Meneses Nathalia M5U1A3 Formative Assessment Blog

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT 

I just LOVED this analogy! I think everything is easier to understand when food is involved, so let's imagine we are in our favorite restaurant kitchen.

The Chef (in my visualization, the Chef is the talented and handsome Akis Petretzikis, winner of MasterChef Greece) is creating a new dessert for Thanks Giving. He will start working on it months in advance and will taste it many times before presenting it to the clients. Additionally, the sous chef will taste it and give his opinion on what needs to be changed. After making all the adjustments, the Chef will serve it in Thanks Giving and will receive the comments from the customers. 

This is a formative assessment! Giving it a try before the final day to make changes and improvements. 

When doing my research, I found this fun video about feedback. It highlights the importance of asking these three questions:

• Where is the learner going? Setting a clear goal with students (this is important because we are not school dictators! students must be involved in the process, they need to lead their own learning).
• Where is the learner right now? Gathering evidence of the learning process (this can be done by the teacher, student and peers). It is important to have a combination of the three to ensure accuracy (for example, a discussion with the teacher, a self-evaluation and peers comments on a Google Doc).  
• How does the learner get there? Creating a plan to achieve the goals, based on the ongoing information we gather. Making adaptations (accommodations and modifications) for students with Special Needs or that belong in the ESL (English as a Second Language) program. 

At CNG (my school) there is a whole school policy about grading and feedback, to make sure that students and parents are involved and informed about the learning process (it would make no sense to do all of this and leave it on a drawer). 

Teachers post formative grades on Skyward (online platform) constantly (even though they are not taken into account for the final grade). In order to re-take a Summative, the student needs to complete all formatives, make a self-evaluation and go to Opportunity Day to get feedback and re-teaching. 

This is also a pretty fancy way of making sure that parents will not come to us complaining about "not knowing" that the student was struggling. 

In addition, we can use Google Classroom (also shared with parents!) to give feedback about students' work. For example, in my 8th grade Co-Taught Science class, Mr. A (he is the best BTW!) uses Google Classroom and Google Drive to comment and suggest on students' work, and then, asks them to review the feedback and make necessary changes. He also uses Classroom to do warm-ups and start class with a debate. 

Finally, I want to highlight the importance of collaboration. When you meet with your team and take the time to plan and discuss assessments, you will be able to get new ideas, add to the ones you already have and get feedback from your practices. Ask them to go and observe your class, ask your students to give you feedback (use Google Form and male it anonymous) and keep a visual track of your students' performance before, during and after the lesson, to see if you are having the impact that you want on the learning process. 

Reference List

AITSL. (2017, April 18). Effective feedback animation. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LjCzbSLyIwICI Learn. (n.d.). 

Formative and Summative Assessment. Retrieved January 6, 2019, from https://csuci.instructure.com/courses/33/pages/formative-and-summative-assessment