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).
Read supplied volumes; declare any separately approved demonstration and record alternative.
The student explains gas exchange from the anatomy (Page 4).
Trace, volumes, and interpretation kept distinct.
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 interpret the declared record and justify it from the anatomy; supplied data do not certify spirometry technique. 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.
| Canonical answer | Accepted synonyms | Common confusion / discriminator |
|---|---|---|
| Airways & lungs | ||
| Trachea | windpipe | C-shaped cartilage rings hold it open |
| Bronchus / bronchiole | bronchi / bronchioles (plurals) | Distinct airway regions, not synonyms; bronchi have cartilage, bronchioles lack it |
| Alveolus | alveoli; air sac | Site of gas exchange; thin wall keeps the diffusion distance short |
| Breathing & gas exchange | ||
| Diaphragm | (none) | Primary breathing muscle; flattens to pull air in |
| Pleura | pleural membrane | Double layer around the lung; fluid lets it slide friction-free |
| Gas exchange | external respiration | Oxygen in, carbon dioxide out across the alveolar wall |
| Partial pressure | (none) | Each gas diffuses from higher to lower partial pressure |
| Lung volumes / capacities | TV; IRV; ERV; VC; RV | VC = IRV + TV + ERV; ordinary spirometry cannot measure RV, which must be supplied separately |
| Alveolar ventilation | effective modeled ventilation | Rate × (tidal − dead-space volume), not total minute ventilation |
| Bicarbonate / PCO2 | HCO3− / CO2 partial pressure | Use mmol/L and mmHg with the supplied coefficient; the logarithm takes a dimensionless ratio |
| Compensation | counteracting response | May be incomplete; the lesson’s 30 mmHg floor is fictional, not a clinical rule or breathing target |
The split between Proficient and Mastery is the physiology behind the structure: not just naming the alveolus, but explaining why oxygen crosses into the blood there. Listen for “higher partial pressure in the air, so it diffuses in.”
| Criterion | Developing | Proficient | Mastery |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airways & the bronchial tree | Cannot name the major airways or order them from the trachea to the alveoli. | Names the airways but cannot trace the path air takes or say where cartilage gives way to smooth muscle. | Traces air from the trachea through bronchi and bronchioles to the alveoli on a model, and explains how each airway's structure fits its job. |
| Mechanics of breathing | Describes breathing as air being “sucked in” with no reference to muscles or pressure. | Names the diaphragm but cannot connect its movement to the pressure change that drives airflow. | Explains how the diaphragm and rib cage change thoracic volume and pressure, and predicts airflow direction from that pressure change. |
| Gas exchange, transport & acid-base balance | Confuses gas gradients, carriage, or the role of carbon dioxide in pH. | Explains one mechanism but needs help linking perfusion, gas carriage, and buffering. | Explains partial-pressure diffusion, ventilation/perfusion, and gas carriage; connects CO2/bicarbonate to pH at the selected level, with explicit limits on respiratory and renal compensation. |
| Lung volumes, ventilation & control | Confuses tidal/vital/residual volume or total/alveolar ventilation. | Reads volumes but needs help with dead space, residual-volume limits, or control. | Interprets supplied tidal/reserve volumes and capacities, distinguishes total from alveolar ventilation, and explains CO2-related control; states that ordinary spirometry does not measure residual volume. |
| Spirogram & model evidence | Cannot read the assigned trace or identify its axes. | Reads volumes but needs help separating supplied estimates from measured trace values. | Defends the declared spirogram/model or approved demonstration evidence, reads volumes with units, and identifies uncertainty and separately supplied values without claiming unperformed spirometry. |
| 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. |
Read these before you grade. They show what Mastery and Developing actually sound like, plus the edge cases where you should coach rather than decide on the spot.
Student: ______________________________________ Date: _______________ Guide: _________________________
| # | Criterion | Decision | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Airways & the bronchial tree | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 2 | Mechanics of breathing | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 3 | Gas exchange, transport & acid-base balance | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 4 | Lung volumes, ventilation & control | Dev / Prof / Mast | |
| 5 | Spirogram & model evidence | 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.