Formative assessment
Formative assessment of learning towards outcomes should be conducted by teachers during the learning process in order to modify teaching and learning activities to improve student attainment.
As formative assessment typically involves qualitative feedback, in addition to observing students during lessons, we can use the tools below to gather information in teaching Treaty Rights:
Writing: These activities as exit slips assess understanding and the student’s ability to write and formulate ideas.
- Opinion Chart—This can be in the form of a T-chart. Template from ReadWriteThink.
- Mind Map—is a great self-assessment tool to use. Here are some examples.
- KWL (Know, Want, Learn) Charts—KWL charts let students organize and analyze information from a lesson. They are also great critical thinking tools that get students interested in new topics. They ask these three questions: What do you know already? What do you want to know? What did you learn? Template, Template
- 321 Charts — 3 things you learned; 2 interesting things; 1 question you still have. Variations can be added (things that surprised you, things that have inspired you, the people you will discuss what you’ve learned with, action(s) you’re going to take starting now)
- RVL Connect Chart
- Write a letter to a friend with an explanation of a certain topic (Treaty Rights).
Arts:
- Illustration/Sketch — Use pictures to establish connections and explain them.
- Advertisement/Pamphlet/Multimedia Poster/Infographic
- Comic Book—Use tools like Pixton or Comic Master to illustrate a concept.
- Think-Ink-Pair-Share — Time is given to think about a topic. Students then write down their thoughts, pair up with another student and share what they’ve written.
- Prezi – create presentation
- Flipgrid – create video
Movement: These are great for formative assessment but also can be ice breakers.
- Turn and Talk—This simple discussion tactic is used to great effect in lectures and keynotes. The teacher asks a thought-provoking question about the topic. Students “turn” to the person beside them and discuss the answers with each other.
- Talk Show Panel—Students are assigned a position about a topic (whether they agree or disagree). They must internalize the position and then discuss it in a panel, debate-style.
- Podcasting—Tools like Easy Podcast, or Audacity make it easy. Students can speak as the expert on a topic with a podcast while teachers listen and assess.
- Misconception Check—The teacher states a common misconception about a topic. Students agree or disagree, and discuss.
Summative assessment
Summative assessment refers to the assessment where the focus is on the outcome of a program. The goal of summative assessment is to evaluate student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against a standard or benchmark, to summarize overall learning at the completion of the unit. For summative assessment Treaty Rights topic in Social Studies, I advise:
- Projects (a culminating project that synthesizes knowledge)
- Presentations
- Surveys
- Interviews
Also, teachers should provide guidelines/ rubric for the task.
Pre-assessment
According to Carol Ann Tomlinson, pre-assessment provides valuable information about what is already known about a topic and readiness to start new instruction. Discovering prior knowledge allows the teacher to present new information at an appropriate level for the students. This process should continue throughout the learning process, so lessons can be adjusted according to student need.
In our classrooms, we can use such strategies as prediction, students` self-evaluation, students demonstrations and discussions, student interviews, portfolio analysis, or teachers observation/checklist. Listed below are some other methods to pre-assess.
Carousel Brainstorm – Chart papers containing statements or issues for student consideration are posted around the classroom. Groups of students brainstorm at one station and then rotate to the next position where they add additional comments. When the carousel “stops” the original team prepares a summary and then presents the large group’s findings. A Carousel Brainstorm is an active, student-centered method to generate data about a group’s collective prior knowledge of a variety of issues associated with a single topic.
Concept Maps – Ask students to create a “map” of ideas connected with a topic. They should consider how the topics link to each other and use lines or “linking” words to join the concepts together and describe the relationship. They can then revisit these maps later in the study (using a different color marker to add new ideas) or draw new ones that reveal their expanded understanding.
Four Corners Inquiry – Students are given an opportunity to formulate their own views and opinions. Students are asked to consider the topic and determine whether they strongly agree (SA), agree (A), disagree (D), or strongly disagree (SD) with a statement. They are then asked to move to the appropriate corner of the classroom identified with one of the options. Students should discuss their positions with the others in their group and present their opinions to the rest of the class.
KWL Charts – K-what does the student know? W-what does the student need and want to know? L-what did the students learn? This is an effective pre-assessment tool and summative evaluation tool. The “L” can also be used the as part of an open-ended question on a test allowing the students to share the depth of knowledge that was gained in the unit of study.
Think – Ink – Pair – Share – A way to get students to reveal what they know or believe about a topic is to begin by having them commit their thoughts to writing. To assess what the group knows, have students discuss their ideas in pairs, and then to share them with the large group.
Yes/No Cards – Students make a card with Yes on one side, No on the opposite side. Teachers ask an introductory or review question. Students who know the answer hold up the Yes card, if they don’t know the answer they hold the No card. This is very effective to use when introducing vocabulary words that students need as a knowledge base for a specific unit of study.