UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MINDANAO

Formative Assessment
Sci Ed 314
 Topic Outline
• The formative assessment process
• Characteristics of formative assessment
• Types of formative assessment
• Gathering and evaluating evidence of learning—observation
and questioning
• Providing effective feedback

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Intended Learning Outcomes
1. Recall the key components, characteristics, and types of formative
assessment.
2. Exemplify formative assessment practices that have varied effects on
learning and motivation.
3. Identify errors teachers make in observations of student engagement and
understanding.
4. Classify classroom questioning and feed backing practices.
5. Explain appropriateness of instructional practices for formative purposes.

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 Formative Assessment
• Formative assessment is the process of gathering evidence
of student learning, providing feedback to students, and
adjusting instructional and learning strategies that enhance
achievement
• assessment forms instruction and learning experiences (Wiliam &
Leahy, 2007)
• The intent is to close the “gap” between what students need to
know and their current level of knowledge by establishing a path to
facilitate student learning (Furtak, 2009)

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Process of Formative Assessment

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 Process of Formative Assessment
• a circular, continuing process involving evaluations of
student work and behavior, feedback, and
instructional/learning adjustments (sometimes called
“instructional correctives”)
• Feedback informs and helps guide these changes, ideally including
the message that making errors or being wrong is a part of learning.
• Teachers have always had to determine how well students are doing.

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 Characteristics of Formative Assessment
1. Low-level formative assessment is rudimentary or
primitive. The process could be as simple as students
taking a test, getting their scores back, and receiving
simple feedback about what they answered correctly and
incorrectly, with a general suggestion for further learning
2. High-level formative assessment fully integrates ongoing
gathering of evidence, feedback, and
instructional/learning adjustments, and also includes
additional important characteristics.

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 Characteristics of Formative Assessment
Characteristic Low-Level FA High-Level FA
1. Evidence of Some Mostly objective, Varied assessments including
Student Learning standardized and standardized objective, constructed response,
some anecdotal and anecdotal
2. Structure Informal, Mostly formal, Both formal and informal
spontaneous, “at planned,
the moment” anticipated
3. Participants Students Teachers Both teachers and students
involved
4. Feedback Some delayed and Mostly delayed Immediate and specific
some immediate and general
and specific
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 Characteristics of Formative Assessment
Characteristic Low-Level FA High-Level FA
5. When done Some after and during Mostly after instruction Mostly during instruct
instruction and assessment

6. Instructional Some prescriptive, Mostly prescriptive, Mostly flexible,

adjustments some planned (e.g., pacing unplanned
flexible, unplanned according to an
instructional plan)

7. Choice of task Some student Mostly teacher Teacher and student

determined determined determined
8. Teacher–student Some interactions Most interactions based Extensive, informal,
interaction based primarily on formal trusting, and honest
on formal roles roles interactions

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 Characteristics of Formative Assessment
Characteristic Low-Level FA High-Level FA
9. Role of student self- None Tangential Integral
evaluation

10. Motivation Both intrinsic Extrinsic (e.g., Mostly intrinsic

and passing a
extrinsic competency
test)

11. Attributions for Internal, stable External factors Internal, unstable

success factors (teacher; luck) factors
(e.g., ability) (e.g., moderate student
effort)
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Types of Formative Assessment

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Gathering Evidence for
Embedded FA

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 1. Observation
• No embedded formative assessment activity is more pervasive for
teachers than observation of student behavior. These observations are
made to assess such factors as:
a. The nature of student participation in class discussion
b. The interpersonal skills used in cooperative groups
c. The correctness of student responses to questions
d. The verbal skills demonstrated in expressing thoughts
e. Whether more examples are needed
f. Which students to call on
g. The interest level of the students
h. The degree of understanding demonstrated in student answers
i. Emotional and affective responses of students

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 1. Observation
• No embedded formative assessment activity is more pervasive for
teachers than observation of student behavior. These observations are
made to assess such factors as:
a. The nature of student participation in class discussion
b. The interpersonal skills used in cooperative groups
c. The correctness of student responses to questions
d. The verbal skills demonstrated in expressing thoughts
e. Whether more examples are needed
f. Which students to call on
g. The interest level of the students
h. The degree of understanding demonstrated in student answers
i. Emotional and affective responses of students

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 I. Assessing Nonverbal Behavior
• Teachers rely greatly on students’ body language, facial
expressions, and eye contact for accurate observation.
• These actions are called nonverbal because the message is
communicated by something about the student other than the
content of what he or she says.
• These nonverbal cues are often more important than what is
said, largely because they are usually unintentional and
uncontrollable (Mottet & Richmond, 2000).
• According to Mehrabian (1981), as much as 90% of the emotion
conveyed in a message is communicated by nonverbal factors.
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 Assessing Nonverbal Behavior
• Nonverbal behaviors help you to assess both
meaning and emotion.
• For instance, we rely on facial and bodily expressions
to determine the intent of the message.
• Nonverbal cues punctuate verbal messages in much
the same way that exclamation points, question
marks, boldface, and italics focus the meaning of
written language.

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 Assessing Nonverbal Behavior
• Knapp and Hill (2013) suggest that this punctuation occurs in the
following ways:
1. Confirming or Repeating. When nonverbal behavior is
consistent with what is said verbally, the message is confirmed or
repeated. For instance, when Sally gave the correct answer to a
question, her eyes lit up (facial expression), she sat up straight in her
chair, and her hand was stretched up toward the ceiling (body
motion). She indicated nonverbally as well as verbally that she knew
the answer.
2.

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 Assessing Nonverbal Behavior
• Knapp and Hill (2013) suggest that this punctuation occurs in the following
ways:
2. Denying or Confusing. Nonverbal and verbal messages are often
contradictory, suggesting denial or confusion. For example, Ms. Thomas has
just asked her class if they are prepared to begin their small-group work.
The students say yes, but at the same time look down with confused
expressions on their faces. The real message is that they are not ready,
despite what they have said.
3. Strengthening or Emphasizing. Nonverbal behavior can punctuate
what is said by adding emotional color, feelings, and intensity. These
emotions strengthen or emphasize the verbal message. Suppose Mr. Terrell
suggested to Teresa that she take the lead in the next school play. Teresa
responds by saying, “No, I wouldn’t want to do that,” while she shakes her
head, avoids eye contact, and becomes rigid. Teresa doesn’t just mean no,
she means NO! If she really wanted to take the lead, her nonverbal behavior
would deny her verbal response.

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 Sources of Nonverbal Messages
1. Facial Expressions - The face is the most important source of
nonverbal information because it is the primary outlet for emotions
and it rarely distorts meaning (Hill, 2007). The face projects a great
variety of messages. To know what to look for it is best to focus on
three areas:
a. the brows and forehead, the eyes, lids, and nose - more likely
to indicate feelings of concern and anger (e.g., the brows are lowered
and drawn together in anger).
b. the lower face - communicate happiness and amusement.
Smiles, frowns, twisted lips, a raised chin, a clenched mouth, and other
expressions are also fairly clear in what they communicate

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 Sources of Nonverbal Messages
2. Body Language and Signals. - body language, movement, and
posture communicate messages. The meaning associated with
different bodily cues is best understood by considering four categories
of nonverbal behavior, each of which is based on a different function
or purpose: emblems, illustrators, affect displays, and regulators
(Ekman & Friesen, 1969).
a. Emblem - a body cue that has a direct one- or two-word verbal
translation. Emblems are used to consciously communicate a
particular message, such as holding up your hand with your palm
facing the other person (which means “wait”), putting your finger to
your puckered lips (“quiet”), and waving toward yourself (“come
over”). Most of these emblems are substitutes for words. In observing
emblems, be aware of possible cross-cultural differences.

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 Sources of Nonverbal Messages
b. Illustrator - used to increase clarity and awareness and to
augment what is being said. It reinforces the strength of the emotional
message. For example, holding your fingers close together augments
“small,” and pointing to an object clarifies what you intend to
communicate about. If a student’s fist is clenched, it may indicate
anger in association with what the student has verbalized.
c. Affect Display – show emotion through the position and
posture of the body and certain gestures. If the student has a rigid,
tense, slumped body with arms and legs crossed, the affect is negative
and defensive. Students with open, relaxed bodies who lean toward
the teacher and do not fidget or tap something communicate positive
affect, attention, and confidence.

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 Sources of Nonverbal Messages
d. Regulators - used to indicate the initiation, length, and
termination of verbal messages. Students use these cues to inform the
teacher about whether they want to initiate a response, are finished
with a comment or thought, or want to continue speaking. An obvious
initiation regulator is to raise the hand or index finger. Other initiation
regulators include eye contact, head nodding, smiles, and raised
eyebrows. When students do not want to make a comment, they may
use such “turn-denying” behaviors as staring at something (especially
looking down at the desk) and slumping in the chair. Students who
want to continue speaking may lean toward you, use gestures to
punctuate their thoughts, and display an enthusiastic, expectant face.

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 Sources of Nonverbal Messages
e. Gestures - Gestures are hand and arm
movements that individuals use to communicate,
either supplementing verbal messages or acting as the
sole means through which meaning is conveyed.
Gestures clarify, contradict, or replace verbal messages
and play an important role in child development and
learning.

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 II. Assessing Voice-Related Cues
• Voice-related cues include tone of voice,
loudness, intensity, pauses, silences, voice level,
inflection, word spacing, emphases, and other
aspects of voice that add color to the content of what
is said.
• The potential of vocal cues to provide information
about a student’s level of understanding, confidence,
and emotional state is exceeded only by facial
expressions

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II. Assessing Voice-Related Cues

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 Sources of Error in Moment-by-Moment
Observation
• To make accurate, reliable observations, it is best to first learn what
to look for and listen to.
• You need to be aware of the types of errors that are possible and
consciously monitor yourself so that these errors are not made.
• it is helpful if you are able to use a few simple procedures, some of
which are used after the instructional segment:
a. Ask yourself, is the verbal message consistent with the
nonverbal behavior? Is this behavior normal or unusual?
b. Plan time to do informal observation while not actively
teaching a lesson to the entire class (e.g., during seatwork,
small-group work, and individual interactions).

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 Sources of Error in Moment-by-Moment
Observation
• c. Keep a list of possible errors in a place that is easily referred
to, such as in your desk. Make a habit of referring to the list
frequently.
d. When possible during the school day, write down informal
observations, your interpretations, and the action you took during the
instructional segment. Be sure to keep the interpretations separate
from the observations. The brief, written descriptions of behavior are
essentially anecdotal observations or notes

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Sources of Error in Moment-by-Moment
Observation

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 Informal Oral Questioning
• Along with observations, teachers rely heavily on how students
answer questions during instruction to know if students understand
what is presented or can perform targeted skills. You may well spend
up to one-third of your instructional time asking questions.
• Questioning typically occurs in four formats:
a. whole-class, teacher-led reviews of content - fast-paced drill
that is designed to cover specific knowledge, and many of the
questions may be planned in advance.
.

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 Informal Oral Questioning
• b. discussions - used to promote student questioning and
exchange ideas and opinions to clarify issues, promote thinking,
generate ideas, or solve a problem. Typically, both planned and
unplanned questions are used
• c. recitations - the teacher asks questions as part of the
presentation of material to engage students in what they are
learning. These are usually planned.
• d. interactions with individual students and small groups of
students. - on-the-fly to obtain information that is specific to the
students. This allows teachers to individualize assessment and target
feedback and suggested next steps.

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Characteristics of Effective
Questioning for Embedded FA

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 1. State Questions Clearly and Succinctly So That the Intent
of the Question Is Understood
• Students understand the question if they know how they are to
respond.
• Questions are vague to students if there are too many possible
responses or if the question is too general.
• As emphasized by Green and Johnson (2010), design brief, succinct
questions that are directly related to students’ understanding of the
task

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 2. Match Questions with Learning Targets
• The questions you ask should reflect your learning targets, the emphasis
on different topics that will be assessed more formally in a unit test, and
the difficulty of learning targets.
• Matching questions to learning targets requires that the questions be
phrased to elicit student responses that are needed for the learning
target.
• Questions that assess knowledge targets often begin with what, who,
where, and when. For example, “What is the definition of exacerbate?”
“When did Columbus discover America?” “Who is Martin Luther King?”
• These are examples of knowledge questions that generally require factual
recall or rote memorization of dates, names, places, and definitions.

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 2. Match Questions with Learning Targets
• In a reasoning question, the teacher asks students to mentally
manipulate what they know to analyze, synthesize, problem solve,
create, and evaluate.
• Reasoning questions will include words or intents such as distinguish,
contrast, generalize, judge, solve, compare, interpret, relate, and
predict, such as “Relate the causes of the Civil War to the causes of
World War I. How are they the same and how are they different?”

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 3. Involve the Entire Class.
• Balance is needed between students who volunteer and those who
don’t, high- and low-ability students, males and females, and
students near and far from you
• An effective variation is to have students answer individually, then
share with a partner and discuss why each is correct or incorrect.
• It’s better to call on students randomly, even though they probably
won’t like that until they get used to it.

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 4. Allow Sufficient Wait Time for Student
Responses
• Students need to have sufficient time to think about and then
respond to each question
• It has been shown that when teachers can wait three to five seconds,
the quality and quantity of student responses are enhanced.
• It follows from these findings that longer wait time will result in
better assessment, but only if the questions are such that students
will be engaged in thinking.

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 5. Give Appropriate Responses to Student
Answers.
• Your responses to student answers will be very important for
gathering valid information about student progress because your
style and approach—the climate and pattern of interaction that is
established—will affect how and if students are likely to answer your
questions.
• Ideally, each student’s response should be acknowledged with some
kind of meaningful, honest feedback. Feedback is part of ongoing
assessment because it lets students know, and confirms for you, how
much progress has been made.

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 6. Avoid Closed Questions
• Closed questions are answered by a single response, usually one
word.
• These include questions that elicit a simple “yes” or “no” (e.g., Is this
word an adjective in this sentence? Is this animal a mammal?).
• Other closed questions could be asked as true/false, or other simple
choices of possible responses.
• These types of questions are common, but they don’t help much in
the formative assessment process, mostly because they don’t reveal
much about students’ depth of understanding.

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 6. Avoid Closed Questions
• Adding a simple why after an answer to a yes/no question will
increase its diagnostic power considerably.
• Open questions communicate much more about what students
know and allows them to personalize answers and be more engaged.
• This is not difficult to accomplish. By changing key words such as
“what” and “is” into “why” and “how,” you can make dramatic
changes in classroom dynamics and formative assessment

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6. Avoid Closed Questions

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 7. Use Probes to Extend Initial Answers.
• Probes are specific follow-up questions.
• Use them to better understand how students arrived at an answer,
their reasoning, and the logic of their response.
• Examples of probes include phrases such as
 Why did you think that was the correct answer?
 How did you arrive at that conclusion?
 Explain why you think you are correct.
 Explain how you arrived at that solution.
 Give another example.
 Could you argue that that is not the best solution?
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 7. Use Probes to Extend Initial Answers.
• Essentially you are asking students to extend their understanding, to
think about what they have learned.
• When students are asked to explain their answers, their learning
improves (Black & Wiliam, 1998).
• Also, a benefit of this technique is that it shows students that
thinking about what they are learning is as important as giving the
right answer.

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 8. Avoid Tugging, Guessing, and Leading
Questions.
• Tugging questions ask a student to answer more without indicating
what the student should focus on. They are usually vague questions
or statements that follow what the teacher judges to be an
incomplete answer. For example, “Well? . . . ” “And? . . . ” and “So? . .
. ” are tugging questions.
• Guessing questions obviously elicit guessed answers from students,
for example, “How many small computer businesses are there in this
country?” This type of question is useful in getting students’
attention and getting students to think about a problem or area, but
it is not helpful in assessing progress.

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 8. Avoid Tugging, Guessing, and Leading
Questions.
• Leading questions, like rhetorical questions, are more for the teacher
to pace a lesson than for obtaining information about student
knowledge. Therefore, these types of questions (“That’s right, isn’t
it?” or “Let’s go on to the next chapter, okay?”) should be avoided.

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 9. Avoid Asking Students What They Think
They Know
• It is not usually helpful to orally ask students directly if they know or
understand something.

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 10. Ask Questions in an Appropriate Sequence.

• Asking questions in a predetermined sequence as a type of planned

embedded formative assessment will enhance the information you
receive to assess student understanding.
• Good sequences generally begin with knowledge questions to
determine if students know enough about the content to consider
reasoning questions.

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Providing Effective Feedback
for Embedded
Formative Assessment

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