Lesson 1.2: What are the SMFA?

Greg Soldatenko's mini-course | Unit 1 | Unit 2 | Unit 3

Learning Objectives

After completing this lesson, participants will be able to:

Define Formative Assessments
Describe Singapore Math Formative Assessments

Overview

In general, Formative Assessment is a process of gathering evidence about student learning on a daily basis. This information is then used to provide teachers and students with feedback to close the gap between current learning and desired goals. This process consists of six steps:

1) Eliciting evidence of learning

2) Interpreting the evidence

3) Identifying the gap

4) Providing feedback

5) Differentiating instruction to learners’ needs

6) Scaffolding in the Zone of Proximal Development to close the gap to meet lesson, grade and State Standards objectives.

(Adopted from Heritage “Formative Assessment”)

SMFA are teaching strategies designed to make students’ problem-solving abilities visible in the five learning domains of the Singapore Math framework: Concepts, Skills, Processes, Attitudes and Metacognition. These strategies assess students’ prior knowledge and current progress toward achieving grade and State objectives.

These teaching strategies include a wide array of questioning, discussions, observations and testing. They generate a wide range of verbal and written responses that show students’ mathematical problem-solving abilities, cognitive development, conceptual organization, factual knowledge, attitudes and metacognitive thinking. The ultimate objective of the SMFA is to close the gap between current knowledge and desired learning goals.

Assignments

Read

Heritage, Chapter 2 “Assessment With and for Student”

View

Why Singapore Leads the World in Early Mathematics? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxJSCwcnac8&index=1&list=PL3ttUbu6au68Z1LWv8SCoBVy64tU1uS1W

Do

Analyze the anchor task depicted on the page:

For K Teachers: Analyze Early Bird Kindergarten B p. 24

For Grade 1 Teachers: Analyze PM 1B p. 30

For Grade 2 Teachers: Analyze PM 2A p. 64

For Grade 3 Teachers: Analyze PM 3a p. 71.

For Grade 4 Teachers: Analyze PM 4B p. 44.

For Grade 5 Teachers: Analyze PM 5A p. 59.

Use a graphic organizer to list the sequence of activities depicted on the page.
In your Math Journal: create a Q&A list with your questions and possible students’ responses to elicit evidence of learning in each of the five domains. Post your Q&A list in the Lesson 2 Forum, named “Anchor Task.”

Discuss

Post 1. Share your ideas about the following question. What does it mean to make students’ problem-solving abilities visible in each of the five learning domains (Concepts, Skills, Processes, Attitudes and Metacognition)? Respond to two other posts and respond to those that respond to you.

Post 2 “Anchor Task.”

Analyze the Q&As of two other participants. Make a conclusion if the Q&A lists will achieve the desired goals and state your reasons. Respond to two other posts and respond to those that respond to you.

Please use the Discussion tab on top of this page to make your post in the Forum.

Next Steps

Continue on to Lesson 1.3: How is learning developed in your grade to teach mathematics for understanding?

Back to Unit 1: How can SMFA help you teach mathematics for understanding?