Formative Assessment

Purposes of Formative Assessment

-Planning instructional activities -Placing students into learning sequences (smaller groups) -Monitoring students' progress -Diagnosing learning difficulties -Providing feedback to students on how to improve -Determining apparent of potential behavior problems -Pacing instruction -Appropriateness of teaching strategies/ and or activities -Determining if students comprehend the concepts and ideas taught

Questioning Strategies

-give opportunity for everyone to be right -probe student responses with follow-up questions (The use of WHY? is excellent for follow up) -Avoid leading questions and increase the use of probing questions. -Good question involve good listening. -Involve the whole class. -Avoid broad questions. -Distribute the questions among all students. -WAIT TIME

Validity Problems in Formative Assessment

-lack of objectivity by the teacher -relies to much on objectives and assessments that provide feedback to teachers but narrows instruction to students focuses on instructional proceses indicators (facial expressions,participation)

Motivational Benefits Con't

-more complicated for failure-accpeting students and others with negative feelings about themselves and their work -deal frist with the negative feelings after failure, then with the information for improvement (reassuring students)

Purposes of Questioning

-to develop interest and motivate students to become actively in lessons -to evaluate students preparation and check on homework or seat work completion. -to develop critical thinking skills and inquiring attitudes. -to review and summarize pervious lessons -to provide diagnostic information. -to assess achievement of instructional goals and objectives. -to stimulate students to peruse knowledge on their own

Teachers use the questioning technique

1.reinforce important points 2.to diagnose problems 3.to keep students' attention 4.to promote deeper processing of information

Collaboration

A classroom culture in which teachers and students are partners in learning should be established, also include parents.

Self- and Peer-Assessment

Both self- and peer-assessment are important for providing students an opportunity to think meta-cognitively( thinking about thinking) about their learning.

Benefits of Formative Assessment

Cognitive Benefits Motivational Benefits

Types of Questions

Convergent Questions Divergent Questions

Motivational Benefits

Different students respond differently to the various aspects of the formative assessment process. For most carrying out plans for improvement (makes their work better, and helps them feel in control of their learning) Self-Regulation- ability to control own behavior in order to learn. * Feedback you give students should always start with a positive statement

Reliability Problems in Formative Assessment

Inadequate collection of corroborative evidence focuses on a limited number of students to obtain information about the instructional process and student learning. if you only uses one or two questions and think a student understands it

Learning Targets and Criteria for Success

Learning goals and criteria for success should be clearly identified and communicated to students. Should be specific.

Divergent Questions

Questions that may have several appropriate answers. To answer students have to perform processes more complicated than just memory. Example: Predict what will happen in the U.S economy if we fall into another recession?

Questioning and Understanding to improve learning and thinking (QUILT)

Stage 1: prepare the question -identify instructional purpose -determine content focus -select cognitive level -consider word and syntax Stage 2: present the question

QUILT CON'D

Stage 3: Prompt student responses -pause after asking questions -assit students -pause after a student response Stage 4: Process student responses -provide feedback Stage 5: Reflect on questioning practices -analyze questions -evaluate student responses -examine teacher/student reactions

Cognitive Benefits

Student performance is improved on standardized measure of achievement. Improvement is seem at all levels: (primary,intermediate, secondary) Improvement is especially noticeable among among low achieving students receive feedback on precisely the points they need in order to improve, and it shows them what to do next to get better

Descriptive Feedback

Students should be provided with evidenced-based feedback that is linked to the intended instructional outcomes and criteria for success. A teacher should ALWAYS provide a student with feedback.

Formative Assessment

a loop where both students and teachers participate. Formal and Informal observations made during or shortly after instruction to gather information about learning.

Questioning purposes and strategies

any sentence which has an interrogative form or function. In classroom settings, teacher questions are defined as instructional cues or stimuli that convey to students that content elements to be learned and directions for what they are to do and how are to do it. has to be very creative

Cognitive Benefits CON'T

helps teachers and students identify what students can do with help and what they can do independently Participating in formative assessment is active learning; it keeps students on task and focused on learning goals especially peer and self evaluation, helps students with the social construction of knowledge.

Convergent Questions

questions that have a single, correct answer. Usually require,recall, and memorize. (Lower-level of thinking) Example: What are the capitals of the 50 states?

Learning Progressions

should clearly articulate the sub-goals of the ultimate learning goals. Steps a student needs to go through in order to learn. Example: we do not teach students multiplication right away, we teach them addition first.

Main Purpose of Formative Assessment

to determine if students are learning