1. Transforming Active Engagement into Formative Assessment
Kristin Hadley & Geri Conlin
Weber State University

2. Human Likert Scale I understand what active engagement strategies are.
I understand the difference between formative assessment and other assessments.
Active formative assessment is important for adult learners.
Adult learners will positively respond to active formative assessment.
Kristin – Make signs

3. What is learning?
Learning results from what the students does and thinks and only from what the student does and thinks. The teacher can advance learning only by influencing what the student does to learn.
Herbert A. Simon

4. What is Learning? A Process A Change
We can only infer that it has occurred from students’ products and performances.
A Change
Learning is not something done to students, but rather something student themselves do.

5. What is Active Engagement
What is Active Engagement? Active engagement is a process whereby students have direct involvement in their learning.
Himmele, W. & Himmele, P. (2012) How to know what students know. Educational Leadership, 70(1),

6. In order for students to learn, they must do more than just listen: They must read, write, discuss, or be engaged in solving problems. Bonwell, C. C., & Eison, J. A. (1991). Active learning: Creating excitement in the classroom. Washington, DC: School of Education and Human Development, George Washington University.

7. Effective active engagement needs to include high student participation rates with students engaging in higher-order thinking tasks such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. Renkl, A., Atkinson, R. K., Maier, U. H., & Staley, R. (2002). From example study to problem solving: Smooth transitions help learning. The Journal of Experimental Education, 70(4),

8. Using active learning strategies in addition to lectures or readings, results in deeper learning, understanding, and transfer. Westermann, K., & Rummel, N. (2012). Delaying instruction: evidence from a study in a university relearning setting. Instructional Science, 40(4),

9. Physics students taught with active engagement conceptualized and retained content greater than those who had not. Bernhard, J Does active engagement curricula give long-lived conceptual understanding? Proceedings of GIREP2000: Physics Teacher Education Beyond 2000, Barcelona. [online] URL: < > / “Publications” / “Physics Education Research”.

10. What is formative assessment?
“Techniques teachers use to see if students are ‘getting it’” (“Tools for Teachers,” 2013)
The process of judging how well students are achieving the objective during instruction.
Low stakes – low or no point value.
Formative assessment is important for both students and teachers. Why?

11. When is formative assessment used?
During instruction while the students are still learning the content and before the final grade is received.

12. How does formative assessment help students?
It helps students identify how well they have achieved the objective and what else they need to do to achieve the objective.
It encourages students to become responsible for their own learning.
When formative assessments are properly used, the speed of student learning doubles. (Popham, 2011)

13. How does formative assessment help teachers?
Provides evidence of which students are struggling or which concepts are still unclear.
Then teachers can:
Differentiate instruction for specific struggling students.
Reteach concepts which are still unclear.

14. Metacognitive strategies such as knowledge monitoring is a particularly powerful form of formative assessment.

15. Knowledge Monitoring Questions
Students should ask themselves questions such as:
Does the information or assignment make sense?
Am I doing things that will help me achieve the objective?
Do I know what I now understand and what is still confusing?
Do I know how well I have done on the assignment before I submit it?

19. Word Cloud

20. Some types of active engagement
Brainstorming and discussion
Drawing and artwork
Games
Manipulatives, experiments, labs, and models
Total participation techniques
Tate, 2009

21. How can we use these activities for formative assessment?
Brainstorming and discussion
Drawing and artwork
Games
Manipulatives, experiments, labs, and models
Total participation techniques
Drawing and artwork – Jenna’s pic
Games – King of the row (need some candy
Manips – Fraction circles
Tate, 2009

24. Some types of active engagement
Role-plays, drama, pantomimes, charades
Music, rhythm, rhyme, dance, and rap
Reciprocal teaching and cooperative learning
Movement
Tate, 2009

25. How can we use these activities for formative assessment?
Role-plays, drama, pantomimes, charades
Music, rhythm, rhyme, dance and rap
Reciprocal teaching and cooperative learning
Movement
y=x y=│x │
y=x2 y=2x2 - 3
y=x3 y=(x+2)2 -1
y=√x y=-2(x-1)2
Geri – dance
Kristin – do a reciprocal teaching example
Movement – families of graphs
Tate, 2009

26. Some types of active engagement
Debates
Write newspaper headlines
Group pretests
Apply a learned concept immediately
Students write their own test questions
Matrix
Geri

27. How can we use these activities for formative assessment?
Debates
Write newspaper headlines
Group pretests
Apply a learned concept immediately
Students write their own test questions
Matrix
Geri

28. Newspaper Headlines

29. Match Core Curriculum Learning Indicators to Learning Objectives (students write on the white board)
_____TSW participate in ultimate Frisbee vigorously enough to raise their HR to 70% max (140 bpm) when measured at least twice during the ultimate game time.
_____ While playing ultimate Frisbee on the field or court, TSW move to an open space to receive a pass at least 3 times today.
_____During an ultimate Frisbee game, TSW follow the rules 100% of the time as discussed at the beginning of the game.
_____ While playing ultimate Frisbee on the field or court, TSW move to a space to defend a player at least 3 times today.
2.2. d. Move to open space to receive a pass in a variety of activities.
2.2. e. Move to a space to defend in a number of activities.
3.2. d. Participate in moderate to vigorous activity for a minimum of 30 minutes, three times a week.
5.1. b. Follow rules in activity participation.

30. Matrix: fill in what you know
Curriculum Model
How it works
Good reasons to use the model
Assessment practices in the model
Challenges in using the model
Inquiry Teaching
Skill Themes
Peer Teaching
Personalized System of Instruction

31. Pair Share Find a partner whose birthday is in the same month as you.
Share one of the strategies that you think you would be able to use with students for formative assessment.
Find a partner who has similar shoes to your shoes.
Share a strategy that you might struggle to use and why.

32. Human Likert Scale
I feel confident in trying an active formative assessment.
I am willing to try adding formative assessment to an active learning activity next week.
Active formative assessment is important for adult learners.
Adult learners will positively respond to active formative assessment.
Kristin – Make signs

33. References
Ambrose, S., Bridges, M., Lovett, M., DiPietro, M, Norman, M. (2010) How learning works. San Francisco, CA: Josey-Bass Publishers
Bernhard, J Does active engagement curricula give long-lived conceptual understanding? Proceedings of GIREP2000: Physics Teacher Education Beyond 2000, Barcelona. [online] URL: < > / “Publications” / “Physics Education Research”.
Black, P., & Wiliam, D. (1998). Assessment and classroom learning. Assessment in education, 5(1), 7-74.
Chappuis, S. & Chappuis, J. (2008) The best value in formative assessment. Educational Leadership, 65(4),
Himmele, W. & Himmele, P. (2012) How to know what students know. Educational Leadership, 70(1),
Nicol, D. J., & Macfarlane‐Dick, D. (2006). Formative assessment and self‐regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice. Studies in Higher Education, 31(2),
Popham, W. J. (2011). Combating phony formative assessment—With a hyphen. Education Week, 30,
Tate, M. (2009). Mathematic worksheets don’t grow dendrites. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Tools for teachers (2013). American Educator, 37(3), p. 42.

34. kristinhadley@weber.edu gconlin@weber.edu
Thank You