Formative assessment is one the greatest gifts you can give your students. The research is clear–formative assessment helps kids learn. Here are screenshots from a recent lecture I gave students. These slides reference the research of Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam.
Unfortunately, formative assessment is not done enough. I believe that part of the problem is that teachers simply don’t know enough about it, or how to do it. I was unclear on both of these counts a decade ago. It makes me sad to think of all the students who matriculated through my class before I became aware of this powerful tactic.
Hopefully, this episode will inspire and enlighten you. I finally have students joining me once again. Aurora Dollins, Brianna Pasco, and Alex Staton are students in my Assessment class at Muskingum University. I love interviewing Education majors because they have a unique perspective. They get what it’s like to be a student, but they are constantly evaluating how they will utilize approaches and tools once they become instructors.
Aside from the ideas of these awesome young women, I want to offer additional help in your quest to craft engaging and relevant formative assessments, Here’s an outstanding link to a slide presentation created by David Wees which includes 56 ideas for formative assessment.
Episode Template
The Problem:
Formative assessment is not utilized enough.
The Solution:
Start including formative assessments with each unit you teach.
What you can do Tomorrow:
- Search David Wees’ link for an engaging and relevant option.
- Try it.
- Debrief students and gameplan on how you can improve.
Formative assessment is backed by research. Your challenge is to make it engaging and relevant.
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