By Kim Jones, Chairman and CEO, Curriki
Source: Pixabay
Faced with 30 or 35 students looking at you expectantly in the classroom every day, do you sometimes wonder if you’re even getting through?
Try driving your classroom instruction with formative assessment, an exciting teaching tool that gives you instant feedback on whether your students are learning—which enables them to learn better.
If teachers and students can find out immediately whether a student has grasped a concept, they can make corrections, if needed, and build on the acquired knowledge to move on to the next level of learning.
This instant feedback, designed to promote students’ learning in a way that allows learning activities to be altered according to results, is called formative assessment. It’s different from summative assessment, which measures mastery. It helps teachers figure out which students understand the teaching point of a lesson, which have mastered a new concept, and which need extra help.
And it’s the direction Curriki is taking in helping you teach Pre-Algebra, Algebra I and Geometry. These collections, sponsored by AT&T, give students instant feedback:
Why does it matter?
Because research shows that formative assessment helps students achieve more progress for less money than other efforts such as smaller class sizes and teacher training, according to the National Council of Teachers in Mathematics.
Because when formative assessment is used in short and medium cycles, teachers reported greater professional satisfaction and increased student engagement.
A teacher who uses formative assessment is a teacher who really listens, who really tunes in to her students, and who gets results. Is that you? It can be.
Kim Jones is the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Curriki. Kim is active in driving policy initiatives and is regularly featured as an honorary speaker on the impact of technology in education at influential meetings around the world. Learn more at Curriki.org.
