Pre-Assessments:
I have gained a great appreciation of the power of formative assessments. These formative/pre-assessments are a great tool that teachers have at their disposal to gage the students’ understanding of what they are learning. They are not only useful at the beginning of a lesson to determine prior knowledge, but can be used throughout the lesson to help guide the teacher in the assignments and/or activities that will further learning and understanding. They are also helpful in terms of cluing teachers in to how their students learn best so that the lessons can be modified and differentiated to cater to individual students’ needs.
Judith Dodge breaks down assessments into four categories in her book 25 Quick Formative Assessments for a Differentiated Classroom:
- Summaries and Reflections Students stop, reflect, and try to make sense of what they have heard or read, derive personal meaning from their learning experiences, and/or increase their metacognitive skills. These require that students use content-specific language.
- Lists, Charts, and Graphic Organizers Students organize information, make connections, and note relationships through the use of various graphic organizers (ie story circles).
- Visual Representations of Information Students will use both words and pictures to make connections and increase memory, facilitating retrieval of information later on. This "dual coding" helps teachers address classroom diversity, preferences in learning style, and different ways of "knowing."
- Collaborative Activities Students have the opportunity to move, work with and/or communicate with others as they develop and demonstrate their understanding of concepts. (Dodge, 2009)
It is important to pre-assess all learners to determine prior content knowledge, but there is other valuable information that can be gleaned from preassessment, particularly when working with CLD learners. According to Herrera and Murry (2011), " Prior to instructional planning, educators should preassess the degree to which CLD students identify with their own cultures as well as the students' levels of acculturation. Preassessment determines the potential impact of the affective filter on the comprehensibility of instruction, and helps educators avoid instructional decisions that may be counter productive" (pg. 101).
The article "Using informal assessments for English language learners" (n.d.) on colorincolorado.org states that informal (AKA authentic/alternative) assessments should be used regularly to track ongoing process of understanding for students. These assessments are key in helping teachers hone in on specific problem areas, adapt/modify/differentiate instruction and provide help and assistance as soon as possible. The two most commonly used methods are performance-based and portfolio assessment. Both of these methods use activities to track individual progress toward cirricular objectives/goals. Both methods allow for teacher and student self-assessment.
"Ongoing assessments are particularly important for English language learners (ELLs). Standardized tests in English do not usually reflect ELLs' true content knowledge or abilities. Yet informal assessments can provide a more well-rounded picture of their skills, abilities, and ongoing progress. Today's No Child Left Behind legislation requires that meticulous records be kept on the progress of ELLs. Having these records will make it easier when questions of program placement, special services, and grading arise (Using informal assessments for English language learners, n.d.).
One assessment tool I found to be particularly interesting was the KWL -- Know now, Want to know, Learned after lesson strategy. Depending on the age or skill level of the student, the KWL strategy can be completed as an interview or as a chart/diagram. Prior to a lesson, the students can be asked, individually or in a group setting, what they want to know and what they know already. After the completion of the lesson, the students can again be asked what they learned. The teacher can create a visual chart as well which details the answers given by the students that can be referred back to and compared.
I also appreciate short checks for understanding by using thumbs up/thumbs down, and red, yellow, green. These quick assessments give the teacher a visual representation of understanding, while making the students’ answers a bit more private. Giving options that provide more privacy, I believe, will encourage students to answer truthfully – without feeling embarrassed if they do not fully understand. According to Goodwin and Hubbell, “it’s difficult, if not impossible, to improve student performance if we’re not keenly aware of what concepts they’re struggling to comprehend or what skills they’re struggling to master” (Goodwin & Hubbell, 2013, p. 155).
If we want our students to be successful, we need to be aware of what they need, how they learn, and we can modify and differentiate in order to give them the tools necessary for their success.
Be sure to check out this video "Preparing learners: Activating prior knowledge" from the Teaching Channel.