Formative Assessment take II....

WHAT AM I DOING TO HELP KIDS ACHIEVE?

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THEY ARE THERE?

WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?

     O.K....I know that "formative assessment" is important.  The idea is this..at some point during the unit lesson, preferably at the start or midway through, it is important to collect data to see where the kids are at with their understanding.  Then, based on the data, I as the teacher decide if I need to go ahead or go to "plan B" and maybe reteach some content.  

     In theory, this sounds great and makes sense.  The problem arises when you have minutes, or less than 24 hours, to come up with a reasonably good "plan B".  How much time should I spend on it?  How much is enough?  What if I get behind or ahead of other classes?  What if I am not on the same page as the other teachers in the same subject?  Quickly, things can become difficult for the well intentioned teacher.

     Here is where technology can help.  The other day we were finishing up a unit on the periodic table.  I put together about eleven questions in a google presentation.  The students came in and I told them they would be taking a review quiz that is open note.  Extra points would go on their test which was to be the next day.  They would not lose points for wrong answers and get points for correct answers.  As we were going over each question with a clicker response system, I could immediately see how the class was doing as a whole.  I decided that if about 80% or better responded correctly, I would just say good job and keep going. If, as a class, less than 80% got the correct answer, I would stop and go into detail about the correct response and possible misconceptions.   Students got immediate feedback after each question.  Time was not spent on the items they did know, but more on the items they did not know.  Also, the presentation was "shared" with them so they had a mini review in their google drives waiting for them when it came time to study.  Students seemed to be engaged and responding.  I was able to provide specific feedback without going crazy.  It will be interesting to see how they do on the test.....