Unit 1: What is Formative Assessment?
What is Formative Assessment?
The question that we are exploring in this unit is What is Formative Assessment?
Formative assessment refers to the different methods that teachers use to determine if students have met learning objectives. Through assessing students formatively, teachers are able to see where they need to go next in their instruction. Do they need to teach the lesson again? Do they need to review a few concepts? Have the students shown thorough understanding of the topic and have shown that they are reading to move on in the topic? In this unit we will learn about different types of formative assessment and why it is used.
Learning Objectives
- Participants will watch a YouTube video for information on what is formative assessment and summative vs. formative assessment.
- Participants will read three articles about the advantages and benefits of using formative asssessment in the classroom.
- Participants will list 3 examples of formative assessment on a collaborative Google Doc.
- Participants will identify 4-5 examples of formative assessments along with a specific example of how they will use this example in their classroom.
- Participants will define what formative assessment is in their own words.
Unit Overview and Expectations
In this unit, participants will watch an informative video on formative assessment. The video will explain the differences between formative and summative assessment and give specific examples of formative assessment. The participants will also read three articles on the advantages and benefits of formative assessment in the classroom. Based on the video and articles, participants will identify 3 examples of formative assessment on a collaborative Google Doc. The participants will then return to the Google Doc and review the examples that their classmates listed. Based on the examples provided, participants will identify 4-5 examples of formative assessment that they can and will use in their mathematics classroom. They will give a specific detailed example on how they will use the formative assessment with a specific topic. At the conclusion of this unit, participants will define what formative assessment is based on what they learned in this unit.
Learning Activities
Lesson 1: What is formative assessment?
- Participants will answer the following questions:
- What is formative assessment?
- What is the difference between formative assessment and summative assessment?
- What are the benefits of formative assessment/how is it used?
The lesson will begin with a YouTube video addressing the difference between formative assessment and summative assessment. The YouTube video will also define formative assessment and different types and uses of formative assessment. Click here to access this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJxFXjfB_B4
Upon viewing the YouTube video, the participants will review the chart on formative vs. summative assessment below:
After viewing the YouTube video and Venn Diagram, the students will read three articles about the advantages of using formative assessment in the classroom. The articles can be viewed here:
Upon completing the readings, the students will access a Google Doc in which they will each come up with 3 examples of formative assessment. The Google Doc can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1g_aPef_4t-HohPk8aUFQss4pQtXjaxmU9NXP4xAAKyg/edit
The students will review the examples that their classmates have provided on the Google Docs. After reading all of the examples, they will list 4-5 examples of formative assessment along with a specific example of how they will use that type of formative assessment in their classroom on a specific topic. This document can be found on the same Google Doc.
At the conclusion of this unit, participants will answer the following Google Form question. The Google Form can be accessed here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1o6uQrPnLGqFQJzk5J8po2jaaBQN1BbqHwABcSbzwQgU/viewform?usp=send_form
The assessments for this unit will be the responses on the Google Doc and Google Form.
Links
Continue to: Unit 2: Examples and Uses of Formative Assessment | Unit 3: Create, Evaluate, and Analyze Lesson Plans with Formative Assessment
Return to: Jessica's Portfolio Page | Jessica Zmiyarch's Mini-Course
Unit References
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJxFXjfB_B4
https://k12teacherstaffdevelopment.com/tlb/benefits-of-formative-assessment-in-the-classroom/
