Module 3: Formative Assessment Article

After reading the article on formative assessment, I too agree with the importance and value that it has on students in the classroom. It is crucial to know where students stand during a middle of the unit rather than a summative assessment that occurs at the end. How can you better your teaching instruction if you get to the end of a unit and realize you did not reach your students academically? I have found formative assessments to be very beneficial in order to change teaching methods according to your students needs. I really enjoyed the analogy “gap minder” that the text referred to. This is so important to apply to the classroom in order to differentiate instruction according to the students that are present in your class. When I completed my full time teaching in my undergrad, I constantly had students complete tickets out the door, ask them personally about whether or not they enjoyed the lesson, and simply had a raise of hands concerning different skills or concepts. I really like the idea of having students complete self-assessments. This allows students to create personal goals for themselves instead of living up to the teachers expectations. Starting this at a young age is very important for students to learn because this is a life long task that they will be doing when they are in the real world and have a job. I found the tips about assessing students to be very helpful because it can be quite an intimidating process. Focusing on a group of students at a time is important so that you are not overwhelmed by trying to learn about how to effectively approach over twenty students. This will allow you to better learn how to differentiate your instruction based on the needs of each student in your classroom.