Using formative evaluation methods
What are some formative evaluation strategies you can use to assess students?
Formative evaluation strategies are critical within the mathematics discipline as demonstrating understanding is crucial to build upon previous topics. Formative assessment in conjunction with questioning, classroom assessment techniques, in-class math problems, etc. helps ensure students are on the right learning pathway. To help bridge between the in-class sessions and formative assessment I incorporate self-check activities and homework. I then give feedback on the homework before students take formative assessment quizzes typically based by chapter. They then get feedback a second time before the summative assessment test which are for the entire unit.
Some formative evaluation strategies that I use with my students are: admit or exit ticket, discussions, self and peer assessments.
Hi Frank, Thanks for your post to the forum. That frequent feedback is an excellent practice. Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
Hi Jude, Thanks for your post to the forum. You are running a very "active learning" classroom! Best wishes for continued success in your teaching career.
Susan Polick
We have review questions each day about the prior days lesson . The students can see right away if their study techniques are working. Once a week there is a longer quiz .
I often will use a quiz or two before a test to ensure the students stay focused on the correct content and have a chance to review miss material before an exam but I find mid point course evaluations effective in letting a student know where they stand and what they need to work on. It also gives the student an opportunity to make adjustments in order to be more successful.
I use a mix of quizzes, presentations, formal and informal writing assignments, portfolios and formal tests. I try to cover as many learning styles as possible. I also try to mix things up by, for example, using a multiple choice quiz format with questions that require reasoning rather than informational answers. Informal writing assignments are essentially practice pieces, the best of which can then be included in a portfolio. I offer feedback on these pieces whenever requested, or if/when I require them to be handed in. We also workshop pieces as a group in class. I do not grade pieces unless/until they are in a portfolio, but I do give written and verbal comments. As the portfolio deadline approaches, we spend more time in class editing and commenting on students' work.
I have weekly quizzes I give based on that week's lecture and readings from the text. It seems that when the student knows about the forthcoming quiz they take extra care to succeed.
We use classroom and lab exercises to achieve and assess the students competencies.
I use exit tickets with socrative.com it is a great online tool for assessments and testing.
Hi Kathleen, I can see how that that timely hands on activity would also increase retention of the information.
Susan Polick
I enjoy using an activity that is hands on after a topic and lectured and homework assignments are complete. For example in dentistry there are many bur sizes and shapes which are used to remove decay from a tooth or place a specific cut into a tooth. There is a lot of information as well as cross over uses to these burs. The students cannot possibly understand this topic without activity to enhance their learning. By creating clay burs and labeling them they begin to understand the material and allowing the student to use references to recreate these burs also lets them know the ones they are sure of and the ones they need to spend more time on.
I like to use pop quizzes of information from a previous class time. I also have lab check off that are objective. I also have tests over each chapter being covered. If I see an entire class is not doing well then I know it may be me not approaching the subject in the most effective way. I have found some of these evaluatins assess me too.
Some formative evaluation strategies than I can use to assess my students may include standardized tests done at regular intervals, written by myself; I can have the students do stations, where they work in one station at a time on particular content; I even have the students perform labs to see how they can apply their knoweldge.
I use a program called "Socrative" where I put an open ended question on the board for them to respond to via mobile or wifi device. It puts the answers on the screen and we discuss. It is anonymous but effective.
We spend half the time in class and half the time on labs. It really helps me in my self evaluation to see how well I taught the specific subject. I find also that sometimes the student are the best teachers while working in groups. Some students pick up on certain things better than others and I see them explaining the subject to the other students. That is why I pair certain students with other students.
Journaling is a great example of a formative method, students can write the main idea of what they learned during the day
Ticket Out The Door
Questioning
Observations
Quizzes
Hi Virgil, You can insert interactive questions or video clips into your powerpoints. I also look focurrent events that I can use in conjunction with my slides.
Susan Polick
I teach audio recording, so most of my courses are lab based. I like to revisit earlier lessons at the start of each week to ensure the students are absorbing the course a whole, and not just the lesson at hand.
