Building Thinking Classrooms: Ch. 13 - How to Use Formative Assessment

This chapter is about assessing CONTENT.

Not competencies as described in the previous chapter.

The whole goal of this chapter is to help students see math

As related collections of subtopics and sections.

A rubric of sorts is used to map out the related content (left hand column)

With the following three columns sequencing how this content looks

From basic, to Intermediate, to Advanced Understanding.

These can be used to self-evaluate performance on a quiz.

Question 1

What are some of the things in this chapter that immediately feel correct?

I have tried to do reflecting self-evaluative activities after quizzes, but I like how this gives a much clearer picture.  It's more cut and dry.  I also like the notations listed on page 240 to help students navigate this tool.

Question 2

Which of your students see the subtopics within a unit and which do not?

It seems like the higher level students that complete all their work see the whole picture.

Question 3

Do you have some students who fall into that category where they are happy being good enough?

Oh yes!  

Question 4

Can you think of ways in which you have previously received, or given, feedback that does not help a learner understand where they are and where they are going? If so, what information did the feedback communicate?

Some of my rubrics simply conveyed a grade for my students.  Reading a rubric takes time and at best, they can be confusing to understand.

Question 5

Can you think of ways in which your feedback has ever been encrypted in a way that obfuscates where students are and where they are going?

I've tried just highlighting the mistakes to have students figure out the correct way to solve the problem.  This essentially cannot be done without reteaching or going over misconceptions.

Question 6

Can you think of other ways in which you can help students understand where they are and where they are going?

I really like this navigation tool.  It will take a little to organize and probably should be done at the beginning of the unit so it guides me where we are going as well.  

Question 7

If an assessment instrument does not communicate where students are and where they are going, then who does that instrument serve?

Really, no one.

Question 8

What are some of the challenges you anticipate you will experience in implementing the strategies suggested in this chapter?  What are some of the ways to overcome these?

Creating these ahead of time to record the whole unit.  Sometimes, during the teaching, things come up that I did not anticipate.  I will need to be flexible and be able to change things as we are learning this new method.