Strategies for Formative Assessment
Effective instruction requires continuous monitoring of student learning through formative assessment tools. These tools provide immediate feedback to students on their learning and enable instructors to improve their teaching skills. Usually, “exit tickets”, as the name suggests, are handed to the teacher or completed at the end of class. However, if time permits, students can be asked to share their responses in small groups or with the class. Exit tickets usually take less than 5 minutes for students to complete, which usually means asking only one or two questions at a time.
Exit Tickets are quick yet effective tools for gathering formative feedback for any type of class size or subject because they can:
- Stimulate student reflection and analysis
- Serve as Self-assessment of learning
- Focus on instructional strategies used
- Establish a way of communicating with the instructor
- A tool to challenge the student with a question requiring some application of what was covered in the lecture.
- Act as confidence checks
Here we share with you tasks that can be used as exit tickets.
Do a brain-dump
Allow students 3-4 minutes at the end of class, and ask students to recall and write down everything they can from that day’s content. The activity helps students revise the important points very quickly and shows whether there might be any learning gaps. The activity can be done on a piece of paper or using a web tool. It can be completed individually or in pairs, or in small groups.
3-2-1
The 3-2-1 activity is very popular since it provides valuable information to the instructor, and it does not require any preparation at all. (3) At the end of a class, simply ask students to write down three important things they learned from the lecture. These could be key concepts, terms, or just new pieces of information. This allows students to revisit the course objectives covered in class on that day. (2) Then, get the students to note down two questions that they still might have or that they feel have not been fully answered. This encourages students to evaluate their learning and informs the instructor about what aspects of the subject may need further input. (1) Finally, ask the students to write down one thing that they feel they need to practice or work on. This question helps students to set learning goals for themselves and encourages them to take responsibility for their own learning.
One-Minute Papers
One-Minute Papers are quick and informal writing exercises where students take just one minute to summarize the main points of a lesson or respond to specific prompts or questions. These papers, which could be on paper or completed through an online tool, offer a snapshot of individual student comprehension and help the instructor adjust their teaching approach based on the responses.
- Students write a one-minute response explaining the factors that affect the rate of a chemical reaction. Then they exchange papers with a classmate for feedback.
Think-Pair-Share
Think-Pair-Share is a collaborative activity that encourages active engagement and peer-to-peer learning. First, students take a moment to think about a question or problem independently. Then, they pair up with a classmate to discuss their thoughts. Finally, pairs share their responses with the whole class. This strategy not only allows students to reflect on their understanding but also gives them the opportunity to hear different perspectives.
- After covering energy issues, students are asked to think about potential solutions to the problem of energy individually, then pair up and discuss their ideas before sharing the most promising solutions with the class.
- What are the potential consequences of a country withdrawing from a significant international treaty? Share your thoughts with your partner.
Concept Maps
Concept maps are visual representations of knowledge where students organize ideas and concepts in a hierarchical and interconnected manner. This assessment strategy requires students to think critically about the relationships between different concepts. Analyzing their concept maps helps instructors identify misunderstandings and gaps in knowledge.
- Create a concept map illustrating the regulatory mechanisms that control cellular processes after covering the interconnections between genes, proteins, and metabolic pathways.
Muddiest Point
The Muddiest Point technique asks students to identify the most confusing or challenging aspect of the lesson or reading. Instructors can collect these responses anonymously and address the common issues to clear up misunderstandings and provide clarification.
- Write down the most challenging aspect of designing effective air quality control measures after discussing the sources and effects of air pollution.
- What is the most confusing aspect of the encryption methods we discussed in class? Write it down.
Clickers
Classroom Response Systems, commonly known as clickers, are electronic devices or software that allow students to respond to multiple-choice questions or polls during class. This real-time feedback helps instructors gauge student understanding and adapt their teaching accordingly.
Traffic Light Cards
Students hold up red, yellow, or green cards to indicate their level of understanding (red for not understanding, yellow for some confusion, and green for clear understanding).
- Display a red card if you're not confident about load balancing in power systems, yellow if you have some understanding, and green if you feel comfortable with the concept.
Group Whiteboard/Flipchart Discussions
Group whiteboard/flipchart discussions are interactive activities where students work in small groups to discuss and present their understanding of a concept or topic using whiteboards, poster papers or flipcharts and markers. Professors can observe group responses to gauge comprehension.
- Assign each group a specific ecosystem (e.g., a rainforest, a coral reef). In 5 minutes, groups collaboratively create a concept map illustrating the various interactions and relationships between the biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem, using arrows, labels, and symbols to represent these interactions.
- Assign each group a significant historical event (e.g., the Civil Rights Movement, the Industrial Revolution). In 5 minutes, each group creates a timeline of key events, causes, and consequences of the assigned historical event. If time allows, each group then briefly presents their timeline to the class. If not, a group member can upload a photo of their work on a shared online platform (Moodle, Padlet, etc.).
Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down
Ask students to show a thumbs-up if they understand a concept or a thumbs-down if they are still confused. This can be done anonymously to encourage honest responses.
- Behaviourism is the best approach for understanding and modifying human behaviour. Thumbs up if you agree, thumbs down if you disagree.
- Show thumbs up if you understand the concept of cultural relativism and thumbs down if you have questions about it.
Exit Slips
Students write down a short response to a specific question or prompt as they leave the classroom. For instance, After a class on a scientific concept (e.g., natural selection, chemical reactions), students write a brief paragraph explaining how they can apply this concept to a real-world scenario or problem. This activity assesses students' ability to connect theoretical knowledge to practical situations and promotes critical thinking skills.
Focused Questions
Ask specific questions to individual students during the class discussion to check their understanding.
- Mehtap, can you explain the concept of natural language processing and its applications in AI?
- David, how does intersectionality provide a more comprehensive understanding of social inequalities compared to single-axis approaches?
On-the-Spot Demonstrations
Request a few students to demonstrate a solution to a problem or explain a concept to the class.
- Present students with a primary source document or historical artefact related to a significant historical event (e.g., a political speech or a photograph from a historical protest). In 5-6 minutes, students analyze the document, identify its historical context, and draw conclusions about its implications. This activity assesses students' historical analysis skills and ability to interpret historical sources. Use the mini whiteboard to draw the equivalent circuit of a combination of resistors in series and parallel.
Misconception Check
Present a common misconception related to the topic and ask students to identify if it's accurate or not.
- Recycling paper saves more energy and resources than producing new paper. Do you think this statement is accurate or not?
- The United States was the only country to use atomic bombs during World War II. Is this statement true or false?
Sentence Starters
Provide sentence starters to encourage students to articulate their thoughts, such as "I think..." or "I am confused about...". "I think the most critical property of material X is..." "I am confused about the difference between...".