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Formative Assessments
After reading Page Keeley article on Formative Assessment in the Science Classroom, I was able to compile my own definition to what a formative assessment would be in my classroom. A formative assessment is a tool used to measure student’s understanding of the current content. This tool allows teachers to observe how students are processing the information by using a variety of methods in the beginning, middle and closing of the lesson. This tool also gives teachers an idea of any misconception’s students may be having, prior knowledge they are already bring to certain content, and where refocus or reteaching may need to take place.
In my classroom, three types of formative assessments I may use consist of:
· An Exit Ticket for daily input for what students are understanding and where they are struggling.
· A KWL chart that provides think time for student to show what they know, what they want to know and what they have learned.
· A Galley Walk that allows students to work in groups with their peers and then move around to classroom observing how their other classmates may have completed the same type of problem differently.
My question is when do we know as a teacher, based on our formative assessment results, if the results are based on students lack of skill or lack of will?
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