Techy Terms Tuesday #4

Welcome to the fourth edition of Techy Terms Tuesday!

Do you remember in the fall, taking the Level of Teaching Innovation (LoTi)?  I know it was the week of conferences, and we had some log in issues, however, the LoTi is meant to help give you some areas to improve on in your teaching.  One of the biggest complaints I received about the LoTi was the complex "techy" vocabulary used in the survey.   Since we will be taking the survey again in April, I thought it might be a great idea to transform some of the complex language into teacher friendly terms - as I think we are all super innovative educators - and I know that will be reflected in the upcoming survey!  

Here are two new techy terms for you:  formative and summative assessment opportunities & non traditional ways.

I provide multiple and varied formative and summative assessment opportunities that encourage students to "showcase" their content understanding in nontraditional ways.

Formative and Summative Assessment Opportunities

Formative assessments are generally carried out throughout a course or project and provide the information needed to adjust teaching and learning while they are happening. Simply put, formative assessment informs both teachers and students about student understanding at a point when timely adjustments can be made.  Summative assessments are generally carried out at the end of a course, project, or other designated time period and determine at a particular point in time what students know and what they are able to do. Simply put, summative assessments include: state assessments, district benchmarks, chapter tests, and semester exams.

Nontraditional Ways

Nontraditional ways refer to strategies for assessing student content understanding beyond paper and pencil tests, essays, and multiple-choice exams. Simply put, nontraditional assessments include: peer reviews, personal reflection, student portfolios, and interviews. I know that many of us use these different types of assessment to inform our instruction. Many teacher leaders in the building have even attended a workshop about the Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning and are implementing these strategies in their classroom.  Please let me know if as your instructional coach if I can help you implement these in your classroom or can support you in any way! Over Spring Break I will be taking a break from Techy Terms Tuesday to chase my toddlers in the sun. :)  I'll be back with Techy Terms #5 in April!