Effective Formative Assessment Strategies and 21st Century Skills
Formative assessments are designed by teachers, based on learning targets, and involve students. (“Effective formative assessments.” Gemini, Google AI, 2024–07–26.)
Over the years, I have repeatedly said, “We have to prepare our students for their future world.” With the advent of generative AI, it seems the future is upon us. When discussing the power of educational technology in the classroom, I often have led professional development sessions about the “future-ready skills” that can easily be tapped into while integrating technology. I recently saw an Instagram post by Jamie Saponaro that called these skills “Human intelligence.” According to Wikipedia, “Human intelligence is the intellectual capability of humans, which is marked by complex cognitive feats and high levels of motivation and self-awareness. Using their intelligence, humans are able to learn, form concepts, understand, and apply logic and reason.” (Human intelligence. (2024, July 12)). When I think of the impact of AI on education as we know it, I want to help students develop their human intelligence to better serve them forward in the life they will experience.
As I consider the value of formative assessments in 21st-century classrooms, I can see how this strategy can also improve a student’s human skills such as active listening, self-regulation, initiative, productivity, and self-awareness. When an educator chooses to set a pattern of regularly embedding digital formative assessment opportunities in their teaching, the students also learn more about themselves as learners.
-Active listening happens when the listener is both mindful and intentional when listening to someone. Active listening means you are absorbing what you hear and responding to the speaker in a way that shows attentiveness. “Students who develop better listening skills are more likely to feel confident, comfortable, and prepared to succeed in school.” (Minshew, A., 2020, March 16). By creating a culture of immediate feedback after listening, you are helping students to realize their need for active listening. By adopting the concept of digital formative assessments, both teachers and students can immediately see the results of the learning taking place.
-Self-regulation can then become a natural byproduct of a student’s ability to see how they best learn. According to a 2023 blog post, “only 2.5% of people can multitask effectively,” and yet “66% of students perform non-multimedia multitasking in the classroom. 73% of students perform multimedia multitasking activities in the classroom.” (What to Become. 2023, March 3). Digital formative assessments' ability to give students immediate feedback allows them to see data points and discern if they are truly paying attention. This in turn might mean seeing less off-task behavior in students.
-Initiative for learning can be influenced through the use of recurrent formative assessment. When a student sees they have done poorly on a “check for understanding” exit ticket, they then know that they have gaps in their learning when preparing for a summative assessment. Formative assessment can help students see where they need to assess things independently and take charge of their learning paths for successful understanding. This might not come naturally, but after seeing how their teacher responds to the data for reteaching, they will begin to see value.
-Productivity can also increase in the act of learning itself. When a student gets feedback that shows gaps in learning, this can push the student forward. In a tech-rich classroom, students have a myriad array of resources that they have quick access to that might scaffold their learning. Becoming a productive student means that they are more likely to hone the skills of self-awareness and self-efficacy as both a student and later as an adult.
Enabling students to see the value of digital formative assessments allows them to start adapting to the data-driven world they live in. Using digital formative assessment to inform your teaching has long been proven to have positive results, but digital formative assessments also can empower your students to become collaborators in their understanding of what they know and where they need to get to because of the immediacy of feedback.
(Human intelligence. (2024, July 12). In Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_intelligence.)
Minshew, A. (2020,March 3). The Value of Listening in the Classroom: How to Teach Your Students Active Listening. Waterford.org. July 26, 2024, https://www.waterford.org/blog/active-listening-in-the-classroom/
What to Become. (2023, May 16). Multitasking Statistics to Pique Your Interest [2023 Edition]. July 26, 2024, https://whattobecome.com/blog/multitasking-statistics/#:~:text=Statistics%20on%20Multitasking%201%20Only%202.5%25%20of%20people,in%20the%20workspace%20leads%20to%20stress%20and%20fear.
