For, As, Of – Don’t Sweat the Small Words!

Know Formative Assessment & Feedback: Why You're Doing It

Focus instead on Diagnostic, Formative, Feedback, Summative

Diagnostic assessments (also known as pre-assessments) provide instructors with information about student's prior knowledge and misconceptions before beginning a learning activity and also diagnose students' strengths and areas of need. ... Instructors usually build concepts sequentially throughout a course. You are assessing prior knowledge and this can be seen as assessment as learning – technically, the learning is more for the teacher than the student as the teacher is learning about the student really!  The teacher wants to know where the students are in their learning, so that the lesson/unit is not too easy, not too hard, and interesting for the students.  The teacher gears his/her teacher so that the students can be personally successful in the lesson/unit.  By performing this kind of assessment before a unit/lesson, it allows the teacher to establish high expectations for each student and setup the needed supports each student will require in order to demonstrate their learning (achieve the learning goal of the lesson or unit).

Formative assessments are considered assessment for learning.  While formative assessments help teachers identify learning needs and problems, in many cases the assessments also help students develop a stronger understanding of their own academic strengths and weaknesses.  Teachers are learning about the strengths, weakness and needs of her/his students (and making mental notes or keeping jot notes) and using this knowledge to further support the student in his/her own learning.

Sometimes, people see Formative Assessment more like “AS” learning, because as the teacher is walking/talking (Feedback – see below), the teacher is also teaching, guiding, reminding, applauding, praising, re-directing, etc. and the students are following the teacher’s lead and “doing it” … Sooooo, this can be seen as Assessment as Learning

Teachers need to do this type of assessment ALL THE TIME in conjunction with FEEDBACK

Feedback … To facilitate this, generic feedback can be prepared in advance and distributed to students quickly once they have submitted their work. ... This can be based on previous answers to the assignment. Individual feedback to students should be provided throughout the lesson or unit.  Teachers are encouraged to always WALK & TALK with the students.  The teacher is constantly guiding, reminding, re-directing, cheering on, applauding, smiling, offering advice and hints, and mixing with the students in order to motivate, inspire, and engage students in the task.  Some teachers keep a mental note of what they heard and saw while some teachers keep a little notepad/jot book to write down what they saw/heard (This is the LISTEN, WATCH, REMEMBER, and WRITE) … This essentially becomes your formative assessment too!  Sometimes we call this FORMATIVE FEEDBACK!

Teachers need to do this ALL THE TIME in conjunction with FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

Courtesy of JM@NU