PLCs and Formative Assessment

Thank you to everyone who came to the Formative Assessment training on October 26th. I hope you left with at least one tool that can be valuable to you and your students. But you may be left wondering, “What now?”

The next step is to bring the discussion back to your PLC. Some may ask, "But is this something we should spend PLC time on?" Recall DuFour's guiding questions for PLCs below:

Question Two has teachers asking how they will know when their students have learned the material. The answer? Formative assessment!

Below are two sample agendas for PLCs to use in the next few weeks. The first outlines some discussion questions you may like to use as well as a protocol for trying out some of the tools. The second is to be used a few weeks later after team members have had a chance to try the tool in their classroom.

The general plan is as follows:

1. October 26th Training
2. PLC Meeting #1 (Teachers discuss tools, choose one tool to look at, design an assessment)
3. Teachers try out the agreed upon tool/assessment
4. PLC Meeting #2 (Teachers bring results, discuss pros/cons of tool, determine next steps for students who haven't learned the material)

Discussion of Formative Assessment Tools

• Plickers
  
• Socrative
  
• Formative
  
• Other?

Discussion Questions:

• What are we trying to assess/measure? (focus on the language in the standard)
  
• Which tool will be the best fit for this? (It is recommended that the group selects one together so they can learn together through the process)
  
• What will the students need to know and do to be successful?
  
• What will the teacher need to know and do to be successful?
  
• When will team members report back?
  
• How will we share the data?
  

It is recommended that the group select one tool and/or one common assessment to try between meeting #1 and meeting #2 so they can compare and discuss the results more easily.

Sharing of Data

• What percentage of the students showed mastery?
• What percentage of the students did not show mastery?
• Were there any factors that may have influenced that day's results?
• What successes or difficulties did you have giving the assessment/using the tool you chose?

Discussion Questions:

• What will your next steps be for students who showed mastery?
• What will your next steps be for students who did not show mastery?
• What would you teach differently next time?
• Did your assessment measure what you intended it to?

Remember...

The value of the PLC is in the discussion of not only what and how you're teaching, but more importantly how your instruction will change because of what you discuss.