Assessment/Checking for Understanding

Cycle One

Objective

I will be able to assess my students’ learning through frequent checks for understanding.

Anticipatory Set

Brainstorm current strategies you are using to check for understanding, including the ones you just received, and write them down on your butcher paper.

Checking for Understanding

How do we know when our students are ready to move on to the next concept and how often should we check?

What is the difference between formative and summative assessment?

What should we do when we have students that are still behind?

Checking for Understanding

The 85% rule (active participation)

Writing to check for understanding

The 10/2 rule

Effective questioning

Purposes of Questions:

To review and remind students of classroom procedures

To gather information

To guide student thinking and learning

To discover student knowledge

Types of cognitive questions:

Clarifying questions: What I hear you saying is. . .(after a student has provided a response)

Convergent questions: Narrow, low-order questions that demand a single, correct response (overused) - What is the capital of. . .)

Analytic questions: Encourages students to analyze and evaluate information in front of them, e.g. “In what ways is this headline misleading (pause), Miguel?”

Additional Types of Questions:

Divergent thinking questions: Open-ended questions having no singularly correct answer, e.g. “What measures could be taken to reduce crime in our neighborhood (pause), Sandra?”

Evaluative questions: “Why should we keep the Electoral College (pause), Alex?”

Cueing questions: After sufficient wait time (more than two seconds up to seven seconds), go backwards in your questioning sequence

Probing questions: Requires the student to think beyond the original answer, e.g. “Why do you think every citizen has the right to a gun (pause), Gloria?” or “How did you get to that mathematical answer?”

Convergent

Clarifying

Analytic

Divergent

Evaluative

Cueing

Probing

Guidelines for Using Questioning:

Prepare your questions in advance!

Ask a well-worded question before calling on a student for response.

Pause before asking a student to respond so everyone is thinking (two to seven seconds).

Ensure your questioning is randomized so you don’t call on the same students.

Samples of questioning strategies to avoid:

Rhetorical questions: Questions for which you don’t want a response, often used as a blaming kind of question, e.g. “What were you thinking!”

Low-level questions or closed questions that require yes or no responses.

Any questions meant to embarrass or punish a student or denies their dignity.

Questions in which you call on the student before framing the question.

Calling on the same students over and over again (Get away from thinking such as “The others aren’t paying attention anyway!”)

To Summarize...

How are we asking effective questions that will authentically assess student learning?

What kinds of active participation strategies are we using to make sure we know whether or not all of our students got it?

85% to move on to the next concept

Guided Practice: Gallery Walk

Given what we have just covered, conduct a gallery walk with your group members and identify at least one strategy you will incorporate into your teaching and why you think it is effective.

Closure: Exit Slip

Please answer the writing prompt on the half-sheet and discuss your answer with an elbow partner.

Independent Practice/HousekeepingTurn in active participation lesson plans and attendance sheets.

Work on assessment strategies in your PLC groups and on your lesson plans.

Classroom walkthroughs.

Switching to Thursday?