First, I have to say that I never realized how much time and thought goes into planning a unit to teach. What really helped our group in the planning process was the fact we were being asked to make a unit for was what we were trying to understand. That being said, we decided to use many of the same tools/activities. Also, this helped in approaching the activity from both a student and teacher point of view. I guess you could say that this was our backward design. This activity changed my thinking of formative assessment by continually having to remind myself that if it is truly formative assessment that it will be based on the 'now' and may be able to gauge your students and help you as a teacher adjust your teaching style to accommodate your students before summative assessment occurs.
This brings me to how I might describe what formative assessment is to a colleague. Formative assessment is not a test or quiz that is on previously learned material . It involves activities and discussion that engage and prepare students for summative assessment. The most salient feature of formative assessment would have to be that it allows for an accumulation of learning/transfer. What I mean by this is that activities and discussion often make students put what they already know into practice while incorporating new material.
"It involves activities and discussion that engage and prepare students for summative assessment." I think this is a great way to explain formative assessment to a colleague becuase it shifts the emphasis away from evaluating students toward diagnosing student learning. My only quesiton would be, what is the role of the student in formative assessment?
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