Formative Assessment
Formative assessment involves observing and monitoring students during day to day class activities. It also includes questioning students and providing feedback. Formative assessment is used to monitor student progress and is a valuable in assisting teachers modifying units/lessons or adapting teaching methods. During my fourth year practicum I used formative assessment strategies to assess students on a daily basis. These strategies included specific questioning, student observations, anecdotal records, exit cards, and checklists. On a regular basis I observed students and observed their work and made anecdotal records based on my observations. Below is a copy of one of the records I made after a writing lesson on 'telling vs showing' sentences. The notes recorded were made by marking and going though students individual work from the lesson. These notes show what students were away, what students didn't complete the task, what students struggled to add description and what students completed the task. The information gathered on this record was purely for me as the teacher and was used to inform my teaching and the following writing lessons. Based on these notes I could determine what students needed to explore these ideas further and what students have developed an understanding and are ready to move on. |
Diagnostic Assessment
On my practicum I developed my own pre-assessment's for a variety of units of work. The example to the right is from a mathematics unit on division and shows two different responses to the pre-assessment task. Students were asked to answer two questions to the best of their ability. Prior to students attempting to the questions students were reminded that this was a pre-assessment and that if they found they couldn't answer the questions that was 'okay'. Students were then given a set amount of time to answer the questions. I then used the pre-assessments to inform my teaching and help plan future lessons of the unit. Based on the pre-assessments I could determine what prior knowledge students bring to the unit. |
guided_reading_record_sheet.docx | |
File Size: | 14 kb |
File Type: | docx |
Formative Assessment:
The image to the left shows an example of the formative assessment strategies outlined to be used in a Year 6 Science Unit. - Strategic Questioning: to find out what students know and where gaps are in their knowledge. - Teacher Feedback: feedback that is specific and connects with the learning outcomes. - Peer Feedback: opportunity to share ideas and assess their peers work. - Student Self-assessment: students are given the opportunity to evaluate their own work during the unit. |
Formative Rubric: The rubric on the left was designed as a formative rubric that assess students progress, at that time in the lesson, towards the unit learning outcomes. Here the teacher can make marks next to the students name easily during the lesson. These observations can be used to inform future teaching and lesson content. |
Pre-assessment/Diagnostic:
The sheet to the right is a unit pre-assessment that students complete by using the knowledge that they are bringing to the unit. Teachers can use the knowledge they gain about what students already know to inform their teaching and help plan future lessons that build on students knowledge. |