The usage of formative assessment is not widely used in schools or employed by most teachers. In On the Impact of Formative Assessment on Student Motivation, Achievement, and Conceptual Change, this study connects two previously isolated but theoretically linked educational frameworks: conceptual change and formative assessment. The group of authors explored whether formative assessment would improve students’ motivation and achievement, and lead to conceptual change. The article includes discussion on the conceptual framework, research design, outcome variable measurements, and results. They had a very compelling hypothesis about the inclusion of embedded formative assessment, along with sound assessing strategies [i.e. overall consistency and validity measurement] to support their results and conclusion. They took the necessary steps to ensure validity and internal consistency when developing assessments and analyzing results of their study. I believe the reflections and future directions section is very beneficial to future researchers and educators, while offering valuable insight on the joint usage of formative assessment and other teaching strategies benefiting motivational and learning outcomes.
The article begins with a discussion adding value to the study, stating most evidence has been either laboratory or anecdotal based versus finding empirical data, following with the discussion of their conceptual framework. Their view of achievement: acquiring knowledge and the capacity to reason with that knowledge. The focus of this study was on schematic knowledge, specifically establishing scientifically justifiable conceptions of the natural world, leading to the idea of conceptual change. The well-known idea that all knowled...
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... experimental teacher training to yield better results. Our classroom textbook makes note of alternative implementation approaches to support their call to action. Formative assessment is not a single entity, it states, but rather a levels approach. Where school wide implementation is necessary, along with classroom climate shift, student-learning tactic adjustment, and teacher instructional adjustment. The authors state that teachers need tremendous support, school wide implementation and training, along with adapting formative assessment to the needs of their students.
Works Cited
On the Impact of Formative Assessment on Student Motivation, Achievement, and Conceptual Change
Yue Yin ab
; Richard J. Shavelson c
; Carlos C. Ayala d
; Maria Araceli Ruiz-Primo e
; Paul R. Brandon 1
f
; Erin
Marie Furtak g
; Miki K. Tomita ch
; Donald B. Young f
Elwood, J. (2006). Formative assessment: possibilities, boundaries and limitations. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 215-232, doi:10.1080/09695940600708653
Formative assessment to inform instruction and guide student learning is being underutilized. Many students are not given feedback that is effective in helping them see where they are in regard to reaching the learning goals or that provides plan for moving them forward to achieve that goal. Students are not always given the opportunity to take an active role in the learning process by regularly assessing themselves and their peers as they work to achieve their learning goals. The purpose of this study is to determine how the use of formative assessment with immediate feedback using student response systems will impact student learning. This study will also investigate the effect that student involvement in self-evaluation has on learning.
Through acquired knowledge from observational learning intelligence is an individual’s ability to adapt to one’s given environment. Intelligence can be referenced in many ways that include stability, performance and comprehension, only to reference a few. Most commonly when one hears intelligence the IQ comes to mind. Although the nature versus nurture agreement is major aspect of intelligence, a person’s inheritance from their genetic makeup partially contributes to their intelligence quotient. When applied to education the academic achievement in conjunction with intelligence and development is acquired by maintaining discipline and dedication. Those who often seek scholastic success find that the journey may include bias views, environmental expositors, learning
Assessments have always been a tool for teachers to assess mastery and for a long time it was just to provide a grade and enter it into the grade book or report card. Through resources in and out of the course, there has been a breath of new life into the research on how to use assessments. They take many forms and fall within the summative or formative assessment category. Sloan (2016) addresses how formative assessments has traditionally been used by teachers to modify instruction, but when we focus on a classroom that is learner-centered “it becomes assessment for learning as opposed to assessment of learning” (slide 4). The fact is, the students are the ones that should be and are the ones using the data we collect through assessments, since it is our way of providing feedback in order
Regular use of formative assessment improves student learning as instruction can be adjusted based on students’ progress and teachers are able to modify instructions to cater to students’ individual needs (Black & Wiliam, 2010; Taylor-Cox, & Oberdorf, 2013). Various forms of informal and formal formative assessment methods are conducted as learning takes place, continuously through teacher observations, questioning through individual interactions, group discussions and open-ended tasks (McMillan, 2011). tests can tell us a lot about students and be used to inform and guide teaching, rather than simply to determine grades. Teachers can learn a lot from test results if they analyse the data generated to inform their teaching and learning programs (Perso, 2009). However, high stakes tests may result in students becoming stressed, leading to misreading questions, careless working and incomplete answers (Booker et al., 2010).
However, a formative assessment is ongoing and is used to check for students’ understanding throughout a lesson. Both work samples “matched learning objectives” and I was able to identify the students’ strength and weaknesses. I was also able to “analyze assessment data to understand patterns and gaps in learning” to guide my future instructions. In the word problem assessment, I recognized where the student was struggling and gave “effective and descriptive feedback” to address the area that she needs work in.
Black, Paul. (2003). The Nature and Value of Formative Assessment for Learning. Improving Schools. 6 (3) 7-22
Piaget argued that cognitive development is based on the development of schemas. This refers to a psychological structure representing all of a person’s knowledge of actions or objects. To perform a new skill which the person has no schema, they have to work from previous skills that they have. This is called assimilation, where they have pulled previous schemas together then adapted and changed them to fit their task through accommodation.
A child’s schema can be seen as part of their inspiration for learning, their unquenchable drive to move, illustrate, discuss, and inquire about (Phillips & Pearce, 2011). According to Woolfolk, Winne and Perry, “schemas (sometimes called schemata) are abstract knowledge structures that organize vast amounts of information” (2015, p. 277). These schemas are mental structures that escort an individuals perception and comprehension of known and unknown experiences and allow an individual to symbolize large amounts of complex data, make assumptions, and make sense of new information (2015). Through the gathering of additional research, it was noted that the term schema possess several definitions as defined by various individuals. These various
For more than 20 years, formative assessment has been highly researched and even accredited as a critical part of a teacher’s pedagogy. In the last decade it (formative assessment has become something of a buzzword and in some cases a mandate in k-12 schools across the country. Formative assessment can be defined as a part of the instructional process intended to gather information and provide feedback for both students and teachers that allow for needed
In formative assessment we divide into two parts which is informal assessment and formal assessment. According to The Glossary of Education Reform (2014) formative assessment means a method that teachers use to conduct in-process evaluations of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress during a lesson, unit, or course. The reason why we choose formative assessment is that children can provide ongoing feedback that can be used by instructors to
Although somewhat vague compared to summative assessment, several key features help frame formative assessment. First, formative assessment happens while learning is taking place as opposed to at the end of content delivery. Rather, this is considered “assessment for learning,” (Chappuis, J., Stiggins, Chappuis, S., & Arter, 2012, pg. 5). The format is formal or informal, but the outcome in its use is an in-progress check of what students know and what students do not know. Chappuis, Stiggins, Chappuis, and Arter (2012) define formative assessment as, “Formal and informal processes teachers and students use to gather evidence for the purpose of improving learning,” (pg. 24). Second, this type of assessment is used to make instructional strategy adjustments. If student learning did not happen via one instructional method, the teacher must make the necessary accommodations to reteach the concept or skill. Next, it is not only used by teachers for feedback on instruction, but formative assessment is also used for providing timely, descriptive feedback to students and extends to allow for student self-assessment (Chappuis, J., Stiggins, Chappuis, S., & Arter, 2012; Popham, 2008). Formative assessment provides opportunity to provide specific feedback to students on where they are currently in their learning, and where they should be headed.
This development is depended on both nature and nurture i.e. both biological and environment. Children’s cognitive ability grows, adapts and reorganises itself through its exposure to experiences and learning in addition to what mental ability it was born with. This according to Piaget alongside the use of schemas is how a child’s intellectual ability grows and develops. Schemas are a framework or a structure that assists children make sense of the world around them. According to Piaget children learn through experiences retaining the information or experiences they have been exposed to and then using it and adapting it through the process of assimilation and
As teachers, we have to monitor the progress our students make each day, week, quarter and year. Classroom assessments are one of the most crucial educational tools for teachers. When assessments are properly developed and interpreted, they can help teachers better understand their students learning progress and needs, by providing the resources to collect evidence that indicates what information their students know and what skills they can perform. Assessments help teachers to not only identify and monitor learners’ strengths, weaknesses, learning and progress but also help them to better plan and conduct instruction. For these reasons, ongoing classroom assessment is the glue that binds teaching and learning together and allows educators to monitor their efficacy and student learning.
Cauley, K.H. & McMillan, J.H. (2009). Formative assessment techniques to support student motivation and achievement. Clearing House, 83(1), 1-6.