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Dr. Melissa Shields, NBCT

We will review successful formative assessment tools that are easy-to-use, web-based, and FREE (not to mention FUN)!
In this hands-on training, teachers will “test drive” several of the tools. Both teacher and student examples will be provided.

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Formative assessments are ongoing assessments, reviews, and/or observations in a classroom. We use them to improve our instructional methods, as we gauge student feedback throughout the teaching and learning process. In this session, we’ll revisit many traditional forms of formative assessments, such as exit slips and “turn and talks,” using teacher and student friendly digital tools for grades 5-12. We will also review other emerging formative assessment tools that align perfectly with 1:1 and BYOD school initiatives. Participants are guaranteed to leave with at least one “gotta use” tool when they return to their classrooms.

 

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Formative Assessment Myths

(Copied from NCTE's Fostering High Quality Formative Assessment)


Myth: Formative assessment means giving ungraded assignments.
Recognizing that assessment does not always mean giving students a grade is key to understanding formative assessment. Ungraded or “comments only” responses to students’ work can be an important part of formative assessment. This is especially true if the responses give students clear suggestions about how they can improve. However, by itself, the absence of a grade does not constitute high-quality formative assessment. It is the feedback students receive—timely, specific, and task-focused—from teachers or other adults, peers, or through structured self-assessment, not the absence of grades, that makes formative assessment high-quality.

Myth: The purpose of formative assessment is to improve teaching.
Reality: What teachers learn from formative assessment can certainly help shape teaching decisions. Identifying areas where students are having difficulty as well as where they have clear understandings can lead teachers to change classroom practices in order to reach instructional goals. Formative assessment can also address curriculum development by helping teachers and instructional leaders develop strategies for improving student learning in an entire school or district. However, changes in teaching and curriculum are not the central purpose of formative assessment. High-quality formative assessment always puts student learning at the center.

Myth: The purpose of formative assessment is to help students understand teachers’ goals.
Reality: One benefit of formative assessment is that it can help students learn more about the goals for a given lesson, unit, or course, but another advantage is that it helps students to evaluate their own learning more effectively. Students who are clear about what and how to learn in a given class become more motivated and engaged learners.

Myth: Formative assessment is subjective while summative assessment is objective.
Reality: Formative assessment occurs during the learning process while summative happens at the end, but formative assessment is equally objective. The difference lies in how evaluative instruments are used. For example, a rubric that lists criteria for evaluating writing can be used formatively to help students understand what is expected and summatively to assign a grade.

 

NCTE's Formative Assessment that Truly Informs Instruction PDF
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Technology-Rich Formative Assessments

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  • Kahoot - Free game-based learning platform that makes it fun to learn - any subject, in any language, on any device, for all ages.​

  • Socrative - Mobile Device/Computer Response System

  • Flubaroo - Self-Marking Quizzes

  • Stick Pick app - Digital "Equity Sticks" and Formative Assessment Tracker

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  • Twitter Voting

    • Twitter - Students tweet predictions, exit slips, questions, etc. Hashtags encouraged.

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  • K20 Learn: 100+ teaching and learning strategies! Flip a card to read about the strategy. You can download PDFs and PowerPoints.  Let's Practice #8

  • The Answer Pad - The Answer Pad is a free, enhanced student response system, together with a grading tool for assessments for BYOD. Go Interactive, has 6 different response types, an awesome draw feature. It engages reluctant students, encouraging them to show what they know, enabling teachers to immediately gauge understanding in the classroom. The Answer Pad can then score paper quizzes, with multiple question types, cutting grading time significantly.

  • Classpager - Engage students with polls, exit tickets, event reminders, and more using ClassPager. Questions can be both open response and multiple choice.

  • 33 More Digital Tools for Formative Assessment 

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54 Examples of Formative Assessment (includes both digital and non-digital practices)

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Rick Wormeli  on Formative Assessments

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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https://youtu.be/rJxFXjfB_B4


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More Resources and Tools

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Formative assessments, also called "evidence of learning," are ongoing assessments, reviews, and/or observations in a classroom. Teachers use formative assessment to improve instructional methods and student feedback throughout the teaching and learning process. The results of formative assessments are used to modify and validate instruction.

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