Week 6 of 15: Formative Assessments

The weeks are really starting to fly as we move into the second third of the semester! This week in #AEE412 lab, we were tasked with creating and executing 10 minutes of what a formative assessment would look like if we taught it in class.  

 

A screenshot of me teaching in lab

For this lab, I decided to teach a lesson about biosecurity. I taught a few minutes of content about identifying the 4 main principles of biosecurity using the CHIP method (Cleanliness, History, Isolation, and Proper Management Techniques). Then, I instructed my student to fill out a MentiMeter by writing a 1-2 sentence caption for the 2 photos provided. I realized right away that my learners did not understand what I was asking them, so we went through the first one together as an example and then they did the second one on their own. 

 

Overall, I think that MentiMeter is a great tool for formative assessments in the classroom because they are quick and easy to create and they do not take much time to execute in the classroom. One of the good things about using MentiMeter is that the identity of students is concealed so that students feel comfortable sharing. I also used other quick forms of formative assessment throughout, such as the “Fist to Five” where a student holds up any number of fingers between zero and five to demonstrate how well they think they understand the concept. If students hold up all five fingers if they fully understand the concept and if they hold up zero fingers if they do not understand the concept at all and need more help, a different explanation, or more time to process the information. 

 

The second MentiMeter photo

Student responces from the second MentiMeter photo

At the end of my lesson, I also used the Spotlight cards to assess my students’ understanding of the content. The red card means the students does not understand the content, the yellow card means the student understands some of the content. And the green card means the student fully understands the content. For this, I read out three statements, such as, “I can define biosecurity,” and “I can tell the person sitting next to me the 4 principles of biosecurity.” After each statement, I paused to let my students choose which color they thought was indicative to their understanding, and when students were red or yellow, I called on a student to explain the statement to them to reinforce their knowledge too. 

 

The Stoplight cards my students used in lab

In closing, there are many different ways to incorporate formative assessments into the classroom, and all vary in amount of effort to prepare on the teacher’s end and time to complete on the student’s end. When used correctly, formative assessments can be a great way to tell where your learners are at in their understanding.

 

 

Thank you for your endless support, 

 

Ms. Cusate