Activating learners: as owners of their own learning, and as learning resources for one another.

In two previous articles I outlined how assessment can be used to improve learning as well as measure it, and looked at why assessment is at the heart of effective teaching, whether this is done in face-to-face, hybrid, or remote sessions. However, to really harness the power of assessment to improve learning, we must also bring the learners into the process.

Empower students with digital formative assessment - Newsletter Issue 2

How do teachers know what their students actually learn and who is in need of additional support? How can students become more empowered in their own learning? How can digital tools support student learning? And does Corona change the way we think about these questions?

This newsletter aims to engage organisations working on assessment, as well as teachers, school heads, policy makers and anyone else who is interested in an exchange around these questions

Why there is no such thing as a formative assessment

What, exactly, is formative assessment? For some, it is a low-stakes assessment, given to students as a  ay to prepare for a more important assignment. For example, students might be encouraged to submit an essay before the final deadline so that they have a chance to get some feedback that they can use to improve the essay before it is finalized. This use of the term formative really describes where, in the teaching and learning process the assessment occurs. In this view, a formative assessment is any assessment before “the big one.”

How (digital) formative assessment can serve teachers, students and parents in the context of Covid 19.

Over the last fifty years, research in education and psychology has made great progress in helping us understand the best ways to teach our students when they are in front of us—what is sometimes called “face-to-face” teaching. We have also learned quite a lot about the best approaches to distance learning, supporting printed materials with audio and video presentations.

Empower students with digital formative assessment - Newsletter Issue 1

How do teachers know what their students are actually learning? How can students become more empowered in their own learning? How can digital tools support learning? And does Covid-19 change the way we think about these questions? This newsletter aims to engage policy makers, teachers, school heads, organisations working on assessment and anyone else interested in an exchange around these questions.