Technology Enhanced Formative Assessment

Assessment for Learning

Formative assessment is assessment for learning. Assessments are used to inform both the teacher and the students. The teacher is continuously using assessment to gather data on how students are understanding instruction and at what level. The teacher then plans further instruction based on the students’ needs. This can include whole group lessons, mini-lessons for a smaller group of students, or one-on-one consultation, and should be presented in a different way than it was previously presented. In this way, it is a learning process for the teacher because he/she learns about the students and the effectiveness of instruction. 

Formative assessment should also be used to help students learn about themselves. This assessment informs students about where they are at, where they want to go, and what they need to do to get there. It gives them the opportunity to reflect on their learning, understand their mistakes, and make corrections. Ideally, teachers are not just observing students, but they are including students in evaluating the assessment to help them understand their work. This promotes a learning goal orientation and engages students in the feedback for the purpose of making improvements, rather than a performance goal orientation where their goal is to perform well. 

How it Will Influence My Instructional Response

I thought the videos in this article were great examples of how to implement formative assessment and make it a learning experience for the students. After watching them, the lightbulb really went off for me. Up until this point, I had thought about formative assessment only as making observations and altering my instruction accordingly. But that is leaving the most important half out! The most important learning occurs when the students think and reflect on their own learning. So in addition to finding ways to do formative assessments daily, I will make assessments part of the instruction. This can’t and shouldn’t be done with every single formative assessment, but it should be part of instruction when possible.

One example I saw that demonstrates including students in this process, was the Show Your Cards video. This teacher had students hold red, yellow or green cards during instruction to show their understanding. I love that he encouraged kids to “show your true colors” and not just go along with the group. He even had them write on the cards the emotions they were experiencing with each color. He altered his instruction on the spot, so students were learning the content better, and they were also using metacognition to understand how they were feeling during the learning process. This is the type of assessment I would love to incorporate in my instruction. Rather than just give students grades, I want to make everything a learning process for them.

Technology Enhanced Formative Assessment

Technology has the ability to support assessment in the classroom, and it also helps students learn in a way that is relevant to what they will be doing as learners in the future. Here are some technology applications that can be used with formative assessment:

1. GoSoapBox is an app that could be used as a tech alternative to the red, yellow and green cards I talked about above. The app is a classroom response system that allows students to give feedback, have discussions and ask questions. It has a confusion barometer that can be used during instruction for students to signal that they are confused. Students can also ask questions of the teacher during instruction, and have discussions to clarify understanding.
2. EduCreations is an app that students can use to screencast. They write an answer, and along with it they can make an audio recording of their thought process. This helps them to think about what they are doing at a deeper level, and gives the teacher more detailed feedback about what the student is thinking. The teacher could then choose an example answer to use with the class to help them learn from their mistakes, similar to what this teacher does.
3. Plickers is a really fun way for students to give virtual exit slips. Each student has a card with a code on it and 4 letters (one for each direction you can hold the card). The teacher creates questions, and to answer, the students hold the card up in the direction of the letter that is their response. This can gather feedback on whether students understood the lesson. It could also be used to measure the social/emotional status or confidence level of the class.