RSA #1 - Online Professional Learning Community

Link to formative assessment article

As educators, one of the most important things that we have to do in our classrooms is monitor student learning. We do that using formative and summative assessments. I teach very hands on project based classes that require my students to design and create some sort of printed piece. I use formative assessments all the time while the students are working on their projects. Richard DuFour writes “Frequent monitoring of each student’s learning is an essential element of effective teaching, and no teacher should be absolved from that task” (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker & Many, 2010). The reason I use formative assessments so frequently is the skills the students learn in my class build upon one another and we need to make sure they understand them in order, or they may become lost.

According to Larry Ainsworth and Donald Viegut “teachers refer to classroom formative assessments as assessments for learning” (Ainsworth and Viegut, 2006). If formative assessments are used regularly teachers will be able to (1) better understand what student’s already know, (2) what modifications or changes need to be made, (3) create individual lessons or activities, (4) let the students know where they stand currently in the process. The formative assessment can and should be used by all teachers no matter what subject is being taught.

The readings in both books were very similar. The authors both said that formative assessments are very important and should be done frequently to monitor student learning.

References:

DuFour R., DuFour R., Eaker R., Many T. (2010). Learning by Doing: A Hand Book for Professional Learning Communities at Work. Bloomington: Solution Tree Press.

Ainsworth L., Viegut D. (2006). Common Formative Assessments: How to Connect Standards-based Instruction and Assessment. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.