New Buzzwords: Formative Assessment

Since returning from Maternity Leave, I feel the way in which we assess our students has completely changed. When I was teaching two years ago, I felt like everything was data driven. However, now (which still being data driven I guess) the way we assess students is more authentic. The whole idea of only testing a student at the conclusion of a unit is phasing out. Instead, we're encouraged to formally and informally assess students throughout the unit and make modifications to our program as we go.

I remember looking at this idea of flexible programming a couple of years ago... Where I made a program template, thought about my end result and what I wanted students to achieve, but left the individual lessons blank. That way, I could program as I went... Or sometimes I even programmed after the fact because I couldn't keep up with where the lesson was going.

This whole concept is fantastic because it enables the teacher to see what students know and don't know and then alter their program accordingly. Check out the templates I made below (click on them to download a copy for yourself).

  

But a lot has changed since I created these templates. We've got John Hattie and he has raised the concept of visible learning. We have the National Curriculun, and the NSW Syllabuses. Technology has improved and so there are far more websites and apps out there that specifically target Formative Assessment. So today I thought I'd share one of those websites/apps and review it for you.

An example of a Plickers student card

Plickers

Plickers is a simple tool that collects formative assessment data in real-time. All you need is one device (for the teacher) and the specifically designed cards; one for each student. The idea is that the teacher creates a number of questions (maybe revision questions) on the computer prior to the lesson. Then during the lesson, the teacher operates the questions via their device and projects the responses onto the IWB in the live view. Students turn their card to represent answer options A-D (pictured right). Their responses are collated and graphed for the teacher to see. This gives the teacher a clear understanding of which students have grasped the concepts in a non-threatening or confrontational manner.

Here are two examples of questions that I used in a revision lesson for 'Position' (Mathematics):

I love using Plickers, however, my students love it even more. Whenever I ask them to pull out their Plickers cards, they get excited and race to the floor. They erupt with screaming and words of encouragement to one another. It brings out the competitiveness in students, while assessing their understanding and my effect.

I highly recommend Plickers.

Where to Next?

I'd love to check out other formative assessment apps. I've got my eyes on a few already but would love to hear of any others that you might know of! So comment below...