Today was the first day since my brief tenure teaching at the High School of the Future that I got the opportunity to use one of the best formative assessment tools I know: ActivExpressions. A Promethean student response system (SRS), the ActivExpression is an easy-to-use device that allows the student to work on sets of questions at their own pace while the teacher reacts in a just-in-time kind of way. These devices - while quite expensive - can be a wonderful boon to a teacher who knows how to use them.
In my Algebra 1 classes I had prepared a problem set wherein students had to arrange numbers from least to greatest. This specific task has many levels of complexity as evinced by my creation of varying difficulties for the students. For those who needed more work towards the beginning, they would focus on the first two levels and practice to get the answers correct. For those speedier students, they could fly ahead to levels 3, 4, and 5.
In my Algebra 1 classes I had prepared a problem set wherein students had to arrange numbers from least to greatest. This specific task has many levels of complexity as evinced by my creation of varying difficulties for the students. For those who needed more work towards the beginning, they would focus on the first two levels and practice to get the answers correct. For those speedier students, they could fly ahead to levels 3, 4, and 5.
As students progress from one level to the next I can determine which of them is struggling and assist at that moment. Alternatively, I can keep this data for later use and track progress by comparing this administration with one I plan for the future.
I have also used this system to take quick polls from the class on a variety of issues and graphically display the responses - something quite applicable to a math classroom.
Formative assessment is a tough thing to perform and I'm happy to have my hands on a tool that can ensure I push myself to use data to make a difference.
I have also used this system to take quick polls from the class on a variety of issues and graphically display the responses - something quite applicable to a math classroom.
Formative assessment is a tough thing to perform and I'm happy to have my hands on a tool that can ensure I push myself to use data to make a difference.
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