Canvas Studio, Google Docs, Screencastify, Flipgrid - so many options and so little time! Which of these tools works best for you to collect formative assessment and deliver timely, target-aligned feedback for students? Check out tips and features in the blog this week and then join us Wednesday after school to dive into deeper conversation about what's working best in the middle school classroom.
Digital Tools for Formative Assessment
If anything, we have an over-abundance of tools for collecting formative data digitally. Online textbooks, Google Forms, EdPuzzle, Skyward quizzes, Flipgrid, Pear Deck, Mentimeter, Kahoot, Quizlit, Webex Polls, etc. And that doesn't even get us started on what you can do in Canvas! Sifting through all the digital tools to find which ones meet your needs can be daunting. Consider this breakdown of tools:
In the Moment Data
Tools like Pear Deck, Mentimeter, Nearpod, and Formative (GoFormative) are excellent ways to collect data right in the middle of your lesson and address misconceptions immediately. With Formative, you can display all answers to a question with student names removed. This works better than thumbs up or down, because students have to give an individual response and can't rely on what they see their peers doing and saying. You can quickly scan all responses and display them for all students to see (names removed) without singling out a specific student who has an incorrect answer. Address incorrect responses, highlight the best responses, correct misconceptions, and move on! Later, you can return to the data with student names included to inform your targeted reteach groups or track progress.
Clicker Tools
Tools like Kahoot, Quizizz, Quizlet Live, Blooket, and Gimkit bring some crazy competition to the classroom, and are quick ways to review knowledge-level material and track student understanding. Most of these tools have several modes, including gamification and self-paced modes which make them an excellent component for a blended learning model in your classroom.
Bulletin Boards
Video and Audio
Audio and video tools are excellent ways to capture student learning, and even better for providing feedback. Still, you have to "know thyself" and determine ways to make digital assessment smooth, seamless, and efficient for you. Most of these tools offer feedback banks which you use to create and save your most standard feedback statements, and then don't have to re-type them every time! Links to tutorials on the tools referenced are at the end of the blog.
Providing Quality Digital Feedback
No matter which digital tools work for you, there are some key components of feedback worth reviewing. Having a solid handle on these concepts will focus your feedback, improve your turnaround time on giving feedback, and ensure that all the precious time you spend providing quality feedback doesn't go straight into the recycle bin!
1. Feedback should be standards-aligned and criterion referenced.
What does this mean? It means that you are assessing student progress toward mastery of a curricular standard and you have a clear set of criteria that indicate a student has or hasn't met that standard. When we stay rooted in the standards and the criteria, then the language of our feedback will mirror those criteria. Creating a bank of feedback statements then increases your productivity when providing digital feedback.
2. Feedback should focus on what is correct and what needs to be done next.
We call this "strengths-based feedback" because we use the language of the standard, learning targets, and success criteria to indicate what the student has done well, but also to provide the guidance on what the student should do next to move toward mastery. This is a task easier said than done, but if you keep this mantra in your head while responding to student work, it keeps you focused and prevents overwhelming and overly detailed feedback.
3. Feedback should be timely.
We know this one is easier said than done, which is why all of the other tips are so important. Additionally, implementing as many "in the moment" techniques for gathering feedback as possible helps ensure students are getting what they need to be successful as quickly as possible. The tools mentioned in the "in the moment" section above help alleviate the stack of digital work that piles up when students submit assignment after assignment. The last and final reminder coming up is also critical in keeping yourself sane while still providing timely feedback:
4. Feedback should involve the students.
This statement resonates on many levels. First, students cannot receive timely and meaningful feedback if the teacher is the only one in the room giving it! Second, students must be engaged in the feedback process for it to be effective. This means students can give each other feedback, but they also need embedded time to process and respond to the feedback they receive. So, just like anything else in education, if we want students fully engaged in a process, we must carve out and devote in-class time. This is time well-spent when you think of all the academic and social skills that must be developed in order to pass the feedback process into the hands of students:
- students will engage in discourse with peers
- students will use academic language in discussion
- students will know and understand the criteria to master a concept
- students can defend their reasoning with evidence
- students know what needs to happen to move toward a target
- students are empowered to own their learning
Embedding Student Feedback Groups
We all know that some middle school students aren't going to be comfortable with giving each other feedback, especially not without some clear guidance on how to do so. Try intentionally planning student feedback groups, first working together to evaluate and assess sample work, then gradually releasing them to give each other feedback in small doses. Building comfort with the group and a culture of safety in the classroom is critical as well. Setting up groups in Webex Teams, Webex Meeting Breakouts, Canvas Discussions, and collaborative Google apps is a great start to get kids connected. Just remember to establish clear group norms, and practice, practice practice.
If any of these topics piques your interest for further study, see the list of resources below for further investigation. You can also schedule a consultation for embedded classroom coaching to promote quality feedback. Email kristinridgway@smsd.org to schedule.
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