Formative+Assessment

Formative Assessment
One of the biggest changes I have made within my classroom since integrating 21st Century Skills and Themes has been the use of structured and planned formative assessment. A Promethean Board was installed in my classroom during the Fall semester and we also have access to the Promethean ActiveExpression voting devices. Through a little bit of exploring, I discovered some quick, easy ways to formatively assess all my students.

The ActiveExpression voting devices are similar to cellular phones in size and shape. They communicate directly with the teacher's computer and only work when prompted by the teacher. To start an assessment, the teacher may create a set of questions relating to the subject within a Flipchart on the ActiveInspire software or display them from any other source (ie. websites, questions on board, on a piece of paper, verbally, etc.). The only thing that needs to be available at all times is the ExpressPoll which allows the teacher to display possible responses on the ActiveEspression devices from which the students may choose. The questions, however, may be posed in any form. For example: I may ask the class if they like chocolate ice cream. I would then prompt a "yes or no" question within the ExpressPoll for the students to choose from. The answers can then be displayed and correct answers can be assigned. I often give impromptu assessments this way to measure the overall classroom understanding of a topic. The students are generally engaged in this type of assessment because they enjoy the use of technology. Additionally, it ensures I am able to assess every student so no one "slips through the cracks".

Using this type of tool allows the teacher to identify struggling students as well as content areas that may need to be covered again. The results can be viewed in a summary graph such as the example below. The correct answers have been assigned and they are in green. The students are labeled on the left side of the graph and the question number is along the bottom. From this assessment, I can see "Student 12" is struggling and could use some extra attention. I an also see that 50% of the students missed question 25 and that topic may need to be reviewed.



With regards to my Stat21 project, I used several types of formative assessment. For the first lesson, students posted thoughts and ideas to a wiki discussion board. The posts were then reviewed as a class and feedback was given. For the second lesson I used a Flipchart to create a review then assessment was given using the ActiveExpression Devices. Prior to a summative assessment at the end of the unit, I used an online literary device flashcard game ([] ) displayed on the Promethean Board. ActiveExpression Devices were then used so each student would have the opportunity to attempt an answer.