Assessment has been high on the agenda since the removal of levels, and formative assessment is proving to be a supportive approach in ensuring that students make steady progress. As with anything, time is a crucial factor for teachers and can sometimes be a barrier to undertaking formative assessment as frequently as might be preferred.
Education technology can play a positive role with formative assessment in several ways:
Engaging for students
Using edtech can be much more engaging for students, for example, Promethean’s ActivPanel provides a great interactive hub for the front of the classroom. Teachers can combine the ActivPanel with ClassFlow Desktop software to set quizzes or mini-polls which are much for fun for students to complete than traditional testing methods. Together, ClassFlow Desktop and the ActivPanel allow teachers to access a powerful assessment tool that delivers teaching benefits with no extra cost. In addition, using technology in the classroom means that lessons become much more interactive for students.
Time saving for teachers
Instead of traditional forms of marking, which has proven to take a lot of time, teachers can make use of software that allows for quick polling. By collating data as a by-product of teaching, they can see in an instant how well a class has understood a topic, right down to individual students. With more time on their hands, teachers are therefore able to engage with their students more on an individual or whole-class level.
Tracking over time
Educators can use the data collected over a period of time to see how students are performing overall – ideal for end-of-term reporting. This also paints a bigger picture for how well a student is progressing and will highlight if access arrangements need to be made. Overall, the use of edtech for formative assessment means that student learning outcomes will be improved in the long-run.
Personalised learning
With every student being different and learning in their own way, education technology provides teachers with the opportunity to set level-appropriate tasks for each student. Teachers can even encourage a more collaborative learning environment by pairing students of a similar ability together. They can work on their handheld devices, sharing ideas and having the opportunity to take more control over their own learning.
Formative assessment remains a core approach in supporting student development, but as teacher time comes under increasing pressure, education technology has a role to play in reducing the administrative burden of undertaking formative assessment. As a result, it makes it much easier for educators to analyse and provide feedback to students in the modern classroom setting, and improves students’ results.
Read more about how ClassFlow can help with your school’s assessment needs.