To save the day……… ‘The only thing we learn from the past is how little we’ve learned from our mistakes’. Geog Wilhem Friedrich Hegel The purpose of the formative assessment for teachers

As teachers, we spend hours creating what we think is an amazing lesson plan. We race into the classroom, flushed and excited to share what we built with this group of eager and waiting students, who rely on us to share the abundance of knowledge we have on the subject at hand.

But as the lesson progresses, you look around the classroom and see something interesting. Some of the students are riveted on you, taking in every speck of information floating about the room. But others are staring off into space, shuffling around in their seats uncomfortably, or even obviously nodding off!?! Yikes, what went wrong and how do you find that out?

Enter ………. the FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT! You think all is lost. You are disappointed, sad that all your work is not reaching everyone. And then, just when you think there is nothing you can do to pull this group back together where everyone learns what you have to share………. You need feedback!

What is formative assessment? Formative assessment is a form of feedback. It helps pupils understand how to improve but requires teachers to focus on what works best and change their habits of practice. But wait! What is feedback?

Feedback is a way of retrieving information about how well we did something, or how well we are doing something. There are a few main principles for good feedback: 1.It clarifies what good performance is; 2.It provides information to teachers that can be used to help shape teaching; 3.It provides high quality information about learning; 4.It encourages teacher and student dialogue around learning; 5.It encourages positive motivational beliefs for teachers; 6.It provides opportunities for class and instruction improvement.

So? Formative assessment serves several purposes: It provides feedback for teachers to modify subsequent learning activities; It identifies group and individual deficiencies; It offers frequent, ongoing assessment for fine tuning of instruction and, It allows the students to focus on the learning and not the grades. We can use the formative assessment as an effective form of feedback

Formative assessments can happen in a matter of moments, and some take months……… A language teacher asks students to choose the best thesis statement from a selection, and if they all choose the right one, she moves on, but, if not she may know to initiate a class discussion or plan review; A teacher asks his students to discuss last weeks’ activity about skydiving, and based on how much of the information reaches back to her, she will know how much more she needs to present; A science supervisor spends the summer looking over a previous years’ tests to decide how to proceed with the summer workshops.

A few examples of formative assessments Observations Questioning Discussion Exit/Admit Slips Learning/Response Logs Graphic Organizers Peer/Self Assessments Practice Presentations Visual Representations Kinesthetic Assessments Individual Whiteboards Laundry Day Four Corners Constructive Quizzes Think Pair Share Appointment Clock As I See It That’s a lot of options!

So, in a nutshell, formative assessment can be a way for teachers to determine how well the teaching strategies they are using really are for effective learning. These strategies are plentiful, there are many to choose from and can take a quick minute, halfway through a class, or can take a long time to implement and facilitate. But regardless of how they are done, it gives the teacher a clear snapshot of how things are going, and allows them to take the time to figure out other ways to convey the educational message they strive to deliver.

And always remember….

References design/strategies/instructionalstrategies-feedback.pdf for-learning/