthetic receptor-block treatment gives reporter values 2, 3 and 4, but a downstream activation gives 2, 3 and 4 as well. What is the shared mean, and does this result support the earlier successful-rescue inference?
Science criterion 2: pathway diagram and rescue argument; criterion 3: signed feedback loop; criterion 4: bounded dysregulation reasoning rather than personal medical conclusions.
Use the unit’s actual data and criterion-linked evidence. Require a new variant or observation for assessment; never infer hands-on technique from a supplied-data answer. Integration cannot reduce the science grade or block a practical pass.
All unit cases: student learning pathway. Record chosen level, task ID, source, first attempt and instructor follow-up.
Student: ______________________________________ Date: _______________ Guide: _________________________
Integration is reported separately and cannot lower the science grade or block a science demonstration pass. Science and practical criteria determine that pass.
| # | Criterion | Decision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cell cycle & mitosis stages | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Signal transduction | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Feedback regulation | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Cancer as cycle dysregulation | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Microscopy of mitotic stages | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 6 | Integration (cross-domain) | Dev / Prof / Mast |
☐ No ☐ Yes — for criterion: __________
Tokens left this term after this session (choose one): ☐ 3 ☐ 2 ☐ 1 ☐ None left
Dev = Developing · Prof = Proficient · Mast = Mastery · Unsure between two levels? Circle the lower one and note what a re-do would need.