Predominately Formative Assessment

The term ‘formative assessment’ is used to describe the activities and processes used by teachers and learners to gather information that informs future teaching and learning. Assessment becomes formative if the information gathered is used as feedback to adapt and modify teaching and learning (Black and Wiliam, 1998, p.2). There are a variety of different methods and techniques that can be used by teachers and learners that can contribute to enhancing learner progress. These include

The first article that I viewed was on Edutopia and it was titled Why Formative Assessments Matter. This article was a very helpful in that it was a review of what formative assessments are, why they are used, and when and how you use them. The middle part, why they are used, it reinforces that they are used for, to inform, not to punish. This is important to remember as we are assessing and planning instruction for students each day. Learning and showing what you have learned should never feel like a punishment. At the end of the article, in the last section, there were suggestions on ways to formatively assess students in a way that would not feel as though they are being punished. Instead, they are enjoying showing what they have learned. The last tip in this article was to watch, look, and listen. It is important to remember that to formatively assess students you must constantly

While tutoring middle school students in math last year, I found myself strategizing to make the content more accessible to students. Not realizing it at the time, I was attempting to find something the student already had knowledge of (that related to the content) in order to build the student’s understanding from that point with more depth. After reading Lorrie Shepard’s “Linking Formative Assessment to Scaffolding”, it inspired me to reflect upon all my experiences as an at-risk middle school youth tutor. Amazed and intrigued, I realized that the theories Sheppard had written about, such as Vygotsky’s cultural theory of development, instructional scaffolding, and formative assessment were all prevalent in my experiences as a tutor.

This field experience was completed in Palm Spring Elementary School, with the cooperating teacher Barbara Saad, who has a great training experience. To accomplish the artifact's objective, I was focused on observing and recognizing the demonstration of all indicators in Instructional Delivery and Facilitation and Assessment. In a first moment, an interview with the teacher was conducted in order to determine the procedures and use of formative and summative assessments to diagnose students’ learning needs, and to inform instruction. Then, while the teacher was actively working with students, I identified procedures and use of formative and summative assessments.

How do we improve the quality of teachers we have in the classrooms now effectively. Wiliams explains at the end of chapter one, “we have to improve the quality of those teachers already working in our schools” by “love the ones you’re with” strategy (Wiliam, 2011). Then in chapter two it discusses how formative assessment is used and multiple ways, which I try to find ways I can help teachers within the classroom. The most effective example that Wiliams gives in chapter two, in my position is example the one dealing with developing professional development for teachers in math (p.40).

In my short period of teaching, I have experienced many different types of assessments, those that were administratively required and personally selected. One particular style of assessments that I often use is curriculum-based measurement assessments (CBM probes). On a daily basis I test/quiz my students to make sure that they understand each required step to solve the problems. Sometimes this comes in the form of a quiz, and other times it is presented as a quick check that lasts about a minute long during my class. According to Kubiszyn and Borich (2013) the frequent administration of these brief formative test allows me to make daily adjustments to instruction, when needed, to maximize my students learning. As a result, curriculum based assessments are effective for my students because we can always go back and revisit a topic or concept

A. Pre-assessment/Assessment of Prior Knowledge- 1. Students may have misconceptions or misunderstanding about the drinking water shortages in some places on Earth. Students may not understand how the temperature of the water will affect the salinity of the water. Students may misunderstand information about the Gulf Stream and they may think that it is located in the Gulf of Mexico. Another partial understanding students may have is how the sloping of the ocean floor affects the wave heights. Lastly, students may have a misconception about the subsurface geologic features of the oceans compared to geologic features of the World, like volcanoes and ocean trenches.

Examples of both the formative presentation and the summative essay were provided to students and discussed at length to make sure that students understood expectations and the standards that needed to be met. Guided work time was also provided to students so that they could ask questions, collaborate, and receive informal feedback throughout the entire process. Before both the formative and summative assessments were due, students were asked to peer review a classmate’s work using the rubric. Students were also asked to grade themselves and provide a rationale for their grades before both assessments were submitted. Taking time to have students reflect on their work ensured that students presented their best work and could receive an accurate score for their

The formative assessments during the lab will drive immediate instruction if more understanding is needed. The formative assessment will also drive the instruction and lab decompression the next day on day 10 before she gives her multiple choice assessments on Day 11. The lab results will drive the teacher’s reflection and lab decompression on day 10. What questions would she ask the class? What direction would she lead the reflection so that students may successfully reach the instructional goals? It would also drive the instruction for the next lab assignment that the class completes. The teacher can reflect on best teaching practices when implementing a lab.

Formative assessments should be used everyday as a major component of instructional practice. Teachers can use a rubric, a student’s self-assessment, student checklists, journals, observations of classroom activities, questionnaires, or journal writing as part of the assessment process that assists them in evaluating the student’s understanding of mathematical concepts and fluency procedures (Walle, Karp, & Bay-Williams, 2013).

Formative assessment is when pupil learning is measured against objectives using ongoing methods of assessment. Strategies to check the learning in a lesson include asking open-ended questions as it will encourage children to put forward their ideas without being led by adults. A lot of things can be gathered by just observing pupils, such as the methods they use to work things out or what they find difficult in their work. Observing pupils can take place daily or formally through direct observations. Other examples are: checking pupils' understanding through questioning pupils about their learning and asking them what they know; listening to how pupils describe their work and their reasoning tells you about the methods they use; engaging pupils

Recently, whenever I hear current teachers discussing about assessing students, ‘Formative Assessment’ is sure to be highlighted. Nowadays this method (formative assessment) is becoming popular among schools and is being applied widely in schools including my own school. Loughland and Kilpatrick (2015) identified in the few past decades, formative assessment has turned out to be the main goal for teachers and educational systems. On the foundation of Loughland and Kilpatrick (2015) findings and from my experience in the field of teaching, I found out nowadays teachers and school stakeholders strongly feel that formative assessment is the best method to assess in order to enhance students’ learning. For these evident reasons, I am interested in finding

This paper is about two methods of formative assessment used to improve students’ achievements, The present literature on assessment suggests that assessment for learning (formative assessment) not only represents a tool to assess students’ learning but it also serves as a pedagogical tool to enhance learning and thinking. Moreover, formative assessment is used collaboratively by both teachers and learners to enhance learning; adjust teaching and learning activities; and provide feedback on the efficiency of teaching and learning acts and direct future path (Kumar A. 2013). Two methods are going to be discussed in the paper, Curriculum Based Measurement (CBM) and Open Learner Model (OLM). Each country has a different

According to “The Glossary of Education”, “Formative assessment refers to a wide variety of methods that teachers use to conduct in-process evaluations of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson, unit, or course. Formative assessments help teachers identify concepts that students are struggling to understand, skills they are having difficulty acquiring, or learning standards they have not yet achieved so that adjustments can be made to lessons, instructional techniques, and academic support.” As a teacher, many times we need to know what the students know before start a new topic or theme. Formative assessments, also, allows the teacher to improve instruction in general and make changes in teaching techniques in order to help students in the learning process. “Many educators believe that formative assessments are an important part of effective teaching and recommend that should be implemented in every lesson.”(The glossary of Education, para. 4) That is why is considerate part of the instruction processes and should not be part of the student’s grade book because if the students are not ready to pass to the next topic, will acquire a grade that will not show their real growth at the end of the Unit. Instead, give grades, teachers should provide extensive feedback that allows students to learn in base of what they are doing well and what they should be done to get a better feedback. The following

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