Engaging Way to Assess Student Learning

In this source, Keeley provides two stories discussing the implementation of how to use formative assessment in the classroom—with a specific example which focuses on light reflection. Her a... See More

In this source, Keeley provides two stories discussing the implementation of how to use formative assessment in the classroom—with a specific example which focuses on light reflection. Her analysis of the two implementations of the "Objects in the Sky: Can it Reflect Light?" probe is insightful, especially to a preservice teacher like myself. This piece is very informative on how to engage students in meaningful learning, having them be the drivers of the classroom through group work observations and providing choice in the classroom. Specifically, this article presented well thought out techniques on presenting students with content on reflection of light—but then having them engage with it, not through lecture, but through hands on exploration! Keeley represents how formative assessment can be used in the classroom to guide instruction, in a way that immerses the children in learning that does not feel like a lot of pressure. Furthermore, presenting examples of how to, as a teacher, assess how a lesson went and use that to modify the approach to the lesson on the following day!

Using Formative Assessment Probes Effectively

Using Page Keeley’s formative assessment probe called ‘Objects in the Sky: Can it reflect light? scenarios are presented that describe how the same probe was used in two different classrooms... See More

Using Page Keeley’s formative assessment probe called ‘Objects in the Sky: Can it reflect light? scenarios are presented that describe how the same probe was used in two different classrooms by two different teachers. The author then compares the two approaches pointing out which method best helped the students understand the concepts involved as well as why that approach was better.