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7 Effective Formative Assessment Activities for a Better Classroom in 2024

7 Effective Formative Assessment Activities for a Better Classroom in 2024

Education

Jane Ng 23 Apr 2024 6 min read

Formative Assessment Activities are considered one of the essential elements of education because of their motivation for learners and their immediate effects on the learning-teaching process. These activities help instructors receive feedback to self-understand limitations as current skills to develop the next steps in the classroom. 

Live polls, debates, Quizzes, spinner wheel and Word Cloud… are often used in formative assessment activities to see how students apply what they have learned thus far.

Following this below guide to make them fast and effective: 

Table of Contents

Overview

How many questions should be on a joint formative assessment?Recommended 3-5 questions
Who introduced formative assessment?Michael Scriven
When was formative assessment invented?1967
What is the original purpose of formative assessment?Curriculum development and evaluation

What is Formative Assessment?

Formative assessment is a process that uses informal assessment strategies to gather information on student learning. 

examples of formative assessment
Photo: master1305 – What is Formative Assessment?

For example, have you ever been in a situation where you asked a question but received no answer, and then you had to move on to another question, which confused you and the students? Or there are days when you receive test results from learners with disappointment because it turns out that your lessons are not as well as you thought. You are not aware of what you are doing? Are you doing well? What do you need to change? That means you may lose our audience. 

Therefore, you need to come to the Formative Assessment, which is the process of instructors and learners together to observe, communicate and change that provides feedback to adjust exercises and improve the teaching-learning process.

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Difference between Formative Assessment and Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment considers evaluation as a process, whereas Summative Assessment considers evaluation as a product.

Formative Assessment will help learners identify their strengths and weaknesses and focus on areas that need work, support teachers in recognising where students are struggling, and help them solve problems immediately. Formative tests have a low rating, which means they have a low score or no value.

In contrast, Summative Assessment aims to assess student learning at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it to some standard or benchmark. This assessment has high-point value tests, including a midterm exam, a final project, and a senior recital. Information from the Summative Assessment can be used formally to guide activities in subsequent courses.

7 different types of Formative Assessment Activities

Quizzes and Games

Creating a small quiz game (from 1 to 5 questions) in a short time can help you test your student’s comprehension. Or you can use the quiz from easy to challenging levels to understand what percentage of learners are still struggling and what percentage do not understand the lesson. From there, educators can gain more and more insights to improve their teaching process. 

Interactive Classroom Activities

The way that a question is responded to by learners reflects whether your lessons are working or not. If a lesson does not have attention, it is not going to be a successful lesson. Unfortunately, keeping the mind of a generation raised on constant social media distractions is always a battle. 

Let’s build the most interesting, fun, and exciting class with AhaSlides, using the following methods: Interactive Presenting Idea, Classroom Response System, 15 Innovative Teaching Methods

Discussion and Debate

Discussion and debate are indispensable sections to get an idea of learners’ opinions and help them practice critical thinking and analysis of the information received. Then they can learn how to solve the problem more easily next time. Moreover, these activities also promote competitiveness and make them more proactive in sharing and giving feedback about the lesson with teachers.

🎉 Try AhaSlide ideas: Fun Brainstorm Activities, Student Debate

Live Polls

Polls are an easy activity to gather the opinions of most learners and -can be done anywhere, anytime. Polling helps to reduce the anxiety of sharing a wrong answer and can also help students gain insights about one another and build confidence in their learning.

Live Q&A

The Question and Answer method has several benefits because it evaluates the preparation and comprehension, diagnoses strengths and weaknesses, and reviews and, or summarizes learners’ comprehension. Trying to answer or formulate and ask questions will provide a break for students from passive attention to being a public speaker. It raises their attention levels and performance for a while afterwards.

You can make your Q&A session with the 5 Best Q&A Apps or Host Free Live Q&A in 2024 with AhaSlides.

Survey

The use of a questionnaire is the most confidential way that you can use to get the required information from students in a short time. You can use the questions on this survey as they are, add or eliminate questions, or check in with students in another way, but try to gather information about the experiences your students come across daily. Collecting data in this way can not only help you gauge students’ well-being; it also provides students with an opportunity to ask questions discreetly.

Save heaps of time and create seamless surveys with 10 Free Survey Tools 

Word Cloud

A PowerPoint word cloud is one of the most simple, visual, and effective ways of getting any learner on your side. It is also an excellent method for brainstorming, gathering ideas, and checking student comprehension, helping your audience to have their say, which makes them feel more valued.

In addition, examples of formative assessments include asking students to:

  • Draw a concept map in class to represent their understanding of a topic
  • Submit one or two sentences identifying the main point of a lecture
  • Turn in a research proposal for early feedback
  • Write a self-assessment that reflects on skills practice and self-monitoring. This will help them develop self-directed learning and improve motivation

How to Build a Formative Assessment Activities Strategy

The most important thing about Formative Assessment Activities is to keep them simple, so you need various formative assessment tools that can deploy quickly. Because they need to be checked, not graded. 

Learn the tools and ideas to build a dynamic classroom with the most effective activities, and let’s dive into 7 Unique Flipped Classroom Examples at AhaSlides!

Survey Effectively with AhaSlides

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Formative Assessment?

Formative assessment is a process that uses informal assessment strategies to gather information on student learning. 

Assessment Activities Examples?

‘Exit Tickets’ is one of the best examples of formative assessment. They are short quizzes for students to complete before leaving the classroom, as the tickers provide insights on what students have learnt in class to help teachers adjust their teaching strategies for better performance.

Can I do a Peer Assessment as a form of Formative Assessment?

Yes, you can. It means that students can share their thoughts with others, and others would return feedback. This is a great way to develop critical thinking skills and improve their work in the near future!

Failed Example of Formative Assessment?

Using Multiple-Choice Questions is one of the famous reasons why formative assessment fails, as it limits the types of responses students can provide, with the answers primarily based on the teacher’s assumption!