FORMATIVE
I FIND THAT AT THE END OF EACH DAY I HAVE THE CLASS GATHER AROUND THE MAIN CHEFS TABLE. I SUMERIZE THE DAYS TOPICS AND PRODUCTS. ITS TIME FOR QUESTION AND ANSWER FROM STUDENTS. THEY CAN ALL RELATE AND I CLARIFY. RECAP!
Formative assessments are my FAVORITE!!! There are lots of quick ways to check for understatnding before it's too late. Often times, quick checks can be easily transformed into the format of a game or a kinesthetic activity that gets student up and moving--thumbs up or down, label the corners of the room A-B-C-D, ask a multiple choice question and have students move to the corresponding corner, etc... My all-time favorite is exit tickets which are very similar to your round table discussion--I write ONE math problem on the board and they need to solve & submit it to me on the way out the door. If they've got the skill and can apply it, I know instantly!!
Usually, I try to do review at the beginning of the next day in order to refresh and tie in what we are doing that day. Also around 1/2 way through the block, I usually take time to look back at where we started and where we are to show them how far they have come...somewhat of a motivational situation too.
Formative and Summative within the context of our courses and daily activities.
In some of our courses we offer the summative test up front before instruction even starts. This allows us to see a baseline of knowledge in our students.
Questioning during the lessons allows us to work through formative evaluation seeing if students are grasping the concepts and ideas being taught in the lessons. Good instructors will link previous lessons into the current lesson as part of questioning and linkages in examples. Additionally, linking concepts into future lessons allows students to question and anticipate questions in those future lessons.
Lastly we do summatives at the end of the day plus look at summatives in the beginning of the day. At the end, encompass lessons of the day and applicability. In the beginning of the day, looking at current events and tying them into previous material to provide examples of real-world events tied to lesson material.
All of these assist the student in preparations for the final summative test/evaluation for the course.
One way I check to see how my students are doing is by recapping some of the day's events as Chef Roberts does. If there are any questions, the students bring them up and we discuss at that time. Sometimes we are not always able to discuss issues as they happen since we deal with the public. This is a great opportunity for them to learn and for me to know where they may need help.
Thats a great idea chef!! I think thats the best way to re-enforce learning.
