All of us remember those times when we were learners where we reached an assessment and got to question #8 and thought, “I know the teacher didn’t go over this.” If we were right in our thinking, the teacher had a disconnect in the assessment path that we all learned in Teaching 101: Objectives ⇒ Activities ⇒ Assessments. We all know this path needs to be aligned and transparent. If concept/practice X is in the objectives, it needs to be practiced in activities and should be assessed effectively in the assessment; concepts that weren’t practiced, shouldn’t be assessed.
We understand this path from Teaching 101. However, as education evolves, Teaching 2.0 asks us to consider designing class time with a new path in mind: Objectives (or standards) ⇒ Summative Assessments ⇒ Activities (or formative assessments). After synthesizing standards for our course and creating a summative performance task that will clearly assess those standards, our job is then to “backfill” class time with tasks and activities that will foster success. When we follow this path, it increases the likelihood that learners will feel more prepared for the summative and will actually show proficiency in the standards with greater success.
In her article called, “Formative Assessment” at http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/5212, Heather Coffey makes this approach even more opaque. By providing clear bulleted lists and authentic practices any teacher can use in their classroom today, Coffey promotes using formative assessment as a “thermometer” to gauge student progress on this path and not just a way to “do fun activities in class” that may or may not appropriately prepare learners for summative assessment day.
Today, formative assessment informs my teaching. I tell my learners that they are the Thanksgiving turkey. They should be done cooking around Thanksgiving time (our summative assessment day). Along the way, I will periodically pull them out of the oven and check their temperature. Some of them, I continue to explain, will be cold and clammy and not even close to done. Some of them will be nice and toasty, but still need more marinating before they reach their optimal temperature. This “temperature check” is what formative assessment does for my learners and me. It is a way for me to measure their progress on the standards in a safe, supportive environment (that does not contribute to their final grade). It is a way for me to guide my instruction to most appropriately meet my students’ needs. It is a way for me to continue to build a feedback loop that breeds learning, not a paper checking system that “catches” kids for getting the wrong answer along the way to summative assessment day.
If we follow this Teaching 2.0 path, if we constantly use formative assessment as a “points free” way to check for student understanding, if we alter our instruction to fill gaps in standards proficiency, we can be more confident that #8 on the summative assessment won’t surprise the learners and that Thanksgiving dinner will be delicious.
Share you comments and thoughts below, email Aric and Megan at stemflowerlc@gmail.com or visit stemandflowerlearning.com.
STEM and Flower Learning Consultants
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