Formative Assessments

Before I began taking classes and Stevenson, I had no idea what a formative assessment was. I did implement some type of formative material, but I don’t believe that they were as effective or utilized to their full potential. I knew that quizzes were a good way for students to see where they were, but I did not attach rubrics to large projects and I definitely didn’t have any reflective activities. The ability to implement formative assessments has increased my ability to teach materials and allows student to feel valued and listened to in the classroom. It also serves as a confidence booster for many students because it allows them to physically see the material that they have learned over the course of a lesson or topic.

One of my favorite formative assessments has been the KWL sheets, which I am going to try to use for every topic next year. KWL stands for what I Know, what I Want to know, and what I have Learned. In the K column, students write what they know, regardless of whether their “facts” are correct or not. They then write down any questions they have regarding the topic they are about to begin. After the lesson or unit is completed, students look at their KWL sheets again to reassess what they have learned. This allows students to reflect in a very productive way, and can be fit into a short, 10 minute segment at the beginning or end of a class period.

Another thing that I have learned to use over the last two years has been entrance and exit tickets. I learned about exit tickets in the second course at Stevenson, regarding curriculum, and realized how important they are to track the progress of a class. Exit tickets, which I now try to implement at a quick, 2-3 question drill at the end of class, allow me to see how a class as whole is doing with that day’s material as well as check on individual students to see if they are confused or even paying attention to the lessons. This allows me to do things like take 5 minutes during the next class to clarify any misconceptions, rearrange seating for a student if they are distracted or distracting a classmate, or maybe give a short pop quiz at the beginning of class to keep students on their toes.

Entrance tickets are something that I learned from my University Mentor, and are something that I use at the beginning of labs now, any time we have  lab day. I post the lab packet days before the actual lab with 3-5 questions regarding the main ideas and safety procedures to make sure the students are paying attention to the most important things. This also ensures that the class can complete relatively complicated labs in a 70 minute long-block. Students know that they are not allowed into the room during a lab day without handing in the entrance ticket. This has had a profound impact on the way I run labs and I am truly grateful for this strategy.

Formative assessments are important to the inner workings of a classroom and have had a very huge impact on the way I teach. It is one of the things I am glad I have in my pocket now!