Alex Thiemann

A. Collins
EDUC 453
5 March 2014
Formative Assessment
Introduction
The formative assessment that I used was called a S.T.O.P. Summary. This is a
way for students to think reflectively on the lesson and for me to see what students
learned. Students responded to the 4 aspects of the acronym in their notebooks (screen
shot of PowerPoint graphic below). The definition of the acronym is:
S stands for started the lesson by
T stands for the topic was
O stands for opportunities for practice were
P stands for purpose of the lesson was
Describe how you would or did implement this assessment in class.
This assessment was implemented at the end of the days lesson for my U.S.
History students. The students responded to the prompts in their history notebooks (a
common procedure). I did not gain individual feedback from the students. Rather I called
on volunteers and non-volunteers alike to share out responses. I had to clarify the
difference between topic and purpose, basically saying that the two should be aligned yet
there may be more purposes besides understanding the main topic.
Describe what you would/did do with the information gathered.

The information gathered told me about what students perceived about the lesson.
They are typically not asked to think in such a reflective way. When they responded to
the prompts they were able to indicate that they had remembered the purpose and topic of
the lesson. Although the responses changed slightly depending on the individual and their
perception of the lesson. Also, the exercise served as both an instructional thinking
strategy as well as a formative assessment.
The information gathered also allowed me to think about the activities I use in
class. It is unique for students to think about opportunities for practice in a history class.
They reminded me that the practice we have is quite routine and mundane (reading,
speaking, listening, and writing). Because of this I have designed an activity for this week
that allows students to graphically illustrate one of our unit concepts. This will require
creative design instead of typical academic skills.
Indicate what you have done to make it technically defensible.
The assessment is technically defensible because it aligns with the direct
instruction method that my school district wants us to employ. I am using this assessment
as a tool to check for understanding at the end of the lesson. Also, the assessment is well
set up and described for students. They understand the prompts and how to respond.
Similarly, the students use a well-known classroom procedure in order to write down
their responses. This will enhance student participation. Lastly, by calling on both
volunteers and non-volunteers I am gaining a mixture of feedback that should reflect the
overall learning of the class.
Describe the strengths and weaknesses of this assessment for its purpose.

Strengths The strengths are that it is easy to implement, I received quick

feedback, and that it is unique in its questioning. The fact that this assessment checks
content, skills, and overall disposition is very valuable. Students were quick to let me
know what they liked about the lesson, even though it was not explicitly asked.
Weaknesses The assessment was not able to gain feedback from each student. I
can collect the notebook and read all of the responses, but that would take too long. Also,
I felt that the assessment was best used as an instructional strategy. This may be because
it was the first time students were exposed to it; therefore they had to practice their
reflective skills. Also, I found that even though some students were challenged by the
way in which they were asked to think about the lesson, others felt as if it was a bit
childish. I know that I would have viewed the activity as quite pointless, but I do not
believe that formative assessments are really for the benefit of the high achieving student.
They will learn the content regardless of teacher instruction. Instead the formative
assessment allows me to alter instruction based off of the needs of those that are
struggling with major issues.