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When aligning assets by concept (see Getting Started - Aligning Assets by Concepts), you can tag an asset with concepts as well as align the asset to standards. Tagging an asset with concepts gives the system more information about your asset so that it can find the most appropriate standards for alignment.
The steps to tagging and aligning can include:
- Finding concepts in the taxonomy.
- Ranking/confirming the located concepts.
- Adding any suggestions made by the system so that it can better find related standards.
Tagging with Concepts
To tag an asset with concepts:
- Enter keywords into the Search Concepts text box. You may want to enter partial keywords so that all words pertaining to it are discovered. For example, if you type "infer" you will discover concepts using words such as "inference" and "inferring."
- Optionally, select AND or OR from the drop-down menu. An AND search looks for concepts with ALL of the words in the Concept box. An OR search looks for concepts with at least one of the words in the Concept box.
- Click Search.
After searching on key words, the "Tag With Concepts" section populates with concepts that are associated to the keywords you searched.
You now need to indicate how much the concepts apply to the asset.
To indicate this, adjust the slider for any of the concepts. The slider key is shown on the screen:
Applicable (dark blue) is used when the concept is the main or most specific skill(s) being covered in the asset. Choose this if you will likely want to align to all standards containing this concept.
Somewhat Applicable (lighter blue) is used when the concept provides context for the main skills in an asset.
Undetermined (middle; gray) indicates that no decision has been made about the relevance of the concept.
Less Applicable (light red) is used when the concept is nearly unrelated.
Not Applicable (red) is used when the concept is not relevant to the asset at all.
Bear in mind the hierarchy of the taxonomy. It is a good idea to choose the most specific concepts as "Applicable." For example, in the screen image above, "Nouns" would be the best concept to indicate as "Applicable" if your asset is about nouns, rather than something more general like "parts of speech." Use the arrows to visualize the hierarchy.
Also be aware of the location of the concept within the hierarchy. Some skills repeat across different strands or courses in a subject. For example, a skill such as "Word Choice" would be found in reading, in listening, in speaking, and in writing. You want to pick the "Word Choice" concept that matches the strand your asset is covering.
Using Suggestions, Guidance and Searching
Once you have indicated how much concepts apply, the system will suggest additional concepts as well as standards.
The Clarify Concepts tab provides concepts that may apply to your asset. Use the slider to indicate how much these apply, so that the system can offer its best suggestions for standards. Click Refresh if you make any changes so the system generates better and new suggestions.
The Review Standards tab contains standards that are related to standards you may have already accepted. Choose Accept or Reject as desired and appropriate. (Note that this tab only activates after you have accepted standards in the asset.) Click Refresh if you make any changes so the system generates better and new suggestions.
The Clarify Standards tab contains up to five standards that fall the middle of the score range. In order for the system to make better standards suggestions, you can make decisions about these standards. Choose Accept or Reject as desired and appropriate. Click Refresh if you make any changes so the system generates better and new suggestions.
The Search Standards tab allows you to search for standards by keywords in the standard description or within their related concepts. Enter word(s) and press [Enter] or click away. Standards are listed that match the word(s). Choose Accept or Reject for these as desired. They will appear in the bottom section as accepted standards once you click Load Standards Matches NOW.
- Use "Precision: Narrow Search" to find standards that match exactly to the standard or appears in the standard statement. Otherwise, use "Precision: Broad Search," to find standards where the word(s) appear anywhere in the standard, related concept or the hierarchy of related concepts.
- By default, "Grades" is set to the grades associated with the asset, but you may choose any other grades for the search. This does not change the grades associated with the asset, but allows you to search outside the asset's defined grades.
- By default, all project standards are used for the search, but you may select a custom standards collection or state.
Note: Certain standards collections, though supported by the alignment system, may not be fully supported by the Search Standards tab on the Alignment page. When a project is associated with an unsupported collection, you will see the following error message and the collection will be grayed out. You will see a similar message if an unsupported collection exists, but is not associated with the project. See Standards Collections for more details on this standards collections conflict.
Choose to sort by "Relevance" (standards with the most matches appear highest in the list) or "Authority" (standards are grouped alphabetically by authority).
Loading Standards Matches
You've selected concepts and maybe some standards. At any time, you can have the system show you all the standards it has for you by loading and selecting standards. The "Standards Matches" section presents any standards you've already accepted, as well as standards it has discovered based on the concept tags and standards you've already accepted.
Best Practices for Aligning by Concepts
As you tag and align assets, there are some best practices to keep in mind. Refer to Best Practices for Aligning Assets By Concepts for additional practical guidance.
